Couple questions for first time cooling system rebuild (1 Viewer)

[thehumaneraser]

I have a 1993 Land Cruiser that has been sitting a lot recently due to the fact that I have to keep it at a relative's place. I finally have a little money to throw at some maintenance though so I've decided to rebuild most of my cooling system. Never worked on the cooling system before and I plan to do a detailed write-up with pics to help out anyone else doing this for the first time. Lots of great info out there already but would be nice to have it all in one place.

I just have a couple questions before I buy over $500 worth of parts.

1. Do I need to replace all the hose clamps, or just the ones for the PHH? For the PHH ones, anybody have a link to the clamps? Looks like Wit's End might be out right now

2. I read somewhere that it might be easier to reach some of the hoses with the throttle body out of the car. Is that true? Been thinking about doing a throttle body cleaning, new PCV, and new valve cover gasket anyways so I'll just knock them out all at once if that also helps with the coolant hoses, and the vacuum hoses too while I'm at it. If it doesn't make a difference I might split those into separate jobs.

3. At the moment what I'm planning to get from Wit's End is: radiator hose kit, little hose kit, curved heater hose kit, heater control valve, thermostat kit, pcv kit, vacuum hose kit, and valve cover gasket kit. Is that too much to try and do all in one day? I'm not new to working on my cruiser. I did a knuckle rebuild last year, though it did take a weekend. But I've never worked on the cooling system before so how long should I expect all that to take?

4. Anything else jump out as a must-do "easier while I'm in there" kind of thing?

Thanks

 

[davidp14]

Every piece of rubber in the engine bay should be replaced.

Sounds like you've got a real good start to your refresh. I reused all my factory constant torque type clamps but replaced the sardine can type. You could do all that in a day but if you stay focused and aren't like me.
I would do all the coolant stuff in a day and then the vc stuff another if it was me.

If you pull the throttle body, change your fuel filter.

 

[Wrencher93]

It sounds like you have a decent plan outlined. I don't know that I would count on getting all of that done in one day though. Not unless you uabe a nice shady place to work and you can really spend ALL day doing it. But, maybe you work faster than I do. I like to clean things as I go if I can. Nothing crazy but clean up mating surfaces and whatnot before I reassemble. The vacuum hoses aren't hard to replace if you're removing the throttle body and upper intake. If you're not then I'd save that job for another time and focus on the coolant hoses. I didn't replace the small hoses last time I worked on the system so I can't comment about how hard those will be. As far as the clamps, you shouldn't need to replace them unless they are damaged. Just the hoses.

 

[gummycarbs]

1) You need all the clamps. I used Breeze Liner clamps from Amazon. In my opinion, constant torque clamps are excessive and pointless in this application.

2) If you haven't done it, you'll want to pull the intake manifold off. It's likely full of carbon. There's a coolant hose running through it, and you'll want to replace all the vacuum hoses underneath. I used vacuum hose from Advanced Auto and it's holding up at least as well as the genuine Toyota vacuum hose I bought. Clean out the IAC chamber in the throttle body while you have it off.

3) I wouldn't bother with the valve cover unless you have a leak or want to check your valve clearance. I spent a full day removing, cleaning, and reinstalling my intake manifold.

4) All of the vacuum hoses.

 

[thehumaneraser]

Thanks for the tips. I guess I will split it up. Don't want to be in a hurry and my work space is outdoors so I like to have everything put back together at the end of the day. I'll do the cooling stuff first but I'll definitely add a fuel filter to the list for when I pull the throttle body.

@gummycarbs do you happen links to the Breeze clamps? Per the Wit's end diagram it looks like I'll need 10 #10 clamps, and then 2 large (54mm), 4 medium, and 8 small clamps. It's not clear to me what size the small clamps are...

I'll probably inspect all of mine too before I buy any because at $6 a pop that adds up. Will definitely do the vacuum hoses.

Trying to think if there's any major engine rubber not covered in my list... I forgot to mention the PHH but that's obviously on the list. Maybe the larger vacuum hoses by the charcoal canister? I believe that's these ones:

77279-60020
77754-60180
23273-66031
77795-60020

 

[LandLocked93]

If you go to the trouble of cleaning the intake, recommend a catch can to keep much of the future crud out. I've run one for a couple years. Nothing exotic, just the Husky brand plastic, compressed-air can. It indicates to me that I'm due for guide seals at least.

 

[TomH]

If you are going to replace the little hoses then you are going to have to remove the throttle body.

 

[gummycarbs]

@gummycarbs do you happen links to the Breeze clamps?

Nope, because I was ordering for multiple vehicles. I just measured the diameters in the engine compartment and looked up the clamp size ranges online.

 

[NLXTACY]

Breeze clamps are major pain right now. I’ve switched out to sending OEM clamps. I would only touch the valve cover if it’s visibly leaking and/or one of the spark plugs has oil on the long ceramic side. That means the tube seal is leaking snd it’ll cause misfire.

 

[LandLocked93]

OP may have to remove the valve cover to replace a vintage PCV grommet. Can try first without removing the cover. But if a chunk does go back in, it's safest to remove the cover to finish the job. There's a plate inside the cover that may or may not prevent a chunk from finding its way to the valvetrain, but I wouldn't trust that as a rule.
Plus it'll be easier to get the chunks out from the underside of that plate (internal to cover).

 

[manofthewoods]

OP may have to remove the valve cover to replace a vintage PCV grommet. Can try first without removing the cover. But if a chunk does go back in, it's safest to remove the cover to finish the job. There's a plate inside the cover that may or may not prevent a chunk from finding its way to the valvetrain, but I wouldn't trust that as a rule.
Plus it'll be easier to get the chunks out from the underside of that plate (internal to cover).

Excellent advice re: PCV grommet.
I waited until I assembled my cover, then pulled the valve and grommet from the top, what a pain. I got lucky, it came out whole, but it could'da broke up and fell into my freshly rebuilt engine.

 

[thehumaneraser]

OP may have to remove the valve cover to replace a vintage PCV grommet. Can try first without removing the cover. But if a chunk does go back in, it's safest to remove the cover to finish the job. There's a plate inside the cover that may or may not prevent a chunk from finding its way to the valvetrain, but I wouldn't trust that as a rule.
Plus it'll be easier to get the chunks out from the underside of that plate (internal to cover).

Good point. I've read about this happening to many others. I guess I could give it a shot without pulling the valve cover and then take it off if I botch it pulling out the pcv grommet. In that case should I replace the valve cover gasket or just put the cover back on? I don't have any leaks or anything so I don't feel compelled to replace something if there's no need to.

 

[thehumaneraser]

@NLXTACY or anyone else have part numbers for the OEM alternative to the constant torque clamps? Is it 90467-22004? I see those on Wit's End and I think I saw them in another thread. Also is that a pack of 10 or just one? And what about the small hose clamps in the Wit's End diagram (the red diamonds)? Anybody have a part number for those?

Looks like my local Napa also has the #10 constant torque clamps but they're $7 each. Who knew clamps could be so expensive...

 

[NLXTACY]

Always sold individually. The ones that Napa sells is Ideal and made in Mexico. It’s effectively the same as the made in USA breeze.

 

[Devils Paw 80]

Here's a link to some PHH options. PHH Kits - http://www.phhkit.com/phh-kits.html Marvin Webster long arms should make the job a breeze.

 

[NLXTACY]

At the end of the day the PHH is just a 5/8” hose that is 2-5/8” long with two clamps.

 

[thehumaneraser]

@NLXTACY and others thanks so much for the great info. Really helpful to get these questions answered when doing this for the first time. So I'll get 2 of those Napa #10 constant torque clamps for the PHH. I should be able to figure out the other clamps I need from this really helpful thread: 1996 FZJ80 Coolant & Heater Hose Part Numbers & Pictures

Also I decided to do the bypass on the PHH. Everything I'm reading sounds like it's an easier job, easier to fix on the trail if needed, and I haven't heard any major drawbacks to it. Some people prefer the original I'm sure but if I can save myself the trouble I'll take it. I guess my last question is how many feet of the Gates green stripe hose do I need for the bypass? I'm going around the brake booster so if I get an issue at one of the ends while out somewhere I can cut it and use the same hose to do a more direct fix. Saw that tip somewhere and I think it's a great idea.

 

[NLXTACY]

The bypass isn’t a bypass per se. It’s just a super lazy way of wrapping a long hose around the booster snd removing the PHH pipe from the equation. Once it’s repaired properly it’ll never need to be a trail fix for at least 15-20 years.

 

[thehumaneraser]

Are you suggesting replacing the PHH the original way is better? Any reason to think the bypass would need to be replaced sooner? If we're talking 10-15 years until the bypass will have to be replaced that sounds alright to me. I like the idea of simplifying the system from two hoses, a metal pipe, and 4 clamps to just one long hose and 2 clamps. But I don't have any personal experience with either way yet.

 

[Devils Paw 80]

Are you suggesting replacing the PHH the original way is better? Any reason to think the bypass would need to be replaced sooner? If we're talking 10-15 years until the bypass will have to be replaced that sounds alright to me. I like the idea of simplifying the system from two hoses, a metal pipe, and 4 clamps to just one long hose and 2 clamps. But I don't have any personal experience with either way yet.

Either way the new hose should last a helluva long time. Maybe consider Pin_head's solution on this thread.

The easy way is to remove the metal tube first:
1. Cut the lower hose (PHH) in half and let the fluid leak out.
2. Remove the upper hose and the upper tube bracket bolt.
3. Wiggle the tube back and forth for 5 minutes to break off the lower tube mounting bracket. (No need to fool around with trying to get this PITA bolt out).
4. Lift tube up and out. Install new hose on bench with clamps. Remove the remaining half of the PHH underneath. This is much easier to do with the tube out because there is more room.
5. lower hose assembly into position, shove hose end onto head nipple and tighten clamp.
6. assemble the upper part.
This can be accomplished in about 1 hour with no special tools and no injuries or cursing.

How to change your PHH quick!

Ice your fingers by drinking a cold refreshment!....Ice your fingers is about right. There is nothing easy about this even if you do it on a rack. There isn't room for your hands in there and getting the old hose off is like crapping a watermelon. You will be lucky if you aren't icing both...

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