it's getting cold again, or: heater woes part 347 (1 Viewer)

[reece]

Ok.

After trying all the numerous things I've found by searching... I have the following issues:

Rear heater: works great. pumps out HOT air.

Front heater: ugh. lukewarm at best. unless it's hot ouside, then i get heat.

What's the next step?

 

[CruisinGA]

pull the core, clean all the hair/dust/leaves/dead insects out of it, and then rinse the inside with muratic acid and LOTS of water to clean it out.

I would also check the hoses to make sure there are no kinks etc.

This should do it. If you are not comfortable with the muriatic acid, you could use radiator flush.

Good Luck!

 

[brett76]

whats the temp gauge say? mine was like that but i fnally noticed that i was running awfully cold. my thermostat was stuck open. i thought my heater was just s***ty cuz in town it would take like 30 min to get warm air out of it. then when i would drive freeway i noticed my motor was getting colder.
and then it was

 

[green40]

Do you just fill the core with the acid and let it sit? How much acid and for how long before you rinse?

 

[oldman]

Go down to your local hardware store and buy a container, usually quart size, and pour it straight into the core, no diluting needed. Let it sit for 15 to 20 minutes the drain and flush. Repeat 2 or 3 times if you're getting lots of gunk out of the core. Flush with clean water before reinstalling. You'll be amazed at how well this works. It's much better than using a standard radiator flush from Pep Boys or NAPA.

 

[Cruiserdrew]

pull the core, clean all the hair/dust/leaves/dead insects out of it, and then rinse the inside with muratic acid and LOTS of water to clean it out.

I would also check the hoses to make sure there are no kinks etc.

!

Have you done this on your FJ60? The reason I ask is that this is a bear of a job and you practically have to take the entire dash apart to get to it. There are no hoses behind the dash-only metal pipes. Be very careful with those pipes as they are fragile and there are no more in Toyota's inventory. I would make real sure that you have the upper gasket on the thermostat before I tore out the heater core. You might be able to flush it out in-situ if you are willing to flush the entire system. Seriously, though, check that upper gasket on the thermostat.

 

[60wag]

Also make sure the heater control valve (near the fire wall) is operating correctly.

 

[reece]

definitely have the upper gasket on the tstat, replaced that this spring, hoping that it was the problem

and... where exactly "near the firewall" is the heater control valve....
-m

 

[Mark W]

In the FJ60 it is better to flush the heater system in place. Done it a few times. DON'T introduce muriatic to the cooling system in its entirity. It attacks AL viciously. It'll damage your water pump. It will not hurt your heater and it WILL do a great job of cleaning it out.


Mark...

 

[reece]

In the FJ60 it is better to flush the heater system in place. Done it a few times. DON'T introduce muriatic to the cooling system in its entirity. It attacks AL viciously. It'll damage your water pump. It will not hurt your heater and it WILL do a great job of cleaning it out.


Mark...

ok. so, not to be annoying, but could you give a quick description on how exactly to do this? either here or pm would be fine!

thanks!

-m

 

[Mark W]

Disconnect your heater goses at the junction at the rear of the engine bay. Add a couple of long hoses to facilitate getting fluids in and out of the core. (since you are only wanting to clean out the front heater you can also isolate those hoses from the rear heater.

Stick a funnel into one of the hoses you have added and (after draining the heater) pour in the acid. Let it sit. Drain. Flush. Repeat.

If you run the hose you are draning with, under the rig into a container, it is a lot neater than running over the fender. You don't want the acid on your clothes or the rig's paint. It itches and burns a little on your skin too.
Compressed air may help when draining. If you don't have air, you can use something as simple as a bicycle pump with a piece of plastic bag wrapped around the end of the line to sorta seal it to the heater hose.

Don't do it outside in subzero weather. The water will freeze in the heater core during the flushing process, complicating things significantly.


Mark...

 

[reece]

thanks for the flushing tips. one other thing, should the piston of the heater control valve move when i change the switch inside from cool to hot? i'm starting to think this may be a significant part of my problem.

 

[LoneRanger]

thanks for the flushing tips. one other thing, should the piston of the heater control valve move when i change the switch inside from cool to hot? i'm starting to think this may be a significant part of my problem.

The arm on the HCV should move with the heat adjust lever about 1 1/2" in and out. This moves the piston across the valve opening to allow or restrict flow. I replaced mine recently. PO had removed it entirely and hooked the hoses straight in so the "heat" was on all the time. 'Cept there was no heat cause the upper thermostat gasket was missing, I presume not sending enough liquid to the heater core. After questioning this forum I put in a Toyota thermostat with a new upper and lower (paper) gasket and now my heater pumps out copious amounts of warm air. I have to set the lever a little off to the right because it starts to get too warm. We have tempuratures ranging from 30- 50 at the moment. I am warm and happy in my 60.

bh

 

[77TLCFJ40]

I have a heater control valve and the complete hard and soft lines from the Y at the firewall to the rear heater from an '88 FJ62 that had 108K. Have the rear heater as well. Anyone need these?

Lash

 

[sl33py]

My front heater works fine (i am still planning on doing a flush - sounds like a good idea).

but my rear heater doesn't blow any warm air. I have the lever on it set to hot.

this is on the 87 60 if that helps. thoughts?

TIA
rob

 

[sl33py]

anyone?... bueller?

 

[coldinalaska]

make sure the thermostat is installed the correct direction.