Heater and Defroster questions. (1 Viewer)

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

Joined
Oct 10, 2020
Threads
14
Messages
123
Location
Near Omaha Ne
This is another case of I don't remember as much as I thought I did. The vent control has 3 words on the selection, but I only have 2 actual settings. I knew that the defrost vents didn't seem to get any air when I bought the Cruiser a couple of months ago. The 3 setting for the air select are Vent-Heat-Def. I only have 2 actual positions when I move the selectorr- Vent or Def, with mechanism at the bottom that looks like some metal fabrications could possibly move. The handle also has a vertical slot that looks like you could press it down but doing that does not move anything. The defroster hoses are there and in pretty good shape. There are no door vents. For information I have a Haynes Manual but nothing else, and it doesn't talk about the blower/selector at all. Is there an explanation here or online -I honestly did try searching but didn't find anything, and is there a pdf I can use for my immediate needs, and which manual do I need to get to have a hard copy?
 
What you need is an owner’s manual.
 
The first position, the "vent" setting is a position on the flapper. If the linkage isn't returning up to that notch I think you're referring to then something's probably stuck? The flapper has spring tension on it, so working properly you should hear or feel it thunk into place in the vent and def positions.

2017-12-21 09.19.47.jpg
 
Last edited:
From your picture the window defrost tubing attaches to the hole near the bottom of the heater box you show. I have warm air coming out the front of this device but no air going up to the windshield defroster vents. It is possible that the only problem is that there is a blockage in both the right and left side defrost tubing, but that seems unlikely that both would be blocked. What I was trying to find is if moving the vent lever opens or closes a diverter inside the blower assembly that I can’t see from the outside. The heater and fan works, I just get no airflow to either windshield vent. I used a short piece of dental floss with one end down in the windshield defroster exit and I don’t get any movement of that string at all. So if I’m getting any air there it isn’t much.
 
Sounds like the damper isn't moving like it should. They're pretty easy to disassemble and rebuild, just take note and pictures of the linkage before you get it all apart. With the handle pulled all the way forward for defrost, it blocks the airflow to the front of the unit and diverts it to the hoses. Here's a really good tutorial

 
Sounds like the damper isn't moving like it should. They're pretty easy to disassemble and rebuild, just take note and pictures of the linkage before you get it all apart. With the handle pulled all the way forward for defrost, it blocks the airflow to the front of the unit and diverts it to the hoses. Here's a really good tutorial


Thanks! I’ll look at the video tonight when I get home and see if I can work on it tomorrow.
 
Just a very late update. If you don’t have heat from your front heater/defroster, or if you always have heat look to see if the heater valve on the firewall is stuck open or closed. Mine was stuck closed.
 
Just a very late update. If you don’t have heat from your front heater/defroster, or if you always have heat look to see if the heater valve on the firewall is stuck open or closed. Mine was stuck closed.
Im confused. Your opening post says you didnt have air flow in certain selector positions. The valve on the firewall in the engine compartment is the heater control valve and allows hot water to flow to the heater core. It has nothing to do with air flow, and diverting it to the floor, defrost or out of the upper vent.
 
Last edited:
Im confused. Your opening post says you didnt have air flow in certain selector positions. The valve on the firewall in the engine compartment is the heater control valve and allows hot water to flow to the heater core. It has nothing to do with air flow, and diverting it to the floor, defrost or out of the upper vent.
I think that I still have bad foam on my heater air diverters in the front heater. But what little air I get coming out of the windshield defroster vents is cold. My rear heater puts out normal heat. I checked the valve on the firewall and it is stuck closed. I don’t know if I have sufficient airflow to defrost the windshield even with the valve working but if I get a chance I will replace it in the next few days. When I first made the topic it was 70 degrees outside, now it’s 20, so it’s easier to tell that the airflow I do feel isn’t warm.

It has been nearly 30 years since I last owned and worked on a FJ40 and I have obviously forgotten a lot.
 
Hi guys, can I ask a related question? My issue is not with the selector positions, as it will easily move up and down and I get flow from the front, bottom and windshield accordingly. In my cruiser I am noticing that when the engine is hot there is always warm air coming out of the heater. The heater valve is functioning, because the waterpipes leading to/from the heater are not hot (and they heat up really quick when I pull the heater knob on the dash).

The heat seems to become more went I pull the "vent from outside" knob on the dash, which leads me to think that I am drawing in air from the engine compartment instead of through the louvres on the side apron. The blower is located on the same side as the exhaust manifold and there is a gap between the blower intake and the louvres on the side apron, so maybe the blower is sucking in heated air from the engine bay instead of through the louvres? How is that on your cruiser? same issue?
 
I have finally gotten the front heater pulled out- going from when I first posted this thread it did take me a long time. I have bought a rebuild kit and will start going through that tomorrow. When taking the heater out I found that both the left and the right heater hose ends, the part that plugs into the defroster vent, were shot. The rest of the hose including the elbow at the heater seem to be in good shape for both sides. I have looked but haven't found if I can buy just the part that connects the hose to the windshield vent by itself, and not have to buy the entire left and right hose assemblies.

Secondary question, what chemicals/process do people use to clean out the heater radiator?
 
Edit: sorry was answering the old question. Probably best posting for those parts in a want ad. Someone will have them. I’d just use any off the shelf radiator cleaning product. Heard people have success with soaking in simple green but I’ve never tried this myself
 
Last edited:
Edit: sorry was answering the old question. Probably best posting for those parts in a want ad. Someone will have them. I’d just use any off the shelf radiator cleaning product. Heard people have success with soaking in simple green but I’ve never tried this myself

I'll try. In the Dan's 40 Channel video thats referenced in a few places on this site that goes over rebuilding the same type heater he used CLR. I may stop in to a parts shop as I live in a rural area and they still carry a lot of do-it-yourself parts/supplies that I haven't been able to find in the much larger city I tried. Not saying it ISN'T available just that I don't know which place to use. Thanks for the reply.
 
You should be able to find clr in hardware stores and some groceries stores. Its a fairly common product. Your air flow is most likely restricted from the old foam from the vent door disintegrating and clogging/laying on top of the heater core. As Pitter Patter mention def hoses come up for sale in the classified section periodically, you can also put a wanted ad in that section. You can probably rig something too. I recently removed and cleaned my heater out. I didnt take it apart, I just flushed out the core pipes with a hose and carefully back flushed with a hose the core fins, bottom up.
 
You should be able to find clr in hardware stores and some groceries stores. Its a fairly common product. Your air flow is most likely restricted from the old foam from the vent door disintegrating and clogging/laying on top of the heater core. As Pitter Patter mention def hoses come up for sale in the classified section periodically, you can also put a wanted ad in that section. You can probably rig something too. I recently removed and cleaned my heater out. I didnt take it apart, I just flushed out the core pipes with a hose and carefully back flushed with a hose the core fins, bottom up.
I'll try the want ad section, but I may take some measurements for my brother in law and see if he can 3D print something. He has the cad software and the 3D printer and has been a parts designer (not car parts, hydraulic pumps) so thats worth a text message. I live in a rural area with a lot of people on their own well so CLR is very common here. I just never used it to clean a radiator before and didn't know if that was preferred or if something else was better.

The foam on the top flapper isn't deteriorated but I don't think its the right type of foam either. Its white and open celled in construction. I haven't taken the top and core out to see any other flaps. I've been looking online and in my Toyota Body manual as well as the Haynes manual for an exploded part picture as all of the nylon guides and snap washers on the heat lever and flap arms aren't there, and I was hoping for an assembly picture. The closest I've found is on Specter Off Road for their parts breakout, but its doesn't show everything internal and the picture isn't terribly detailed or clear. I've watched the video Dan's 40 channel and its probably enough but I like having a picture/diagram to look at when working when possible.

I've probably mentioned this somewhere in this thread but I did buy the SOR heater repair kit and it does have the nylon guides and new foam and the actual frame and radiator look good so I don't really think I will have many problems. Hopefully tomorrow I can work on it, today I had a last minute family needs help fixing home item pop up.
 
Ok, a few pictures about what the heater looks like, and a few questions:
Lever actuator. I have not taken anything (bushings, washers, etc) off, this is how it was installed in the Cruiser:
Heater_LeverArm.jpeg

The following picture is the 'foam' for the flaps:

FlapFoam.jpeg


On the picture above, you will notice there are only 2 screws. The 3rd screw looks like it is broken off inside the pivot rod.

The final picture is a detail of the lowest flap, at the bottom of the heater:
BottomFlap_attachjpeg.jpeg


My questions are- is it important to take the flapper plates off, is the missing/broken screw something to be concerned with, and are there any "missing" parts in a restore kit? I have been looking for a exploded parts picture so I know what nylon bushings, guides and locking clips I need and where they need to be. I have new foam and I'm cleaning the heater core out, but honestly it doesn't look bad. I guess one final question is do you need to put something on the radiator fins to stop/prevent rust?
 
You are in there so you may as well remove and replace that broken screw. I know Eastwood and some other manufacturers produce paint for radiators that doesn’t gunk up the fins or reduce heat transfer. May as well spend the $20 for a can of that and shipping to do it right and be done with it.
Your heater restore is looking good!
 
You are in there so you may as well remove and replace that broken screw. I know Eastwood and some other manufacturers produce paint for radiators that doesn’t gunk up the fins or reduce heat transfer. May as well spend the $20 for a can of that and shipping to do it right and be done with it.
Your heater restore is looking good!

It looks like the heater was spray painted recently before I bought it. I was thinking of sending it out to be powder-coated. I need to see how much and if I need to prep it first or if the place I send it can bead blast it first as well. But I also found out that the left and right defroster tubes are also shot and I need to replace those as well. The defroster tubes I could wait until i get the heater reinstalled. I don't know what size the screw is but its small. Maybe it would spin out if I drill it, If not then I suppose I could braze the hole and re-drill a new one to one side or the other of the current one.

I do want to thank you for all the advice over this.

Edit- I also could drill out the hole and just put a screw with a lock nut on it.
 
Last edited:

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top Bottom