HJZ75 heater core - i must be close to getting this bstrd out!

[bill91817]

Hey guys
i have pulled every single bolt and screw i can see off - and yet it still wont budge! - i cant work out what is still holding the whole unit in (heater fan, core, etc) looking at the pic below can anyone advise next steps?? - the heater unit moves a little but obviously something somewhere is still holding it in??

 

[roscoFJ73]

The fan is a seperate unit to the rest.

The FSM show 2 screws (left and right side) and 2 nuts (centre)at the top and 2 screws(left and right) and a bolt(centre) underneath.

Is yours leaking?

 

[bill91817]

yeah i am pretty sure i have all of those out - next step is to take the dash out which will require the steering column dropped to get to the last two bolts holding the dash frame on!
When i got the car the heater was bypassed - guessing for a reason - when i connected it and ran the engine for about 30 minutes -no leaks at all - car was then not driven due to ignition barrel issues - so 2 days later (interesting) pool of coolant on the drivers side floor? so it must be leaking (hence was bypassed previously)
I cant see how the unit would come out without the fan.... i have not checked under bonnet but just had a thought that there could be something (bolt) retaining the box through the firewall??

 

[roscoFJ73]

The fan is over on the far left hand side.

 

[bill91817]

Fan over on left - yep -does that have to come out first? - i removed as much as possible around that and it is a bit looser than the heater core - but still not coming out!

 

[roscoFJ73]

It doesnt mention pulling the fan out in the FSM,but you have gone that far,whats a few more nuts and bolts.

This guy had the same problem with his LJ78 which has the same dash and heater core as a 75 series. You might find somethinmg of use in there

http://www.tlocuk.co.uk/forums/view...=0&postorder=asc&highlight=heater+box&start=0

 

[bill91817]

thanks mate
doing my head in as i cannot see anyhting holding it in! - if in doubt keep pullin stuff out!

 

[Redd]

same as anything, ill be a b****** to do the first time, but once you've figured it out it'll be easy. take some pics when you realise how to do it please

 

[Aussie 25]

Sorry to tell you but you must remove the whole steel part of the dash. Their is a copple of bolts behind all those vents. Yoy have to drop the colm as their is 2 bolts under that holds the steel dash.. When the dash comes off i think the core comes out without taking the box out. have fun.

 

[sadam_husain]

keep at it mate I cant remember how but I got mine out and back in again

 

[stayalert]

By the looks of it you must the close. Good luck! This is the type of project that if I were doing I would probably have at least a dozen "spare parts" left after reassembly....

 

[Gun Runner 5]

By the looks of it you must the close. Good luck! This is the type of project that if I were doing I would probably have at least a dozen "spare parts" left after reassembly....

"I would probably have at least a dozen "spare parts" left after re-assembly"......
.......If this were my project it would never be "drivable" again. The neighborhood kids would have a neat place to play on rainy days.

 

[wobbly]

Hi

Redd mentioned you were having problems.

Bad news is that Aussie is right, whole dash has to come out, it really is a pig of a job - probably the worst I have ever undertaken on any car I've owned!

The heater core has two arms which rotate on their fixings at the rad end, mine was weeping on the elbow of the curved one. I would recomend you get the fixed/replaced item pressure tested before it goes back in.

Good luck!

Pete

 

[Aussie 25]

Good idiea to test it. Realy its not to bad to pull out. Just lay it on the floor in the order you take it out. When you put it back together, if you are unserton of where bits go put a picture on here and i am sure we will help. i have removed and replaced about 50 of them to repair rust over the past 8 years. Does yours have aircon. if it does then it gets interesting if you dont want to regas it.

 

[george_tlc]

Typical toyota bull**** design. I thought pulling the heater core out of my old nissan was a pain, but looking at what needs to be done on the toyota makes me appreciate how (relatively) easy I had it.

I brazed/soldered the corrosion spots on my heater core and it's held good for at least 10 years since that time. I *think* I used some quality silver solder rods my old man had squirreled away. I AGREE to PRESSURE test the heater core before reinstalling. It would be a royal pain to have to remove it again in your case.

cheers,
george.

 

[roscoFJ73]

If the coolant system is kept clean and a quality coolant used,the heater matrix would last forever.

 

[bill91817]

ok -some answers -spent some time on the weekend doing this
Good news is -its actually not too bad - the job sounds a lot harder than it really is
Bad news -you have to pull a bit of stuff out!
However the only way to do it is to drop the dash forward -you dont have to take it right out -just move it forward - it gave me a good opportunity to clean out all the ducting pipes which were full of red dust! (and to treat some rust at base of windscreen)
I will post some pics later and a brief explanation of how to complete for those who want to know
cheers
Bill

 

[bill91817]

Heater core removal 97 HZJ75 troopy

so this didnt take as long as you might imagine -to put it differently i spent a week trying to work out how to remove the heatercore without removing the dash - i think it took less than an hour to remove the dash -that said i have had all the surrounding bits on an off a few times now!
First picture is what happens when you try and wiggle the lower unit off the heater box! -to be clear even if you got this off you need to take the dash out to get to the clamps on the core!!
Dash removal....
Essentially you want to remove as much stuff from the bottom of the dash to the top as possible,(you dont need to unbolt heater/aircon or fan unit as i have!) so i removed the vents facia, dash top, speedo, cig lighter console, ash tray etc.
Unbolted all bolts along top of dash and at each side there is a bolt facing forward toward the bonnet and one underneath facing down (near glove box and drivers side same spot.)
You will need to drop steering column - tow big bolts and a wiggle, there is a bolt between steering column and heater controls (hold a few relays) two bolts that face down that you can only get to once the steering column has been dropped. There is a few bolts toward the centre of the dash at the bottom that bolt a small 30cm piece of the dash from left to right -cant remember is this needs to be removed -but i did -the last bolt should be toward the top left of where the gauge cluster sits.
Bear in mind that there is a lot of stuff that is "loosely" attached to the dash (clipped/wired onto) -you only need to tilt it forward as shown in the pic below, you will then be able to look over the top -heater core is easy to get too -disconnect the cable and unscrew the two hose clamps -gently pry these open as you will need them again! - then pry the alum hose away from the core and out she comes! - bit of a mess in the bottom of the box but it was easy to clean out - also with the dash tilted i am treating the rust at the bottom of the windscreen.....
Hope this helps someone -it is a bit of work but its not really as daunting as it looks -and to be clear there is no other option unless you want to be cold
cheers bill

 

[bill91817]

take care with the alum pipes that enter the core -mine are a little brittle at thend and they have a little rubber seal that will need a clean and something perhaps to ensure it seals??

 

[bill91817]

cleaned this mess up -also cleaned up the plastic vent (demister) that goes up to the windscreen -wouldnt believe how much dirt was in there ! (and about 2 bucks in coins!!)
In this pic you can see the little rubber seals (just) that i was referring too