1968 FJ40 Jolene (4 Viewers)

[VA Mountain FJ40]

I decided to organize my ongoing project progress as a Build instead of scattering threads randomly across the tech section.

I’m going to have to pull a Star Wars … and start a bit after the middle. This is the story of Jolene, a 1968 FJ40 I acquired in 2021. She was well used and well loved, with typical aging and use issues.

Drove and enjoyed Jolene a lot. Came home on 4 cylinders one afternoon. Blown head gasket. Decided to do an engine and transmission update and redo the truck more to my preferences while things were apart. Had so much fun driving it around but it needed attention in areas, let’s get ‘er done.

The pictures below show Jolene the 1968 FJ40 right after arriving home in the Virginia mountain foothills…

 

[VA Mountain FJ40]

Having introduced Jolene and the general need to pull and replace the engine and transmission and address other issues I want to document my most recent work now, and backfill the the older work as time allows. So sequence might be an issue … hence the Star Wars reference.

I’ll try to encapsulate project steps individually.

 

[VA Mountain FJ40]

Install Restored Heater Box

Earlier I documented my adventures in restoring the original heater box. It was a rusty mess, full of mouse nests, but now it is restored and ready for installation.

I rejuvenated the blower duct connector seen attached to the heater box. The old rubber was beginning to crack in places, but I cleaned the connector with 90% isopropyl alcohol, and then treated it with spray rubber sealant several times over several days, allowing appropriate intervals to cure. It seemed to do the trick.

Sequence of operations matters on this task. If you do some steps out of order, you may not have room to perform other remaining steps.

Before I could begin to install the heater box, I needed to replace the old and torn defrost duct hoses that run from the sides of the heater box behind the dash to the base of the windshield.

Yes, I did have to go get the other end of the hose that was still stuck up under the dash. The original ones were pretty far gone.

I got two of these defrost duct hoses from SOR. They were a bit pricey, but they are extremely well-made, and precisely fit the duct connectors under the dash and at the heater.

Before installing any of the heater box, I highly recommend connecting the defrost duct hoses behind the dash first. It is a snug fit, but these hoses are just the right size. I was able to tuck the bottom hanging duct hose ends out of the way while we installed the heater box.

At this point, the sequence of steps to follow is:
1. Mount the heater box with loose screws leaving wobble room.
2. Slide the gasket from the heater box to the blower duct onto the blower duct body.
3. Tighten heater box bolts and fasten the 90° defrost duct elbows to each side of the heater box body.
4. Connect the coolant hoses from the heater box to the firewall hose inlets.

 

[VA Mountain FJ40]

Install Restored Heater Box

At this point, the sequence of steps to follow is:
1. Mount the heater box with loose screws leaving wobble room.
2. Slide the gasket from the heater box to the blower duct onto the blower duct body.
3. Tighten heater box bolts and fasten the 90° defrost duct elbows to each side of the heater box body.
4. Connect the coolant hoses from the heater box to the firewall hose inlets.

Mount the heater box with loose screws, leaving wobble room

Slide the big square gasket from the heater box onto the blower duct body.

You can see things are starting to get crowded.

Use a socket with a long extension to tighten the left 2 heater box bolts. A ratcheting box wrench is recommended to tighten the right 2 bolts for clearance reasons.

Now it is time to connect the defrost duct hose elbows on either side of the heater box. Remember to put a clamp on first.

 

[VA Mountain FJ40]

4. Connect the coolant hoses from the heater box to the firewall hose inlets.

I used the old hardened coolant hoses that I removed from the old heater box and duplicated them with fresh new flexible hoses.

I found it a good idea to do a mock up of the connection first to ensure I was placing clamps where I could be able to tighten them once the hose was connected to the inlet.

I found out it is so much easier to do these hose connections with a little help. 90 seconds submerged inside a mug of hot water from the Keurig machine does a great job of softening and expanding the hose end.

Then squeeze a couple of drops of dishwashing liquid on your finger, and put a tiny coat inside the open heater hose end, it makes the snug connection to the firewall hose outlets much easier, especially in the limited space.

Once fully connected, ensure there are no bends or kinks in the coolant hoses. I made the inside hose a little too long, and had to remove it and trim it down to the correct length, and get rid of the slight kink in the hose.

Once you have the hoses seated on the firewall inlet tubes, you will realize the importance of proper clamp orientation when you go to tighten them.

… And that completes the 1968 FJ40 restored heater box installation.

 

[61twpw]

Great job and write up. Thanks for documenting.