RET2
SILVER Star
Would just pulling the battery in the spare work?
Cool Box; I used to be all “meh” now I am all “WooHoo!” (3 Viewers)
- Thread starter Pnw425
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SQRRRL
SILVER Star
I have the tray in the COOL BOX and have enjoyed the ice cold Redbulls from day one. I’m surprised at the amount of COOLER haters.
Cool box for the win. Returning home from butcher and had a detour - steaks stayed super chill.
ranma21
Supporting Vendor
Yea love the cool box. Use it all the time with beverage and ice cream, meat when we do grocery.
SQRRRL
SILVER Star
I’ve got mine loaded with Redbull.
I agree. I purchased the same tray and have been enjoying it daily.These trays make the coolbox a notch better.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01K...=land+cruiser+accessories&dpPl=1&dpID=41SEAdW
SQRRRL
SILVER Star
How long will the ice cream last?! Never thought. Road trip ice cream sandwiches !
ranma21
Supporting Vendor
I never leave it in there more than 40 mintutes, that is the longest time for me to get home from a grocery store. And when I took it out it was as if getting out from the freezer.
I actually dropped a remote temp probe in mine and monitored the inside temps once on a road trip, it barely got down to about 40 degrees, which is about the maximum for perishible food safety. So I wouldn't leave stuff in there for a long time if it could spoil (4 hours is maximum time recommended), especially not ice cream.
Cruiser Jimmy
Moderator
anybody have their coolbox fan not working? I just tried to pull the fan and it requires evacuating the A/C system. I can't find a why to pull the paneling and leave the evaporator in place to access the fan motor.
Markuson
SILVER Star
You can get to it without disconnecting the ACbutIts a huuuge PITA.
To top off the frustrating disassembly...after you tear everything out...there this ONE final screw that points directly upward....and is nearly impossible to get to. I mean like...not even a tiny ratchet with a phillips bit can fit in there. I finally ordered a special, very weird “screwdriver” that is flat, and that has only the tiniest, shortest phillips on it...then I bent it 90 degrees. Only then could I get at the screw...barely.
Here that “screwdriver;
When I finally put it all back together, I think I decided to leave that screw out...as it seemed utterly pointless except to induce pain and frustration.
I found out the hard way that I could have avoided the AC mess.... but here’s a taste of the fun you’ll have digging down to the fan...
Don’t do this:
My advice would be to see what various Toyota dealers quote you for the job. Another mud member got his done for around $300...which is a bargain for all the time and hassle getting to it.
Thankfully the fan was all mine needed... but man what a pain.
My cool box is super useful- keeps my 3 month old milk and my scotch chilled 
You can get to it without disconnecting the ACbutIts a huuuge PITA.
To top off the frustrating disassembly...after you tear everything out...there this ONE final screw that points directly upward....and is nearly impossible to get to. I mean like...not even a tiny ratchet with a phillips bit can fit in there. I finally ordered a special, very weird “screwdriver” that is flat, and that has only the tiniest, shortest phillips on it...then I bent it 90 degrees. Only then could I get at the screw...barely.
Here that “screwdriver;
When I finally put it all back together, I think I decided to leave that screw out...as it seemed utterly pointless except to induce pain and frustration.
I found out the hard way that I could have avoided the AC mess.... but here’s a taste of the fun you’ll have digging down to the fan...
Don’t do this:
My advice would be to see what various Toyota dealers quote you for the job. Another mud member got his done for around $300...which is a bargain for all the time and hassle getting to it.
Thankfully the fan was all mine needed... but man what a pain.
I regret not photographing my experience when I did this repair myself last month. Fortunately, I ended up succeeding with far less suffering than expected. There's no doubt that the project is a pain as you say, but I was able to get it sorted in less than 3 hours or so without removing either of the front seats. It really came down to simply being methodical and accepting the fact that there will always be another screw that needs to be removed before you're able to finally swap in the new fan/motor.
I'd read your posts prior to starting the project and was prepared to track down the single upward-facing screw at some point in the process. After I finally found it, I did some very careful investigating (i.e. inferring) and decided that the area surrounding that screw was not particularly critical. A bit of pry-bar action was all it took to fully remove the insulating plastic from the screw. I was able to pull it off without needing to reach the philips head at all. It's directly below the condenser lines, so I had to be careful where I applied pressure. However, after pulling straight upwards, with force applied to the area immediately surrounding the shaft of the screw with the pry bar, I was able to deform the tapped plastic enough to release the entire piece. Fortunately, the risk turned out to be worthwhile, because the plastic into which that screw is seated is more or less inconsequential to the fit or visual finish of the cool box – it goes into the lowest point of the dual-walled insulated walls of the box and isn't visible from the inside or outside of the console. As an added bonus with my brute-force technique, I was able to use the now-deformed tapped hole to reseat the insulated wall during reassembly by simply pressing the still-in-place original hole onto the still-in-place screw then pressing down until I could reclip the removable snap-clips.
Luckily, I put the time and effort into the repair right before I'll surely completely ignore the cool box during winter here in New England.
Last edited:
Markuson
SILVER Star
I regret not photographing my experience when I did this repair myself last month and ended up succeeding with far less suffering than expected. There's no doubt that the project is a pain as you say, but I was able to get it sorted in less than 3 hours or so without removing either of the front seats. It really came down to simply being methodical and accepting the fact that there will always be another screw that needs to be removed before you're able to finally swap in the new fan/motor.
I'd read your posts prior to starting the project and was prepared to track down the single upward-facing screw at some point in the process. After I finally found it, I did some very careful investigating (i.e. inferring) and decided that the area surrounding that screw was not particularly critical. A bit of pry-bar action was all it took to fully remove the insulating plastic from that particular screw, without needing to reach the philips head at all. It's directly below the condenser lines, so I had to be careful where I applied pressure. However, after pushing straight upwards, with force applied to the area immediately surrounding the shaft of the screw, I was able to deform the tapped plastic enough to release the entire piece. Fortunately, the risk turned out to be worthwhile, because the plastic into which that screw is seated is more or less inconsequential to the fit or visual finish of the cool box – it goes into the lowest point of the dual-walled insulated walls of the box. As an added bonus with my brute-force technique, I was able to use the now-deformed tapped hole to reseat the insulated wall during reassembly by simply pressing the still-in-place original hole onto the still-in-place screw then pressing down until I could reclip the removable snap-clips.
Luckily, I put the time and effort into the repair right before I'll surely completely ignore the cool box during winter here in New England.
Glad you had an easier time.
Lots of PITA things have easier, but unknown methods at the time...but it’s still a pain.
Trouble with prying stuff is that sometimes it turns out well, and other times it snaps stuff because of pesky unseen screws etc. I definitely made mine harder in a couple of instances from my own mistakes. I’m curious if they changed anything in its “screwiness” after my early 200 built in 2007.
Anyway... Nicely done.
Last edited:
Cruiser Jimmy
Moderator
Cruiser Jimmy
Moderator
You can get to it without disconnecting the ACbutIts a huuuge PITA.
To top off the frustrating disassembly...after you tear everything out...there this ONE final screw that points directly upward....and is nearly impossible to get to. I mean like...not even a tiny ratchet with a phillips bit can fit in there. I finally ordered a special, very weird “screwdriver” that is flat, and that has only the tiniest, shortest phillips on it...then I bent it 90 degrees. Only then could I get at the screw...barely.
Here that “screwdriver;
View attachment 2462707
When I finally put it all back together, I think I decided to leave that screw out...as it seemed utterly pointless except to induce pain and frustration.
I found out the hard way that I could have avoided the AC mess.... but here’s a taste of the fun you’ll have digging down to the fan...
View attachment 2462711View attachment 2462714
Don’t do this:
View attachment 2462729
My advice would be to see what various Toyota dealers quote you for the job. Another mud member got his done for around $300...which is a bargain for all the time and hassle getting to it.
Thankfully the fan was all mine needed... but man what a pain.
My goodness! Given that oil changes, battery swaps and tire rotations are pretty much all I can do I think I'll stay away from this endeavor. The cool box on my 2009 LC recently seems to have died. I'm assuming its the fan because the green power light goes on in the box, the A/C in the vehicle is blowing cold but there's no air flowing into the box. I recently went to the dealership for the seatbelt warranty fix so when I brought in my LC for that I mentioned the cool box. After about 30 minutes the service advisor comes to me and says, "The only option we see here is a complete replacement of the box assembly for about $3,000." After I stopped laughing I said to just do the seatbelt.
If anyone knows of any other options (non-do it yourself) I'd appreciate the info. Since this seems to not be an isolated event I'd imagine Toyota has done these repairs before. I'd actually go with the $300 option if it was available. TIA
If their out of the one labeled for LC, just order the one branded Lx. Fits the same. Mine did.These trays make the coolbox a notch better.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01K...=land+cruiser+accessories&dpPl=1&dpID=41SEAdW
