DIY: Replacing heater hose pipe T's *important* (14 Viewers)

[GaFJC]

Thanks paflytyer, did this today as PM. Your tips were time savers.

My Ts were in great shape as luck would have it considering 134K miles and hot southern summers over the past 13 years. Hoses were in good shape also. The OEM clamps were still strong so I left them on and matched up the indentations.

I did the DS first as access is tighter on that side. Lost about a cup of coolant and caught it with a small container. The tip of using small pliers was a great one.

Access is not fun, I equate it to Toyota engineering induced yoga lessons in the engine bay.

 

[paflytyer]

Another thread on here had a member go all the way to 180k in a super-hot dry climate with the OEM plastic "T's". I don't think it's a good idea to test that kind of mileage, but it's good info for anyone considering the cost between OEM plastic and some kind of metal. OEM isn't a bad choice.

YMMV, but if you had your 90k/180k service done at SLEE, they will replace your T's with OEM ones. Good enough for me.

 

[OregonLC]

FWIW, I went with six new hoses and plastic OEM tees. A few tips:

- Much easier to cut off the hoses with a razor knife.

- On re-install you can get the clips exactly where you want them.

- I used needle-nose vice grips and clamps really weren't an issue.

- Regarding dissimilar metals, the nipples at the firewall appear to be aluminum (as I assume the heater cores to be). Other nipples look like a brass alloy. So I wouldn't worry too much about the brass tees.

 

[hoser]

Can you add the PN's for the 6 hoses to this thread?

 

[paflytyer]

Can you add the PN's for the 6 hoses to this thread?

X2... Nicely done. And if you add the PN's for the hoses, this thread will be complete. That's what we've been missing. How many miles on the hoses you replaced, and what kind of shape were they in?

 

[OregonLC]

It required the following. Clamps were re-used. You don't really need to know which hose goes where by part number, just build the new to match the old. Each hose has a unique shape.

87248-60460 x2 (Tee)
87245-6A180 x1
87245-6A210 x1
87245-6A190 x1
87245-6A220 x1
87245-6A201 x1
99556-20200 x1

 

[PIPO]

Just got done replacing the T fittings. Pretty easy job done in less than 30 mins. I did get in the engine bay with one knee on the battery and my left foot on top of the intake manifold.
My LC is a 99 with 125k miles and the old T's were in perfect conditions. The ground clamp didn't survive though, was brittle as s***.

 

[toadvine81]

Just did this myself. I'm tall, so it wasn't too hard to reach the clamps, but getting them off was a pain. The soapy water helps. My old Ts looked perfect — couldn't tell a difference between them and the new ones. It's a 98 with 112K, been in the Southwest all its life, and I just got it a month ago. Was expecting them to be brittle. Maybe the shop the PO took it to for the 90K service replaced them?

 

[PADDO]

Today I replaced my Pipe T's for the heater hoses. This should be included in your 90k service, but most shops (even Toyota) usually don't do it. If your service was done at Slee, they are one of the few that do it. That should tell you something.

It could leave you stranded and overheating somewhere far from home. For less than $15 in parts and about an hour, you can do it yourself. This is a 1 job for anyone with very basic tools. Long arms would sure help too. Toyota will charge you $100-$200+ to do it, so save yourself some time and a few bucks. Cheap insurance when you're far from home.
Part # 87248-60460

Installed the two heater hose Ts that I've had sitting on my workbench for the last three months, glad I did. No obvious signs of imminent failure, the slightest amount of dryed coolant crust on the hot side T, that's about it. Hot side crumbled on touching it, other side was fine. "03 with 123k. No doubt it would have failed soon.

Sent from my iPhone using IH8MUD

 

[super90]

Installed the two heater hose Ts that I've had sitting on my workbench for the last three months, glad I did. No obvious signs of imminent failure, the slightest amount of dryed coolant crust on the hot side T, that's about it. Hot side crumbled on touching it, other side was fine. "03 with 123k. No doubt it would have failed soon.

And this on an '03 with under 150k on it. I'm now even a bigger believer these are ten year parts that just get replaced.

Was on my PM list for the next month or so anyway.

I'm hoping you replaced the heater hoses as well !!!

 

[Supra88]

Recently replaced mine, a 2000 with 153,000 miles, and both my tees were solid with no signs of degradation. I wonder if there was a plastic resin change at some point? Mine appeared to be some sort of glass filled nylon.

 

[OregonLC]

Has anyone looked at the possible correlation between OEM coolant and generic? Not saying this is related, just curious. I wouldn't think PVC would be susceptible to chems.

My 2000 at 96k was just as strong as replacement and I know it had OEM juice.

 

[PADDO]

Has anyone looked at the possible correlation between OEM coolant and generic? Not saying this is related, just curious. I wouldn't think PVC would be susceptible to chems.

My 2000 at 96k was just as strong as replacement and I know it had OEM juice.

I'm running OEM juice too, purchased in 05 with 40k on it, full prior dealer service history, last coolant change done at 92k with TB/WP. She's only had Toy red. The old T material seems to have some sort of very fine fibre reinforcing and there is evidence of what appears to be erosion setting in on the outer periphery coil side, strange thing is I'd expect erosion on the inner surface that has fluid flowing through it, not the outer surface that is clamped to the rubber. Almost as if there is some sort of chem reaction between the clamped T and rubber? I'll be replacing hoses ASAP. Strange thing is this T's failure look pretty much like conventional metal corrosion with honey combing due to galvanic action, except its a plastic in contact with rubber!. Any one on the fence about replacing these Ts as a routine pm item should get onto it.

Sent from my iPhone using IH8MUD

 

[OregonLC]

Could be that the corrosion is induced with contact to atmosphere. Or it could be that the outer finish had porosity allowing the fibers to wick coolant in.

 

[APKhaos]

The hot side of mine went this way. It was remarkable that the material had degraded so badly. Brass is for keeps.

 

[adrenalinefjz80]

I just replaced my T's. The drivers side T broke on the engine half end when I removed it. 99 with 164K.

 

[pavieSD]

Just finished updating my heater hoses and t-fittings. I've had the parts for a good few months but finally got around to getting this preventative maintenance done. My rig is an all California highway driver, with just over 180,000 miles. A word to the wise, my OEM plastic t-fittings looked perfect in the engine bay, and I even spent a little time squeezing the hoses and such with no issues. However, upon removal, the pictures speak for themselves:

Original OEM plastic t-fittings with the original OEM hoses:

What happened when I attempted to remove the plastic t-fittings:

If you look inside of both heater hoses, you'll see that the plastic t fitting has essentially melted to the inside of the hose, fusing the two together.

This happened in both hoses, and I have no doubt that with a good bump, or some severe torquing of the frame/engine, that either of those t-fittings could have broken and caused a total loss of coolant. As I plan to drive this rig for a very long time, I'm glad that I did this preventative maintenance.

New hoses and t-fittings, all fixed:

Final observation, after driving it around and checking for leaks, I felt the brass T's and they do get very hot. Essentially that plastic t-fitting is getting up to 190 degrees (or more) every time you drive your rig, and I have no doubt that the plastic t-fitting will eventually fatigue and break from the hot/cool cycle. Although Toyota doesn't consider this something that should be replaced with mileage, I feel much better having a solid metal piece that won't fail, versus the OEM plastic. Just my 2 cents. Thanks to the OP for posting this, as I never would have guessed this to be an issue before I started the maintenance work.

Mark

 

[hankinid]

Just finished updating my heater hoses and t-fittings. I've had the parts for a good few months but finally got around to getting this preventative maintenance done. My rig is an all California highway driver, with just over 180,000 miles. A word to the wise, my OEM plastic t-fittings looked perfect in the engine bay, and I even spent a little time squeezing the hoses and such with no issues. However, upon removal, the pictures speak for themselves:

Final observation, after driving it around and checking for leaks, I felt the brass T's and they do get very hot. Essentially that plastic t-fitting is getting up to 190 degrees (or more) every time you drive your rig, and I have no doubt that the plastic t-fitting will eventually fatigue and break from the hot/cool cycle. Although Toyota doesn't consider this something that should be replaced with mileage, I feel much better having a solid metal piece that won't fail, versus the OEM plastic. Just my 2 cents. Thanks to the OP for posting this, as I never would have guessed this to be an issue before I started the maintenance work.

Mark

Mark, great post.

Where did you find the t's, and did you use same barb diameters on the run v. the t, or a different size on the t?

Thanks

Steve

 

[pavieSD]

Mark, great post.

Where did you find the t's, and did you use same barb diameters on the run v. the t, or a different size on the t?

Thanks

Steve

T's were the ones specified on Mud in the various threads. 5/8 all around. The junction (bottom) hoses are a slightly different size, but I managed to get it still snugged up on the fitting, just not quite as far up as the other 2. With a good sturdy worm hose clamp, I don't have any doubts that it'll work fine and be leak free.

I tried to find the Brass T's locally, but even the specialized plumber stores didn't have them in 5/8. Definitely a no go at the home depot, lowes etc. The brass t's showed up on the website, but were discontinued when I had them check at the store locations.

I ended up ordering from amazon, total for two shipped was about 18 bucks.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007ZCS530/ref=oh_details_o04_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[hankinid]

I ended up ordering from amazon, total for two shipped was about 18 bucks.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007ZCS530/ref=oh_details_o04_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Thank you.

Steve