sloanstavern
SILVER Star
“A man’s got to know his limitations”
I do not have the time or budget to be a TLC purist, but I do want to protect the integrity of the vehicle as manufactured the best I can. Therefore I have chosen that while I own my ’74 FJ40 LHD ( which is till I die) I will keep it as pure as I want to and can afford and only make modifications that go on with a bolt or a brush
I have just reinstalled my roof, and by spending some time, have greatly reduced the rattles, and echoes, so the sound is very nice, now I have turned my attention to heat management. More particular how to lower the inside cab temp. Not trying to make it a Lexus just want to make the hottest time of year more comfortable.
Here are my objectives:
1. Having no A/C, 4 months out of the year I have to do something to lower in cab temp to make the FJ40 more enjoyable to drive.
2. I did not want the heat treatments to spoil other features of the rig ( functionally or visually)
3. Did not want any messy or permanent fixes that lead to problems latter ( glue, coatings, etc.)
4. Make the improvements removable for cleaning, and for the 8 months of the year when a little free heat does not hurt.
Here is the tool of choice and experiment parameters I tried to control:
Vehicle state – driven to full temp minimum 15 minutes including high speed and some start and stop
Outside temp ~ 80F during daylight hours
Vehicle started in the shade and cool
Measured while moving ( not often one sits with the engine just running which would skew the results)
Preexisting mods effecting heat – rhino lined the interior floor board up to the point the fire wall goes full vertical, including the tranny hump
Tool – Infrared laser guided thermometer bought off Amazon for ~$30 – great tool for lots of stuff. I could not think of a way to measure the “ambient “ tem of the cab accurately, and since there are regional hot spots using the pointer gave me more precise feedback
Success criteria are measured in two ways:
1. Quantitative difference in temp ( before and after readings after each mod to measure the effect
2. Qualitative improvement - how much did I notice the difference, if at all
Here is where I measured and the base lines each will have a min and a max ( all in °F):
Engine(parked at idle) Exhaust manifold 500-600 °F
Exhaust pipe 400-450°F
Block / Head at rear of engine 200-225 °F
Driver side Floor ( Flat surface) 90-105 (max near exhaust )
Transition 45°angle 105-135 ( max near exhaust)
Vertical fire wall 110-165 ( max at small point on “bump “about 6 inches in size on the engine side of the gas pedal)
Tran hump Driver Side 95-130
Passenger Side 90-110 very uniform
Passenger side Floor ( flat surface) 85-90 very uniform
Transition 45°angle 95-115 hotter near engine side
Vertical fire wall 110-135 hotter near the engine
Here is how is how I plan to tackle the challenge. Just like insulating a home, you have three paths of attack:
1. Air flow – stop or slow air migration from outside to in
2. Source of heat – eliminate or contain the source
3. Insulate the interior
Here is what I have done thus far and the results:
Existing mod – Rhino liner does help a bit. It is only on the lower floor away from the hottest points, but I can measure a ~ 5-10°F difference. Clearly it will not solve the problem but if you want to use it any way it will help for heat and I found it helps for sound deadening.
Air flow: this proved to be the most immediate qualitative improvement. I was shocked how hot much air I had blowing in. First I fixed the big leaks around T& T shift levers, any unused bolt hole got a bolt in it, any grommets that were loose got fitted with some closed cell black foam plugs.
All together cost me $5 and got great results, no change to measured temps since it did not change those dynamics
Source of heat :
Done: I built and installed a heat shield for the exhaust pipe. Using three exhaust clamps and some aluminum flashing folded over then bent to shape, it follows the contours of the pipe all the way down to the muffler (Pictures soon).
Results Top to bottom only ~ 10-15° drop, Not bad, but I do believe I notice the difference qualitatively. I may take it off and see what happens.
Next up: Manifold wrap – I bought some lava wrap and have yet to install it. Will test it on pipe and manifold. Since I live in the desert I am not overly concerned about moisture / ruts)
Insulation:
I bought this from Summit racing with the intent of lining the cab by gluing it to the firewall then back to the end of drivers compartment and covering with carpet. Then I realized it would be home for moisture, and it is not needed for 8 months over the year, and I would have a bunch of messy glue. So instead, I made a template and cut a pattern to fit the fire wall ( the 90° portion only).
I un bolted the heater box, did not have to remove. Removed the gas pedal, and unhooked the vent cable. Rather than glue it on, I just fit it tight and bolted all the accessories back in place and I did use some foil duct tape in select spots to help, and this resulted in a stationary shield that is easily removable if it gets damaged. I gave it a quick shot of flat black Krylon and it is barely noticeable
Results: Vertical FW only DS 90-120 a 25-45 improvement Very noticeable
PS 85-105 a 25-35 improvement
Next up: I will make some custom insulated carpet floor mats. Using the same heat shield glued to the carpet, I will sew together a one piece mat sandwich that follows the contour of the floor in driving compartment and is fully removable.
NOTE: The photo with temps below was while the vehicle sat, so it was higher, but it gives you aprox location of hot spots. I will get more photos and updates soon.
I do not have the time or budget to be a TLC purist, but I do want to protect the integrity of the vehicle as manufactured the best I can. Therefore I have chosen that while I own my ’74 FJ40 LHD ( which is till I die) I will keep it as pure as I want to and can afford and only make modifications that go on with a bolt or a brush
I have just reinstalled my roof, and by spending some time, have greatly reduced the rattles, and echoes, so the sound is very nice, now I have turned my attention to heat management. More particular how to lower the inside cab temp. Not trying to make it a Lexus just want to make the hottest time of year more comfortable.
Here are my objectives:
1. Having no A/C, 4 months out of the year I have to do something to lower in cab temp to make the FJ40 more enjoyable to drive.
2. I did not want the heat treatments to spoil other features of the rig ( functionally or visually)
3. Did not want any messy or permanent fixes that lead to problems latter ( glue, coatings, etc.)
4. Make the improvements removable for cleaning, and for the 8 months of the year when a little free heat does not hurt.
Here is the tool of choice and experiment parameters I tried to control:
Vehicle state – driven to full temp minimum 15 minutes including high speed and some start and stop
Outside temp ~ 80F during daylight hours
Vehicle started in the shade and cool
Measured while moving ( not often one sits with the engine just running which would skew the results)
Preexisting mods effecting heat – rhino lined the interior floor board up to the point the fire wall goes full vertical, including the tranny hump
Tool – Infrared laser guided thermometer bought off Amazon for ~$30 – great tool for lots of stuff. I could not think of a way to measure the “ambient “ tem of the cab accurately, and since there are regional hot spots using the pointer gave me more precise feedback
Success criteria are measured in two ways:
1. Quantitative difference in temp ( before and after readings after each mod to measure the effect
2. Qualitative improvement - how much did I notice the difference, if at all
Here is where I measured and the base lines each will have a min and a max ( all in °F):
Engine(parked at idle) Exhaust manifold 500-600 °F
Exhaust pipe 400-450°F
Block / Head at rear of engine 200-225 °F
Driver side Floor ( Flat surface) 90-105 (max near exhaust )
Transition 45°angle 105-135 ( max near exhaust)
Vertical fire wall 110-165 ( max at small point on “bump “about 6 inches in size on the engine side of the gas pedal)
Tran hump Driver Side 95-130
Passenger Side 90-110 very uniform
Passenger side Floor ( flat surface) 85-90 very uniform
Transition 45°angle 95-115 hotter near engine side
Vertical fire wall 110-135 hotter near the engine
Here is how is how I plan to tackle the challenge. Just like insulating a home, you have three paths of attack:
1. Air flow – stop or slow air migration from outside to in
2. Source of heat – eliminate or contain the source
3. Insulate the interior
Here is what I have done thus far and the results:
Existing mod – Rhino liner does help a bit. It is only on the lower floor away from the hottest points, but I can measure a ~ 5-10°F difference. Clearly it will not solve the problem but if you want to use it any way it will help for heat and I found it helps for sound deadening.
Air flow: this proved to be the most immediate qualitative improvement. I was shocked how hot much air I had blowing in. First I fixed the big leaks around T& T shift levers, any unused bolt hole got a bolt in it, any grommets that were loose got fitted with some closed cell black foam plugs.
All together cost me $5 and got great results, no change to measured temps since it did not change those dynamics
Source of heat :
Done: I built and installed a heat shield for the exhaust pipe. Using three exhaust clamps and some aluminum flashing folded over then bent to shape, it follows the contours of the pipe all the way down to the muffler (Pictures soon).
Results Top to bottom only ~ 10-15° drop, Not bad, but I do believe I notice the difference qualitatively. I may take it off and see what happens.
Next up: Manifold wrap – I bought some lava wrap and have yet to install it. Will test it on pipe and manifold. Since I live in the desert I am not overly concerned about moisture / ruts)
Insulation:
I bought this from Summit racing with the intent of lining the cab by gluing it to the firewall then back to the end of drivers compartment and covering with carpet. Then I realized it would be home for moisture, and it is not needed for 8 months over the year, and I would have a bunch of messy glue. So instead, I made a template and cut a pattern to fit the fire wall ( the 90° portion only).
Tru-Max BLIP12406 - Tru-Max Super Insulator Mats
US$29 for a 48X72” roll
I un bolted the heater box, did not have to remove. Removed the gas pedal, and unhooked the vent cable. Rather than glue it on, I just fit it tight and bolted all the accessories back in place and I did use some foil duct tape in select spots to help, and this resulted in a stationary shield that is easily removable if it gets damaged. I gave it a quick shot of flat black Krylon and it is barely noticeable
Results: Vertical FW only DS 90-120 a 25-45 improvement Very noticeable
PS 85-105 a 25-35 improvement
Next up: I will make some custom insulated carpet floor mats. Using the same heat shield glued to the carpet, I will sew together a one piece mat sandwich that follows the contour of the floor in driving compartment and is fully removable.
NOTE: The photo with temps below was while the vehicle sat, so it was higher, but it gives you aprox location of hot spots. I will get more photos and updates soon.