DIY: Replacing heater hose pipe T's *important* (8 Viewers)

[Rolocado]

I did this job the other day, however as I was replacing the first one, a small piece of the end on one of the T's broke, and I'm not sure if it went down another pipe. I tipped out as much fluid as I can to "wash it out" If it happened to have gotten in my system, 1- what's the worst that could happen, and 2- what should/could I do to remedy before the worst happens. It's been a couple of days and nothing seems out of the ordinary

 

[medtro]

I just replaced original tees at 250,000 miles. The old ones were not broken, disintegrating or ready to fall apart. They were perfectly fine and the only way I could destroy them was with pliers. That being said, don't overthink this people. Go to Home Depot, buy two 1/2" brass tees in the Pex or plumbing section, buy your worm clamps, swap them out and call it a day. Works perfectly and will outlive me. I swear, for owning what we all think are the most bullet proof trucks on the road, we sure coddle them a lot... *shaking head*
For perspective: yes I'm the guy who still has his original timing belt, hasn't ever flushed his power steering reservoir, is still stopping happily with his original master brake cylinder, has never replaced his steering rack, and runs 15,000 miles between Mobil 1 extended oil changes...and my truck still drives better than any of my friends suvs. Their words, not mine. #endrant

What is the extra clamps for?

 

[Muddy Bean]

Left the originals there just in case of a future emergency. If the worm clamps let go or something I have backups right where I need them.

 

[93yotasr5]

Can you post the Gates part numbers for the noted hose parts?

View attachment 1434589

These are the two gates hoses I used for the whole set up.

 

[KillerBox]

I am going to tackle this job soon and wanted to know which T's seem to be doing the best? Thanks everyone for your help!

 

[93yotasr5]

I am going to tackle this job soon and wanted to know which T's seem to be doing the best? Thanks everyone for your help!

Id go with the stainless steel T's from 4 seasons. I paid $11 each for them.

 

[JS114]

238k miles. Assume they were original. Took about an hour, but will be easier next time with the clamps now better positioned. The one is pieces was super fun to get out. May have lost a sliver or it may be sitting behind the engine...

 

[Rolocado]

I would imagine the demand for heater T's around the country has spiked due to this thread

 

[BullElk]

For perspective: yes I'm the guy who still has his original timing belt, hasn't ever flushed his power steering reservoir, is still stopping happily with his original master brake cylinder, has never replaced his steering rack, and runs 15,000 miles between Mobil 1 extended oil changes...and my truck still drives better than any of my friends suvs.

You're preaching to the choir now. Never have flushed brake fluid either. Why should I for crying out loud ?? OCD maintenance is overated. Sound maintenance is NOT overrated and what puts these legitimate SUVs (mine at least) in the..."there can't possibly be a cheaper vehichle to own and drive anywhere there's Earth under ya"...... category.

 

[JAntosch]

'04 w/ 101k. Replaced mine w/ 4seasons T's and Gates hoses a few days ago. DS had some cracking on one end:

Trimmed and kept as spares, didn't look too bad overall. Hoses would have been good for another 90k, figured I might as well replace while in there.

Mild cursing/2 beer job.

 

[KillerBox]

My 2001 LX470 is still at the stereo shop. So I was only able to take a picture of mine but, they look to be in good shape.

Unless y'all see something?

 

[BullElk]

I got the Shark Bite brass Tees 3/4 x 3/4 x 1/2. They were way too small. I went with the $4 Dorman plastic 5/8 x 5/8 x 5/8 from Oreillys. It fit better. I guess due to the angled ends. It actually didn't look any smaller than the 3/4 brass. ????

 

[sleepycruiser]

I changed one out today....I just lost my patience trying to get the one closest to the center of the LC. The outer one was in visually awful shape anyway and the other looks ok.

The one I changed crumbled as soon as I put any pressure on it. I left the clamps facing up for next time. Still need to do the other one but since it looks ok I will leave it for now.

 

[Brent Trudo]

 

[Brent Trudo]

So thanks to this post. I avoided catastrophic failure of my LC100. I originally replaced my radiator. Last weekend while replacing my spark plugs , I noticed one of these T's weeping. Ordered New T's from Toyota and replaced them this morning. The first T just crumbled when I tried removing the first clamp. This was a chore because both T's fell apart. I dug out the remaining plastic with a screw driver. Oh and I replaced the radiator for good measure. I think one good pot hole or bump could of split that T in half on the road. Who know what would of happened. Enjoy!

 

[rmedge7]

Wanted to give a huge thanks for everyone contributing to this post and to @paflytyer for the great step by step guide. A few notes from my experience (these may be very obvious and specific, but for a noob like me they may be helpful):

1. Soapy water is KEY and is very helpful in getting those clamps to move
2. First just worry about turning the clamps for easier access, don't try to actually move them off of the T's in their original orientation
3. Patience, patience, patience...it's so easy to get frustrated with these things. I would move one clamp, take a beer break, move the next clamp, beer break, etc.
4. Work from the passenger's side also. A couple of the clamps on the T closer to the passenger's side were easier to get to from here (sure you're pretty much laying in the engine bay, but it works)
5. I used a cup to catch the coolant as the OP suggested and this worked really well. The first hose that I pulled off was from the forward most part of the driver's side T. When that came off, coolant started to leak out of the exposed end of the T, and a small plastic cup was perfect to catch this and top off the coolant when all was said and done. As OP mentioned, I got approximately a cup of coolant. This also keeps you from cleaning up any mess.
6. I pulled the driver's side T first as it was easier to access. BEFORE putting in the new T, go ahead and get the other old T out. Without that T blocking the way, the clamps on the T closer to the passenger's side are easier to get to.
7. Confirmed - the shorter the handles on your pliers, the better.
8. For God's sake when you install the new T's orient the clamps so that they're more easily accessible for the next person (hopefully yourself) to do this. This would cut the time of this job in half, at least.

Here are what my T's looked like after 162,xxx miles:

I couldn't break either T with my hand, but as you can see the ring broke off on one end of each T during removal. I didn't notice until installing the new T's, but these rings had become embedded in the hose preventing the new T's from going all the way in. I used a small flathead to pry the pieces out of the hoses, careful not to let them fall down the hose.

Thanks again to everyone here for the help!

 

[Riviera]

They replaced my Tees yesterday (thanks to this post) with brass ones I bought off amazon and all the little hoses which I got from the local Toyota store. The tech told me that they hadn't even touched the tees, but as they were pulling the hoses off the heater core, he started to hear a drip. It was one of the tees failing, caused by the moving around of the hoses. We had just taken the ole LX on a long road trip a few weeks ago. Glad it didn't happen then. Thanks to everyone who contributed to this thread.

The Amazon Tees I bought, ASIN # B007ZCS530 , nice heavy duty brass Tees.

The hoses cost me $103 out the door from the local Toyota dealer, but I got an employee discount.

 

[Jeepster09]

You're preaching to the choir now. Never have flushed brake fluid either. Why should I for crying out loud ?? OCD maintenance is overated. Sound maintenance is NOT overrated and what puts these legitimate SUVs (mine at least) in the..."there can't possibly be a cheaper vehichle to own and drive anywhere there's Earth under ya"...... category.

Brake fluid flush can save you a ton of money! Brake fluid absorbs moisture, moisture causes corrosion. Wait till you have to change an anti lock module due to piston sticking [no internal module parts available]. New, I have seen them cost up to a grand!
Maintenance is far cheaper than waiting for something to break. I had a boss once that waited for the oil change maintenance light to come on and then he would change his oil on a Chevy Impala, he ended up having to have camshaft and lifters replaced due to failure [lack of proper lubrication].

 

[chrisratz]

OK I have the 6 hoses and the 2 T's - I'm going to do the replacement this week. This may be a dumb question, but if I back the truck up on ramps, would it cut down on the amount of coolant loss?

 

[BullElk]

I turkey basted about a quart of coolant from radiator first...and I only lost a few drops of coolant from T hoses....with front of LX down on unlevel driveway.