Cowl vent question

[antFJ]

The full 73 model year had a functioning vent. It was the heater change in 74 with the vent on top for the vent being sealed. The 73 lever changed locations and I believe worked the opposite way. Pre 73 model pulled to close, pushed to open. I have 9/67 68 model and 3/73 model I can check but doubt there is any difference in what has already been posted. Would have to measure in the morning since it's already close to ninety degrees here.

i've been afraid to ask... mine is closed when pulled and i thought that was strange but I never payed attention to it before i disassembled the truck!

 

[Living in the Past]

i've been afraid to ask... mine is closed when pulled and i thought that was strange but I never payed attention to it before i disassembled the truck!

I've owned my 68 for over forty years and has always seen backwards from the first time I used it. 73 maybe Toyota finally thought the same thing. While it ended operation here with the 74 model Toyota had functioning vents into the eighties on non heater models. I should check on 73 to see for sure if it operates the opposite. Prior to the 73 model the knob was to the left of the heater on LHD models. 73 it was over the heater under the radio opening that started with the 73 model. If the radio was the cause for the change

 

[JohnnyC]

I did a quick check and the functional vent went to 9/79' in several markets... No heaters

 

[Racer65]

I did a quick check and the functional vent went to 9/79' in several markets... No heaters

That explains why Toyota didn't redesign the cowl to phase out the vents completely. I know these vents haven't exactly been the most loved feature over the years, but as the years go on I think such idiosyncrasy adds to the cool factor (some pun intended).

 

[Bear]

Johnny,

The cowl vents were standard on FJ4x for good reason in the GCC (Middle East) through April 1986, and heaters could be specially ordered, but were obviously quite rare in that part of the world. I have seen an example of a factory black FJ40LX, red factory cloth upholstery, with every bell and whistle on it, heat and A/C, etc.--owned by a member of the huge Royal Saudi family.

Cowl vents have some use here in the Southwest US, so not so much an anachronism universally.

On the models imported into the US without a cowl vent, did the cowls still have the under-dash molded steel bucket ?

 

[Honger]

I've got a '77 General Market FJ40 here in the UAE... and it has the functional vent.

I've got a fairly well preserved gasket (its water tight) and haven't bothered to open the vent because I didn't want to break any seal that may be there. My hoses have been replaced with garden hose. I've taken the top vent off to clean out debris.

Mind DOES NOT have the edge groove on the outside. Happy to shoot some photos if folks are interested.

 

[Bear]

Honger,

I have several new of those later gaskets and decided to install one about a year ago. By now it is crispy and no longer supple.
My guess is that the original material used for these was neither UV nor heat tolerant.
In your area I cannot imagine they would last very long, but with little rain and cold, probably not too noticeable as long as the drain hoses are operable.

As with all the "rubber" and "plastic" items on the Land Cruisers, it would be greatly appreciated if the folks remaking items could investigate using better, modern, chemically-improved compounds to overcome the effects of weathering. Some modern vehicles out there today are better than others in that regard.

 

[Racer65]

Updating this thread with a link and a few shots, since my new cowl vent gasket is now released.

 

[Living in the Past]

 

[Brandog]

I have a BJ40 1978. Came from the Canary Islands. I noticed no vent knob but the vent mechanism is there behind the radio. No heater. So I'm going to try to rebuild the cowl vent gasket so it doesn't leak. Went through a big puddle and water splashed onto the hood and through the vent onto my feet. Nice! To be continued....

 

[fcgadget]

On my '71 I bought the replacement hoses, installed the passenger side, but there was no way I could get my hands up inthere on the left one. Gave up and just stuck a cork in it

 

[Engineer8000]

The full 73 model year had a functioning vent. It was the heater change in 74 with the vent on top for the vent being sealed. The 73 lever changed locations and I believe worked the opposite way. Pre 73 model pulled to close, pushed to open. I have 9/67 68 model and 3/73 model I can check but doubt there is any difference in what has already been posted. Would have to measure in the morning since it's already close to ninety degrees here.

For reference, I have a 10/72 with functional cowl vent and stock radio hole. The cowl vent push/pull rod is bent to clear the under side of the radio. This rod interferes with the top of the 74+ heater with top vent. That may part of the reason they ditched the cowl vent in 74.

 

[Living in the Past]

For reference, I have a 10/72 with functional cowl vent and stock radio hole. The cowl vent push/pull rod is bent to clear the under side of the radio. This rod interferes with the top of the 74+ heater with top vent. That may part of the reason they ditched the cowl vent in 74.

They didn't really ditch the cowl vent in models with a heater in 74/75/76. It was just vent shut and all the linkage to operate it was gone. 77 model the vent was completely removed if a factory heater was installed. 74 still had the drains running thru the fire. 75/76 models with the welded shut vent the drains went the tunnel cover. That continued to the end of production in 40 series without a heater. Plenty of Central and South America later cruisers are showing up without heater and drains in the hump that is part of the tub starting 1/79. My poor 73 had the original heater removed and a funky heater and aftermarket A/C installed. Because of that the rod is missing on mine and unable to check how the operation works. If it's reversed of the 66-72 models not sure.

 

[Engineer8000]

How was the vent closed off in the 74+ models with heater? I envision some sort of plate welded or otherwise fastened over the hole, or was it just not cut out for a damper?

 

[rkymtnflyfisher]

How was the vent closed off in the 74+ models with heater? I envision some sort of plate welded or otherwise fastened over the hole, or was it just not cut out for a damper?

I'm not sure how the hole is closed whether it is a plate welded in or they just didn't cur the hole out in the 74 model, but there are the 2 drain tubes that drain any water that goes in there.

 

[Engineer8000]

Could be tacked in place with some sealer?

 

[73FJ40]

@Living in the Past

They didn't really ditch the cowl vent in models with a heater in 74/75/76. It was just vent shut and all the linkage to operate it was gone. 77 model the vent was completely removed if a factory heater was installed. 74 still had the drains running thru the fire. 75/76 models with the welded shut vent the drains went the tunnel cover. That continued to the end of production in 40 series without a heater. Plenty of Central and South America later cruisers are showing up without heater and drains in the hump that is part of the tub starting 1/79. My poor 73 had the original heater removed and a funky heater and aftermarket A/C installed. Because of that the rod is missing on mine and unable to check how the operation works. If it's reversed of the 66-72 models not sure.

On my 1/73 FJ40:
Yes, indeed, the cowl vent knob was pull out to open and push in to close.
Also, the knob shaft had to be offset from straight to avoid the radio.

Closed

Open

 

[Living in the Past]

After

@Living in the Past

Yes, indeed, the cowl vent knob was pull out to open and push in to close.
Also, the knob shaft had to be offset from straight to avoid the radio.

Closed

View attachment 2194917

OpenView attachment 2194918

I am aware of the offset which is different than previous years. Believe if I searched thru my parts would eventually find a earlier straight rod. Do not believe I have the angle rod anywhere. Wish I would have know about the difference and noticed mine didn't have the rod. Years ago I picked up a reverse light out of a wrecking yard most likely had the rod as well. Even if I didn't need would have picked it up had a known it was a one year only part. Guess I should be happy at least the front support bracket was still there.

 

[largeone]

Great thread! Thank You to all who have contributed!

I finally found some time to take the heater out of my 1967 and see what is going on with my cowl vent. The vent seems to function (cycles up and down) fine, but the actuating cable is missing and the spring is not connected to anything.

would someone be willing to post a picture of the spring attachment, where it connects to the truck, and also what the early cable looked like? It seems like the cable would need to be fairly stout to be able to actuate the vent in both directions?

TIA

PS...Thank you City Racer for the reproduced drain tubes. They work great! I’ll likely be ordering a vent seal soon if I can get it working right!

Edit: for clarification, my ‘67 pulls to open vent and pushes to close.

 

[Cromagnon]

but the actuating cable is missing

It is not a cable you are looking for, you need a rod. Look at the pictures in post #97. In order for a cable to work it would need to pull in both directions. Not unheard of but a PITA to accomplish when a simple rod will work.