Is this a *new* heater core?? (40 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.

 

[VA Mountain FJ40]

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.

Just got back from an old school radiator shop in King, NC. Dropped off the core.

However it seems my assessment of pinholes in the end cap was a bit optimistic. The end cap brass was corroded to paper thin in places. And there appears to be a crack at the base of the inlet tube. Their expert with such things will call me on Wednesday with a diagnosis of if it can be saved. I’m not optimistic. Given the newly uncovered brittle thin status, not sure if I could install hoses back on without flexing or breaking the repairs.

So the “repair the original” path might be a no-go. Time to consider other options.

 

[igotta40]

I learned many years ago to be cautious about laying my money before the altar of Marvin Spector. Have you tried the local Toyota dealer?

 

[charliemeyer007]

I'm sure a good shop will help you select the best option for the money.

Finding parts, good service from vendors and shops for 50 year old equipment is what it is these days.

Thanks for documenting the journey - I'm sure others will be making the same trip at some point.

 

[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 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…

Well,… I have a big update, and unsurprisingly, things are my fault.

First of all, SOR did send me exact part that I ordered, the correct FJ 40 part for the correct year FJ 40. The core that they sent me was indeed new, was functionally robust, and had no leaks.

So why did it not fit inside my FJ 40 heater box? Why was the core smaller than the one that came out of my heater box? I have the answer.

After several phone calls with the incredibly understanding SOR Customer Service, and the exchange of photos and measurements of in stock units, we determined that the heater box I removed from my 1968 FJ 40 is not original. My heater box and its heater core came from an FJ 55 (unknown year). One of the POs in the last 50 years did a swap out and I just found out today.

Wouldn’t you know it, an FJ 40 heater core doesn’t fit in an FJ 55 heater box. It isn’t supposed to.Not knowing this, I ordered the wrong part. None of this was the fault of SOR, but their customer service helped me discover the true history and origin and ID of my heater box. It’s an FJ 55 heater box that somebody previously put in my FJ 40, and it’s going to work just fine with a replacement FJ 55 heater core from SOR.

To recap:
SOR sent me the exact correct part that I ordered. I just unknowingly ordered the wrong part.
The part SOR sold me was new, it had not been returned, and it was not an incorrect part.
When I couldn’t figure out why it didn’t fit, the amazing customer support at SOR made the figuring out part happen. They figured out the heater box in my FJ 40 came from a FJ 55.
SOR Parts took measurements and pictures and verified that the FJ 55 core would fit my heater box now known to be an FJ 55 heater box.
SOR is shipping me a tested replacement core for my FJ 55 heater box and I am so grateful for their help.

-Chip in VA

 

[charliemeyer007]

Well there you go. PO's can do awesome things in swapping parts to keep stuff working. There was a time before the internet when parts were NLA and folks just made do as best they could..

Nice that $OR came threw for you.

 

[peesalot]

If your cap was corroded/thin then isnt it possible that the repaired/new one you purchased has same or similar condition.

 

[VA Mountain FJ40]

If your cap was corroded/thin then isnt it possible that the repaired/new one you purchased has same or similar condition.

The original purchase of the heater core from SOR was aftermarket new. After looking at many aftermarket new FJ 40 heater cores over the last few days, the condition of my part was absolutely normal and OK. It is an interior part that never sees the light of day, so adding a pretty finish to it before selling it is not really a value adding action. If it can handle a pressure test and doesn’t leak, it works.

However, before SOR will advertise a used or remanufactured part for sale, they will test the unit to validate that It is good before listing it for sale.

The part that they sent me was absolutely good, I just ordered the wrong part. Likewise, the FJ 55 heater core they are sending me has been pressure tested and has no worn metal or pinholes.

Fair question…

-Chip
VA Mtn FJ40