80 series ac/heat trouble (1 Viewer)

[peyton]

Hey guys,
This is my first thread so here it goes. I bought a 1997 FZJ80 land cruiser a little over two years ago, and it was totaled when i found it and hadn't moved in 6 years. I've got it back to stock and more to where it's becoming an expedition vehicle now. One thing that hasn't worked since i got it is the heat or air conditioning. Going to list some quick info on it real quick.

-I've always used Toyotas red coolant
-got heat in the backseat
-no heat up front
-blows whatever air is outside
-all hoses connected to firewall are hot when heat is on
-pulled heater core out and its got the neon green coolant in it when i already replaced the radiator and drained the existing coolant

I'm honestly lost on what to do next I've done all the work on the cruiser myself including water pump, timing chain, starter, rebuilding front axles, all new bearings front and rear, new fenders, new hood, new front doors, and about to rebuild the engine entirely, so i know my way around the cruiser pretty well. I just can't figure this out so any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Travis 76]

See if there is any flow through the heater core. It may be totally plugged up, so your red coolant can't get through. You could take it to a radiator shop and have them clean it out, I don't know if these cores can be taken apart and cleaned. I've had that done in 3 different vehicles which suffered from no heat.

 

[Desert Dino]

Did you flush the heater core and it is not blocked?

 

[Desert Dino]

HVAC Heater Core Front APDI 9010487 | eBay

 

[peyton]

yes i had an AC shop do it today and i reinstalled it and it still didn't work. I was told that it might have something to do with the air and heat doors that are behind the vents, but the heat doesn't come when i turn the defroster on either.

 

[Cruzerman]

I'm thinking the flapper isn't working so it isn't allowing air to flow over the core.

 

[peyton]

how can i fix the flapper ... I haven't heard of the flapper yet

 

[bigredmachine]

is you heater control valve hooked up, if its in the closed position than you will not get any coolant flow into the heater core

 

[bigredmachine]

adjustment is set the ac control to full cold, adjust the valve position to full cold and install the cable

 

[BILT4ME]

Hey guys,
This is my first thread so here it goes. I bought a 1997 FZJ80 land cruiser a little over two years ago, and it was totaled when i found it and hadn't moved in 6 years. I've got it back to stock and more to where it's becoming an expedition vehicle now. One thing that hasn't worked since i got it is the heat or air conditioning. Going to list some quick info on it real quick.

-I've always used Toyotas red coolant
-got heat in the backseat
-no heat up front
-blows whatever air is outside
-all hoses connected to firewall are hot when heat is on
-pulled heater core out and its got the neon green coolant in it when i already replaced the radiator and drained the existing coolant

I'm honestly lost on what to do next I've done all the work on the cruiser myself including water pump, timing chain, starter, rebuilding front axles, all new bearings front and rear, new fenders, new hood, new front doors, and about to rebuild the engine entirely, so i know my way around the cruiser pretty well. I just can't figure this out so any help would be greatly appreciated.

Do you have the 40th anniversary edition by chance? You may have more climate controls in it that have failed due to a leaking windshield and it's not allowing the blend door (flappy thingy...) to move properly. (Same as the LX450)

However, if the HC still had green coolant when you had changed to red, then your heater valve on the firewall has not been opening and you need to flush all that out or the mixing of green and red will result in brown sludge and that WILL clog up stuff.

 

[bigredmachine]

how can i fix the flapper ... I haven't heard of the flapper yet

its the blend door on the blower bok behind the dash, dash would have to be removed to gain access

 

[Cruzerman]

Is your heater control valve moving when you adjust the temperature control? The valve is shown in the picture above sitting on the firewall. You can take off the cable and manually open the valve. If the valve opens, or you manually open it, and still get no heat, it is likely the blend door (i.e. flapper).

 

[Bambusiero]

Just got done with a coolant flush job (which I have done before, this and other cars).
When I finally got coolant in, after:
1) Tap water flush.
2) Tap water heat up / mix-in. (Got hot air right away)
3) 1st distilled water heat up/mix-in. (Got hot air right away)
4) 2nd distilled water heat up / mix-in. (Got hot air right away)
5) coolant heat up / mix-in - I got no hot air at all when the engine was up to temperature.
Totally cold! Whaat?
Ended up pulling the hose off of the heater valve, drivers side.
Poured some water directly into that hose, and also let some rise out due to the fill funnel level on the radiator.
Put the hose back on the valve and started the engine.
Got heat right away.

I think there was an air lock in the heater flow path.
Have never had that happen before.

 

[AbodeOnTheRoad]

I searched so many threads on the heater issue. Many seem to address the issue but don't follow up on the solution. Glad you were able to get your heat working again and thanks for sharing your solution.
I hope you don't mind me picking this thread to dump some of my lessons learned.
I spent the last couple of days trying to get some more heat it out of mine. Flushing the heater core seems to have given me a boost but still under 100 degrees.
The blend door was stuck open, or partially open. I wish I knew how to access it this summer while taking it home from Florida. Anyway, I pulled the cowl off and reached in with my phone to inspect the blend door. Here's what I saw:

The blend door is very open to the fresh air. I shoved my hands behind the blower for a while and fiddled around. I read a lot about removing the glove box but I never could find access to the blend door from there. It turns out that there is just so much wiring and whatnot that I couldn't see it. After moving wires around I found the blend door. With a long screwdriver I was able to push the door closed.

Back into the cowl you can see the door is (almost) fully closed now.

Next I'm going to test my heater control and amplifier.