FJ60 heater question

[morganism]

Find and check your heater blower resistor. They will draw all the power they can before they short out. Also, try opening the port inside engine compartment, on the firewall, for the wipers. Stick a shop vac in there, and try and vacuum out all the pine needles. Tends to clog the air intake for the heater core, so you don't get good flow over it.

 

[Zack1978]

Does anyone know if an OEM Toyota heater core is still available? I am staring to think that the only way to truly rectify this problem is to replace the heater core.
Again the rear heater on my 60 will burn your had the heat is so hot, the front...not so much!


Zack

 

[MrMoMo]

Voltage spike won't be caused by a bad battery, it's likely your voltage regulator. If you let it run continuously at too high a voltage it will end up boiling the acid out of your battery, better to take care of it sooner than later.

 

[Elbert]

Does anyone know if an OEM Toyota heater core is still available? I am staring to think that the only way to truly rectify this problem is to replace the heater core.
Again the rear heater on my 60 will burn your had the heat is so hot, the front...not so much!


Zack

IF it still is...I don't think you want to pay the price they want.

 

[SAsh]

Heater works great, and have not had the voltage spike for awhile now. I cleaned all the connections I good get to. And it only spiked once after I did all that.

 

[SAsh]

Thanks Slow left I will

 

[Slow Left]

No worries. Yeah, voltage shouldn't be spiking. Testing the alternator and voltage regulator would be a cheap (free?) and logical next step in the diagnosis.
When you figure it out, be sure to post so the rest of us learn too...

 

[Romuald]

Hello - I am new and clueless. I just bought a 1983 FJ60 in Lake Tahoe and drove it back to Denver. It has 158k and runs great. It seems the heater doesn't work all that well and there is a slight leak in the radiator. Are the two issues related?

 

[gregnash]

First off @Romuald which heater are you talking about as there is the main heater and there is a back heater under the passenger seat?
And secondly.....HOW DARE YOU STEAL A LOCAL CRUISER!!!!

Look in my sig for the FSMs for your respective year truck and then move from there... I would definitely get the radiator leak fixed first and foremost as it COULD be something. Other would be that the thermostat may be sticking causing the engine to never truly warm up or your heater core could need some cleaning.

 

[Romuald]

Ya, it is nice. Always garaged. One owner. I haven't checked the back heater, but the front puts out some heat, just not that much and I talked to a guy who told me his heater used to heat well. I have ordered the manuals. I also notice the engine temp gauge never really gets that high. It stays pretty low all the time. It moves as the engine warms up, just not as much as I would think it should. Based on what you say, it seems I need to replace the thermostat as well as fix the radiator leak. Hopefully then I will be warm. Can I use some 'stop leak' stuff one sees at the parts stores or is that stuff bad for a system?

 

[Output Shaft]

By your description, and as gregnash mentioned, it sounds like the thermostat isn't working properly. (Cool engine). Get a new 190° Toyota thermostat & I bet you'll have a toasty warm heater. They are easy to replace.
Replace it at the same time you deal with the radiator, so you only have to muck around with coolant once.

Stop Leak isn't such a good thing to put in your cooling system.

 

[60 toy ota]

X2 on not using the stop leak...you'll end up with clogged cores in your radiator.
As mentioned, check your T-stat and make sure you put the right O-ring on the top, otherwise you might as well not have a T-stat at all.
temp guage on a properly running 60 usually hovers just below half way at operating temp, as far as I know.
Finally, yes those two are certainly related. it doesn't take much heat from the engine to bring your coolant to it's boiling point. After that, if the system isn't pressurized (IE has a leak or a bad seal), the coolant will remain at that same temperature regardless of how hot the engine gets and simply boil/leak and not take enough heat off the engine nor deliver enough heat to your heater core, and your temp sensor will only get a reading of the coolant temp, not your engine temp. If the system is holding pressure, however, then the fluid can absorb more heat from the engine, thus saving your HG and keeping you warm (PV=nRT, temperature is proportional to pressure). Definitely fix the leak and pressure test your cooling system.

 

[Cruzerman]

My experience with Cruisers (40, 60, 80) is that if the engine gets up to temperature, the heaters work awesome. So, if engine not up to temp, I'd be checking things like the thermostat, O-ring, etc. If it does get up to temp and heater still doesn't work well, I'd be looking at blocked heater core (either blocked for water flow or stuffed full of dirt / pet hair for air flow) or a malfunctioning or misadjusted heater control valve.

 

[Romuald]

Thanks everyone.

60 Toy ota - your response is just what I needed. I'll try to figure out the leak this weekend and ordered a 190 degree thermostat with both gaskets.

Just curious - I ordered parts from FJ Parts.com. Is that the best website or is there a better one?

 

[Kleatus]

My heater sucked when I got my truck. Barely blowing and not too warm. Thermostat gasket was absent. The other problem was that some P.O. had replaced the blower motor with an aftermarket one and had it spinning backwards... start with the dumb stuff...

 

[SAsh]

Another up-date on the votage spike. This only happened in the winter time, with the heater running. Anyways it was the alternator (mine had the internal votage regulator). No more votage spikes and the heater blower works a lot better, but still will not get hot. I guess I just need to keep bundled up while driving, because I have tried everything you all have suggested to no avail.

 

[Elbert]

Another up-date on the votage spike. This only happened in the winter time, with the heater running. Anyways it was the alternator (mine had the internal votage regulator). No more votage spikes and the heater blower works a lot better, but still will not get hot. I guess I just need to keep bundled up while driving, because I have tried everything you all have suggested to no avail.

Does your truck runs 180F or so in the winter and you have a known good thermostat with the rubber washer installed at the top ?

If so then you have something wrong with either....(1) your heater control valve or (1) your heater core is blocked or restricted and needs to be replaced. Potentially the radiator could be restricted too..but I assume not.

If you truck is not running at the correct temps then you have an issue with the thermostat and likely the famous o-ring or rubber washer that sits on top of the thermosat.

How hot is your truck running in nomral conditions in the winter?


There are some fairly easy checks to do... Get the truck fully warmed up...determine the temp in F of the engine temp. 2nd make sure the heater is turned all the way hot and your truck is full of coolant. Then ensure your heater control valve is working and in the full hot postion. Then while the engine is running you can touch the heater hoseses that feed and return from the heater core...they should be hot to the touch. If you truck is not getting up to operating temp..then you have to look at your thermostat and associated gaskets (there are a few threads that show the proper install of the thermostat and rubber washer). Many...many people do not install the rubber washer....many folks seem to overlook this for some reason. Also assume you have a good radiator and nothing blocking the radiator or the radiator is full of mud or crap inside.

If one side of the heater hoses is cold or a good bit colder..its a good assumption to consider that the heater core is restricted or paritally blocked and needs to be replaced or cleaned. 80+ % of the heater issues that seem to be posted here...turn out to be related to the magic rubber washer or the thermostat missing or the thermostat is defective.

Good idea to run toyota thermostat and rubber washer and gasket ( 3 parts) some of the aftermarket stuff just is not right. I'm not one who considers all things from the OEM to be critical...but some things are worth paying the OEM price and getting the related quality. Not all but sometimes.....this is one of those times.

 

[jamister1]

If you have confirmed your heater core is getting circulation another thing to check is the blend door cables. I recently had my entire dash torn apart twice in order to get my heater working properly. There are two cables attached to the hot/cold slider. One of them opens the heater control valve and the other goes to the bottom of the heater box and operates the blend door. When I hooked mine all back up I was waiting for new clips for the cable and left the bottom cable disconnected but I thought the heat would still work. Well it turns out even though coolant was circulating the blend door was not pointed in the right direction. The cable for it goes from the hot/cold slider towards the passenger side and then back towards the driver and underneath the box. I went snow wheeling yesterday and the heater works so well it will absolutely roast you out in less than 5 minutes... And that's without the rear heater turned on.

 

[SAsh]

Update; The heater still does not blow hot. I have done everything that possible could be done. I need just put a piece of cardboard in front of the radiator.
The voltage spike was the alternator, replaced that and problem solved.

 

[Plemonator]

Sash, I'm in the same boat. I'm going to investigate the blend door next.