FJ60 Aftermarket heater cores VS OEM

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Emeeks

Emeeks

Joined
Aug 7, 2006
Threads
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Location
Colorado Springs Colorado
I'm looking for some feedback on After market FJ60 heater cores. Has anyone had any issues with them? I have read some of the post that said they were different than the OEM core in some way.
Toyota wants to much and the price on the one from Performance Radiator makes me kind of wonder.
I am planning on doing this myself so I will take any good advice also. Thanks in advance
Eric
:cheers:
 
I noticed this thread, and your other thread as well. My experience here is limited, but it is a topic of interest to me. I had hoped that you might get some responses.

I'm sure you know that the front heater core in the 60-series Cruisers is, by most accounts, difficult to remove. Because of this, most of the threads involve cleaning or flushing the core in place, rather than removing it. Perhaps this is why no one is posting; they just have never dived into this situation. Search for Ducks' thread; he is one of the few that has gone into it.

My truck's heater is good but not great. I've been hesitant to pull the core, though, because of the reports I have read. I'd like to have a spare truck, a junker, so that I could carefully dismantle the heat system and learn more about it. Specifically, I have wondered if the core from another year/make/model would work.

I also understand that the factory core has separate inlet and outlet pipes that are no longer available. Even if you had new ones, I think installing and sealing them properly is tricky.

Sorry, I have no information about aftermarket cores. I did not even know that there was an aftermarket unit available.

Good luck, and if you do decide to go in and pull that core out, please put up a thread with lots of pics.

Edit: Have you seen this from the FAQ section? https://forum.ih8mud.com/60-series-wagons/341413-poor-heater-performance-check-these-threads.html
 
Here is my thread on when I replaced my heater core -

https://forum.ih8mud.com/60-series-wagons/250350-pics-replacing-heater-core.html

I initially went with an aftermarket heater core but some aftermarket heater cores don't fit the pipes that connect to the heater core. I quickly read through my thread again and I guess I went with Toyota after the aftermarket heater core didn't work. I think there are some aftermarket heater cores that work but I don't know which ones those are. I also put the heater core all together and it worked for a while but then started leaking again. So I had the radiator shop solder the pipes to the heater core. Those clips don't work well enough to keep the seal with those o-rings. You can read through my thread. I think it covers the basics. I have to pull apart my dash one last time (hopefully) because my heat selector stopped working. Ask any questions you might have.

:beer: Chad
 
I am in the process of restoring my '88 FJ62. Since I had to remove the dash anyway, and because the mice had built an empire in the truck while the PO let it rot in the Michigan woods, I pulled the heater core, A/C unit and everything else in the truck.

I thoroughly cleaned the A/C and the heater core with a non-toxic radiator cleaner and scrubbed/disinfected every last piece of the heating and A/C housings. It is all apart right now, and I'm happy to take pictures. I was going to start a thread on it once I started putting things back together...I keep getting side tracked with other projects though :doh:
 
disassociative said:
I am in the process of restoring my '88 FJ62. Since I had to remove the dash anyway, and because the mice had built an empire in the truck while the PO let it rot in the Michigan woods, I pulled the heater core, A/C unit and everything else in the truck.

I thoroughly cleaned the A/C and the heater core with a non-toxic radiator cleaner and scrubbed/disinfected every last piece of the heating and A/C housings. It is all apart right now, and I'm happy to take pictures. I was going to start a thread on it once I started putting things back together...I keep getting side tracked with other projects though :doh:
Click to expand...

Dashes are different, at least on the surface, between an fj60 and an fj62. Don't know how the compare on the insides.
 
I bought my truck in the winter time with no front heat the heater core leaked so the PO bypassed it, but Toyota's heater core was 400 buck and 4 weeks away so i got a labor quote which was like $460 cause id get mad and start beating the dash with a BFH so i went to Orielys and got one from them it was like 60 bucks so i was out the door like 520 with heat Toyota was pretty cool about the non OEM part they wouldn't warranty the part or labor but they did a good job
 
Thanks Chad, I was checking out you're thread and I started wondering about using the after market. I think I will have to only because I cant shell out the $$$ for the Toyota OE. I might have to let my mechanic do this job. Thanks for all the input guys.
 
When my core started leaking, I picked up a good used OEM one from another Mudder for $50. You can take a used one to a rad shop and have it tested for peace of mind before install though I did not. Mine's working great and I can't believe how much more heat I get out of the system now! I cold-called another Mudder and found one, but it's worth posting in the Wanted - Parts section.
Butt
 
Bump of an old thread......

Has anyone found a source for an aftermarket heater core? A new OEM core is long gone, and it seems that the aftermarket supply has dried up as well.
 
Zack1978 said:
Bump of an old thread......

Has anyone found a source for an aftermarket heater core? A new OEM core is long gone, and it seems that the aftermarket supply has dried up as well.
Click to expand...
Whatever you do dont order one from JT Outfitters.. I ordered one and they took the money out of my account and I never got a confirmation, so I called them 5 days later to check in and see what the deal is.. The guy said, "Oh.. I forgot to call you, they are out of stock.." So I asked for a refund, no hard feeling right.. So two weeks go by and I never get a refund or anything.. I called them again they said they will take care of it.. And then 1 month later I was looking at my bank statement and I still didnt see any refund, and I recalled them again and explained to them what was going on and they said they would refund me... I asked if they would do it while I was on the phone and they were ho-humming about it.. saying the person wasnt in.. blah blah.. So I told them this was unacceptable.. and he finally did the refund.. It was the biggest hassle ever.. If I wasnt paying attention they would have stolen my money. I ended up pulling an OEM one out of a parts 60.. Pressure tested and rolled with it. Heater cores are so hard to find.
 
Zack1978 said:
Bump of an old thread......

Has anyone found a source for an aftermarket heater core? A new OEM core is long gone, and it seems that the aftermarket supply has dried up as well.
Click to expand...


I purchased one from SOR a few years ago. Took it to a rad shop to get the pipes brazed/soddered. When they pressure tested it it was leaking from a part of the upper tank.

If you get aftermarket might be worth trying to pressure test it prior to installing. It would be a major head ache to pull the dash a second time to get your new part fixed.

Might just be a limited incident but thought it could save someone some time.
 
Rockymtnreaper said:
Whatever you do dont order one from JT Outfitters.. I ordered one and they took the money out of my account and I never got a confirmation, so I called them 5 days later to check in and see what the deal is.. The guy said, "Oh.. I forgot to call you, they are out of stock.." So I asked for a refund, no hard feeling right.. So two weeks go by and I never get a refund or anything.. I called them again they said they will take care of it.. And then 1 month later I was looking at my bank statement and I still didnt see any refund, and I recalled them again and explained to them what was going on and they said they would refund me... I asked if they would do it while I was on the phone and they were ho-humming about it.. saying the person wasnt in.. blah blah.. So I told them this was unacceptable.. and he finally did the refund.. It was the biggest hassle ever.. If I wasnt paying attention they would have stolen my money. I ended up pulling an OEM one out of a parts 60.. Pressure tested and rolled with it. Heater cores are so hard to find.
Click to expand...

SAME EXACT THING happened to me with JT Outfitters. Took two weeks to get any response from them and still haven't got the refund. WTF
 
I purchased one from SOR. It's sitting in my parts stash.....it looks to be good quality. I'll post a picture tomorrow.
 
i bought an aftermarket from performance radiator and it ended up leaking. So i got to do that fun job twice in a year. Anyways took it to a radiator shop and they can make them bombproof. So i would suggest buying an aftermarket and just go have the connections soldered and everything pressure tested before you install
 
jmcclusk said:
SAME EXACT THING happened to me with JT Outfitters. Took two weeks to get any response from them and still haven't got the refund. WTF
Click to expand...
Just keep calling them! Keep track of everything! I hate to hear this is happening to someone else.
 
SOR is out of stock discontinued on their website. Performance Radiator is out of stock too. I guess I'll just have to get it out and have a shop rebuild the old one.

I'm definitely going to have to call JT Outfitters and shake their cage. What a joke.
 
Seems like the only good alternative is to find a good old school radiator shop that can fully repair/build a replacement?
 
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