Is this a *new* heater core?? (10 Viewers)

[VA Mountain FJ40]

I am midway through a heater box restoration on my 68FJ 40. After removing the heater box and extracting the OEM heater core, I found pin holes on the heater core cap near the inlet and outlet ports.

SOR advertised new FJ 40 heater core for $205 plus shipping, roughly $250 to my door. The unit came yesterday and I am disappointed. The supposedly new unit doesn’t look as good as the 57-year-old core that came out of the heater box.

The fins on the “new“ heat core don’t even extend all the way down to the bottom cap. The fins are rusty. The top and bottom caps, show, corrosion, scratches, and what looks like solder smears.

Worse, the inlet and outlet tubes on the top cap are not correctly positioned, they are out of square. This means that the new heater core does not fit square in the OEM heater box it is rotated and not flush at either end.

Did I even get a new unit?

The OEM tube outlet gasket pad from the original heater core fits perfectly squared to the body.

The same OEM gasket pad put on the new heater core is very crooked because the inlet and outlet tubes are incorrectly positioned. Which also means the heater core is rotated from square when placed inside the OEM heater box.

I will be talking to SOR on Monday trying to sort this mess out. This is the first time in over four years I have ever had an issue with any SOR product.

For those that have restored heater boxes and needed a new heater core, is it typical for a new core to look worse than a 50+-year-old one? Is it typical for a new heater core to have incorrectly installed inlet and outlet ports? Is it typical for a new heater core to not fit properly in the OEM heater box?

What I got just doesn’t look new. It doesn’t look like the picture on the website for sale. And it doesn’t fit properly in the heater box. Am I missing something?

Chip
VA Mountain FJ40

 

[VA Mountain FJ40]

What I got just doesn’t look new. It doesn’t look like the picture on the website for sale. And it doesn’t fit properly in the heater box. Am I missing something?

Chip
VA Mountain FJ40

Some side-by-side pictures… The “new” one is on the right.

 

[VA Mountain FJ40]

 

[effjay55]

I think what they meant is that it'll be new to you

 

[73FJ40]

Rock Auto has heater cores listed for 1969 and newer. Specs below will let you know if it's interchangeable with your core.

$76.79 plus tax and shipping by fedex ground to 24171 is $18.99

1969 TOYOTA LAND CRUISER 3.9L L6 Heater Core | Shop Now at RockAuto

Heat & Air Conditioning Parts and More for Your 1969 TOYOTA LAND CRUISER at Reliably Low Prices. Fast Online Catalog. DIY-Easy. Your Choice of Quality. Full Manufacturer Warranty.

www.rockauto.com

Doesn't say refurbished, so an example of "new"?

Specs on this one from the rock auto website:

AGILITY 9010346 Specifications
Construction	Crimp Tank
Core Depth (IN)	2.000 in
Core Height (IN)	6.250 in
Core Material	Copper Brass
Core Width (IN)	6.250 in
Inlet Pipe Diameter	0.625 in
Outlet Pipe Diameter	0.625 in
Tank Material	Brass

OEM / Interchange Numbers: 87107-60091

 

[VA Mountain FJ40]

I did not even think to try Rock Auto…

Dimensionally, the unit you listed is the same as the “new” unit I bought from SOR. The OEM heater core I removed is 1/2 inch thicker, but all of the replacement cores I have been able to find are the same dimensions as the rock Auto one.

A thinner heater core would work fine, as long as the inlet and outlet tubes are in the correct location, allowing the core to be installed square in the heater box.

VintageTeqParts also is selling new heater cores from Japan that actually look like new heater cores, and they are $50 less than the ones sold by SOR.

… So I have two alternatives if SOR cannot make things right… but first I owe SOR a chance to rectify the situation. But darn it, I had plans to put that heater box back together today… nope!

 

[charliemeyer007]

I think the red "rust" is actually raw copper. A little less fins is a little less effective at heat transfer, not like a big issue unless you are in antarctica. My extra large rear heater provides way more heat for the cab.

+1 for Rock Auto, prices rock bottom sadly sometimes quality is too.

Solder up the pin holes after cleaning with low temperature silver solder using the proper flux and put the old one back in.

 

[VA Mountain FJ40]

Thank you for the help… I thought buying one off the shelf would be quicker and easier than repairing the OEM one. I was definitely wrong there. I sure do appreciate the advice from my virtual friends with much more knowledge. Thank you again.

 

[procomsignathid]

It may be not-so-helpful now, but for radiator-related stuff, if you happen to have a radiator shop in town, they can clean & pressure-test things like this (or your full-size radiator) typically much cheaper than you can buy new. I spent a good few days dicking around with my heater core and no matter what home remedy I tried, I could not get all the scale out. I spent hours "flossing" the fins to get all the old hairs and lint out, but it still wasnt super clean. Local shop de-scaled, pressure-tested and cleaned it for $50, boy I wish I had started there.

 

[charliemeyer007]

Pro's with tools/experience are often worth their price. On the other hand learning to fix stuff yourself PRICELESS. Skills and knowledge are the lightest things to pack on your back - barring brain/body damage you will always have yourself; access to shops and the ability to pay not so much.

 

[Living in the Past]

It may be not-so-helpful now, but for radiator-related stuff, if you happen to have a radiator shop in town, they can clean & pressure-test things like this (or your full-size radiator) typically much cheaper than you can buy new. I spent a good few days dicking around with my heater core and no matter what home remedy I tried, I could not get all the scale out. I spent hours "flossing" the fins to get all the old hairs and lint out, but it still wasnt super clean. Local shop de-scaled, pressure-tested and cleaned it for $50, boy I wish I had started there.

You are lucky to have an old school shop that still repairs versus just replace. Use to have plenty of shops that would would rebuild starters, alternators and generators. Can't find one any more. Knew of a radiator shop who use to rebuild them, they closed years ago. Can't help but think it's all the plastic tanks that helped end the old school radiator shops. Not just autos it getting to be most things that now automatically get replaced and not repaired.

 

[charliemeyer007]

Use it once and throw it away - disposable products for disposable people.
Chips We don't need no smoking chips.
The only thing I hate on my guns more than aluminium/pot metal is plastic.

 

[procomsignathid]

Pro's with tools/experience are often worth their price. On the other hand learning to fix stuff yourself PRICELESS. Skills and knowledge are the lightest things to pack on your back - barring brain/body damage you will always have yourself; access to shops and the ability to pay not so much.

Fair point, but I take a crawl/walk/run approach to skills development. Its too overwhelming to learn everything at once w/ a day job, marriage, kids, non-FJ-related stuff, so I outsource what I'm not equipped for now, and over time try to learn that stuff. But you are absolutely right, and the main purpose of this truck purchase has been to become more self-sufficient. That said, I am a big believer in local community, so if I can toss some coin around to an honest, local shop, I'm happy to do so.