cruiserbrett
GOLD Star
I know this doesnt apply to alot of folks out there, but for the few that do have an OEM air conditioning system on a 9/'73 and later FJ55, if you try to install the A/C and its been sitting open to the elements or uncharged, its a good idea to install a new expansion valve.
Unfortunately the toyota one is discontinued, but aftermarket ones can be had. The original one is a straight through design, where the outlet and inlet are 180 degrees apart. Common aftermarket ones are 90 degrees between outlet and inlet. If you search hard enough a company somewhere has a reproduction ford expansion valve that is identical to the toyota one that I saw at one point a few years ago, but it cost over $100...
What you are going to need:
Expansion Valve: Factory Aire part number 4608 or 38608. $15.99 from kragen
Brass 3/8" Flare Nut From home Depot, for 3/8" copper tube ~$2.00
Solder On Male 3/8" Flare Fitting From home Depot ~$4.00
Copper Tubing 3/8" Maleable Tubing, Roll. *I bought this a few years ago, no idea on price, but you will only need about 24" so befriend a heating and A/C guy and he should hook you up so you dont have to buy a roll of 20'
Flaring tool
Prestite Tape Black rubbery/cork/tar tape for insulating A/C stuff. I got it from a local A/C shop for 12.95 roll. I used about 1/8 of the roll on this job
Tubing bender to fit 3/8" tube
Misc wrenches(19/22/24/25/and 1 1/16")
Okay, what you need to do is flip the evaporator upside down, and remove the 3 screws that hold the shield on the bottom. Cut away the old crusty prestite tape and you will see this:
This is what you will need to remove:
Now fit the new TXV(expansion valve) in place. cut approximately a 24" piece of tube and put an inverted flare on one end. Slip the brass nut all the way to the new flare and then you will need to bend the tube to fit similar to what I did in this picture:
You will notice the male end is just slipped on the end of the tube. Trim this tube end to about the same length as the larger one, minus the depth of the fitting, and have this fitting silver soldered onto the tube. ***regular home pipe solder will fail with the heat and vibration*** so make sure its silver soldered or brazed. I took mine to a local radiator shop and they soldered it up for $5...
Unfortunately the toyota one is discontinued, but aftermarket ones can be had. The original one is a straight through design, where the outlet and inlet are 180 degrees apart. Common aftermarket ones are 90 degrees between outlet and inlet. If you search hard enough a company somewhere has a reproduction ford expansion valve that is identical to the toyota one that I saw at one point a few years ago, but it cost over $100...
What you are going to need:
Expansion Valve: Factory Aire part number 4608 or 38608. $15.99 from kragen
Brass 3/8" Flare Nut From home Depot, for 3/8" copper tube ~$2.00
Solder On Male 3/8" Flare Fitting From home Depot ~$4.00
Copper Tubing 3/8" Maleable Tubing, Roll. *I bought this a few years ago, no idea on price, but you will only need about 24" so befriend a heating and A/C guy and he should hook you up so you dont have to buy a roll of 20'
Flaring tool
Prestite Tape Black rubbery/cork/tar tape for insulating A/C stuff. I got it from a local A/C shop for 12.95 roll. I used about 1/8 of the roll on this job
Tubing bender to fit 3/8" tube
Misc wrenches(19/22/24/25/and 1 1/16")
Okay, what you need to do is flip the evaporator upside down, and remove the 3 screws that hold the shield on the bottom. Cut away the old crusty prestite tape and you will see this:

This is what you will need to remove:

Now fit the new TXV(expansion valve) in place. cut approximately a 24" piece of tube and put an inverted flare on one end. Slip the brass nut all the way to the new flare and then you will need to bend the tube to fit similar to what I did in this picture:

You will notice the male end is just slipped on the end of the tube. Trim this tube end to about the same length as the larger one, minus the depth of the fitting, and have this fitting silver soldered onto the tube. ***regular home pipe solder will fail with the heat and vibration*** so make sure its silver soldered or brazed. I took mine to a local radiator shop and they soldered it up for $5...