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

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Ramathorn15 said:
We discussed this today, but for anyone else looking to hook up a helton, the hose #1 can be replaced with a line from the engine block, to the helton, then back to the T. That will give you constant hot water without the need to run the heater inside. You won't be able to control the temp though, so I recommend a splitter (I used a bidet one) to give you a constant temp
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I like the idea of coming directly off the engine block to the inlet of the Helton heat exchanger. Planning to just match your setup since it seems to be working pretty well.
 
Just adding another data point. Just purchased my new to me 2000 LX470 with 185k miles. Great shape, but considering it came from auction decided to have the local land cruiser independent shop in OKC do a timing belt, replace the radiator (which was leaking), and on a whim because of this forum, also replace the heater-t's since we were doing so much with the coolant out (also added a block heater) and new thermostat housing since it was cracked upon opening. The old heater t's crumbled being taken out, so yeah, good idea to get them replaced. Just replaced with the same OE.
 
Sooner08 said:
Just adding another data point. Just purchased my new to me 2000 LX470 with 185k miles. Great shape, but considering it came from auction decided to have the local land cruiser independent shop in OKC do a timing belt, replace the radiator (which was leaking), and on a whim because of this forum, also replace the heater-t's since we were doing so much with the coolant out (also added a block heater) and new thermostat housing since it was cracked upon opening. The old heater t's crumbled being taken out, so yeah, good idea to get them replaced. Just replaced with the same OE.
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I'm in OKC too. Which shop did the work?
 
Dent depot and tear repair. Good prices, good work, very good about discussing issues, and good warranties.
 
Changed both heater Ts, the hot side was broken just by me undoing the clips...i could've been stranded on the road, just came back from a beach trip too, played with fire.

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Riviera said:
That's why I went with brass for a replacement. Should be good for as long as the vehicle is on the road.
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I couldn't find a local T at Home Depot in the right size. Ended up using OEM plastic ones, they lasted 190K miles so I'll replace again in another 100K
 
Replacing these took me less than 10 minutes, you've gotta be willing to crawl into your engine bay. Right side of the bay, behind the intake box is a huge empty spot, sit in there and you can change these out easily.
 
What do you guys think? Should I replace these hoses too? They feel and look ok, but ~245K, was well maintained but one T was probably replaced at some point.
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I just ordered tees and hoses. Several people on here have said that if you assemble them before you put them in, it makes the whole job easier. And you avoid the hassle of pieces of a crumbling tee falling down into hoses you're trying to reuse.
 
Personally, I'd replace the tees and the hoses. It will take you longer than the 10 minutes @FxFormat said it took him... It took me the better part of an hour to do all of mine, taking my time, cleaning things as I went. I'm also 6' & 240#, I don't fit in the engine compartment! I did toss a blanket over the intake and fenders and laid in over the top and worked.

What I did was cut out the old tees/hoses so I didn't have a tee break off and crumble into the cooling lines and assembled the new ones on the work bench and reinstalled as a complete unit.
 
Dwight S said:
Personally, I'd replace the tees and the hoses. It will take you longer than the 10 minutes @FxFormat said it took him... It took me the better part of an hour to do all of mine, taking my time, cleaning things as I went. I'm also 6' & 240#, I don't fit in the engine compartment! I did toss a blanket over the intake and fenders and laid in over the top and worked.

What I did was cut out the old tees/hoses so I didn't have a tee break off and crumble into the cooling lines and assembled the new ones on the work bench and reinstalled as a complete unit.
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Hehe I’m 5’8 so I can contort my body into the engine bay easily. I also had the hose clamp tool at my shop to do it with and I only replaced the tees itself. Makes things easier since the clamps are turned downwards making it very difficult for ordinary pliers to get to.
 
Two tees. You won’t lose much coolant. A cup or so. Toss a couple of shop rags down behind the engine, below the tees. They’ll soak most of it up.
 
SO glad I had this done, ordered the Ts and had my trusted mechanic install them today as preventative maintenance (04 LC, stock, 130k miles). He said one broke when he removed it. If you have still have the original set — Do. This. Now.
 
There are a lot of posts, sorry if this is a dumb question. It's difficult to search on this ("ts", "tees", "inch", "size"...?)

I'm just trying to find what size Ts I need if I get brass.
 
Couvi said:
SO glad I had this done, ordered the Ts and had my trusted mechanic install them today as preventative maintenance (04 LC, stock, 130k miles). He said one broke when he removed it. If you have still have the original set — Do. This. Now.
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At this age, I think most will break when touched.

Don't touch unless you have replacements ready! Especially if you're driving at night, out of state, without tools.
 
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