PHH strikes again!

[atijerino]

Hello fellow cruiser owners,

This morning as was driving out I noticed a puddle of green liquid on the driveway, I got out and noticed copious dripping coming from the back of the engine around the location of the infamous PHH. So I guess it is official. I will need to replace this little sucker this weekend.
Has any of you done this before? I wonder if I can do it without removing the intake manifold an all that crap. I think this has been happening for at least that last two weeks because I have been noticing a small smell of coolant and I though it was the heater core, but the dripping and its location sure confirms that it is the PHH. Is there a sure way to confirm that it is the PHH before I jump into fixing this problem?

Thanks,

 

[Grench]

Check the FAQ & Slee's site. You can do it through the wheel well for 90% of the work.

I'd say 90% of the regulars have done these. The bolt on the back of the block will leave you cursing as will the factory hose clamps on the PHH itself.

I hope you have someplace warm to work on it. My first one took me 6 hours, the second one (different truck) took me 3. Others report doing it in an hour or so. I'm a slow wrench.

Good luck!

 

[firetruck41]

There's a thread on the PHH in the FAQ. Do not remove the intake, remove the driver side wheel, pop off the rubber curtain, and access from below, that's how everybody I know has done it, unless the engine is torn apart. If you haven't done the starter contacts do them at the same time, it is cheap/easy, and it makes access to the PHH easier.

 

[concretejungle]

Has any of you done this before?
Thanks,

Joking right?

Heck yes we have done it before, and it sucks BIG TIME!

 

[DTAYLOR]

Ditto both posts. Wheel well access is how the dealer techs do it, and most here as well. Starter is an easy 30 minute bench job.

I'm replacing my PHH, and all other heater / coolant hoses along with my engine rebuild. The actual hose material I am using is made by Gates, and is a lime green silicone hose. After much research, I think it is as good as (and much more accessable than) the Samco hose, and a good bit cheaper. About $5.50 per linear foot at NAPA, and OReilly.

Be sure to use constant torque claomps with a double sleeve. These are about $4.50 each at NAPA.

Using silicone hose and constant torque clamps should make the PHH last much longer than the original. Some have even eliminated the metal pipe, and run one peice of 5/8 hose from the PHH nipple up to the heater control valve. This eliminates the need for the pipe, one factory bent heater hose, and two clamps.

This seems to be a good money saver, but does not look as good, and I would be concerned about leaks from friction. There is likely other good reasons Mr. T put it there to begin with.

my .02. Hope this is helpful.

Let us know how it comes out. Good Luck

 

[stayalert]

Througt he wheel well and from below. Don't remove the intake manifold. I recall laying face down under my rig and reaching up behind me in order to get my hands/fingers in the orientation that enabled me to work on the sucker...a 2x6 accross the engine bay maked for a good place to lay on to use your hands agains tthe back firewall.

Verify its the PHH by using a flashlight & mirror. Could be rear heater hose - no sense in fixing waht wasn;t the problem (good PM but you'll still have the problem) your rig is very similar to mine - '94 green 152K miles.

 

[Cruiserdrew]

It's a sucky job, for sure. One thing-you will debate wether or not to pull the tranny dipstick tube. Trust me, do it first thing. Access is much easier. Still a crappy job. I used a piece of Gates "Green stripe". I alloted a whole day for the job, but was done in about 3 hours. It's a bad 3 hours, though. I would rather do 3 knuckle services than tackle the PHH.

 

[Brentbba]

Hmmmm- might be worth a drive north with a case of to do the knuckle service.

It's a sucky job, for sure. One thing-you will debate wether or not to pull the tranny dipstick tube. Trust me, do it first thing. Access is much easier. Still a crappy job. I used a piece of Gates "Green stripe". I alloted a whole day for the job, but was done in about 3 hours. It's a bad 3 hours, though. I would rather do 3 knuckle services than tackle the PHH.

 

[Cruiserdrew]

Hmmmm- might be worth a drive north with a case of to do the knuckle service.

Any time, but you can leave the at home. I still have some beer I bought last summer for a trip and didn't drink. Now some would be just fine.

 

[jamisobe]

I removed the top tube bolt, but only slightly loosened the bottom tube bolt. The play created allowed me enough slack to wiggle that tube around to complete the work. I also used the high temp silicone hose from NAPA with the breeze constant torque clamps.

I am guessing I won't have to touch that sucker again.

 

[Grench]

My knuckles were a heck of a lot harder than either of the PHHs. Freekin' cone washers wouldn't let go.

Positioning the truck and the axle can make a big difference in the PHH change. I put my truck on heavy jack stands at the frame in front of the front wheels and then another set on the frame under the front seats. Then I remove the front wheel and lower the axle down to just above the ground. This gives me a BIG wheel well to work in. I double jack stand it because I'm the nervous sort when I have a 6,000 lb truck hanging over me with my body half crammed into the wheel well over the top of a disk brake and my arm up to the elbow through a 6" hole contorted around back and up so I can barely feel a nut to put a tiny ratchet on it...

Key trick 1: Once you get the 1/4" drive ratchet with a shallow socket onto the back bolt, use the 3/8" drive ratchet as a lever between the 1/4" ratchet and the fender.

Key trick 2: Use a half worn cutoff wheel on a flexible shaft rotary tool to destroy the factory hose clamps on the PHH. Be carefull (VERY) if you do this that you don't cut too deep. A full size 1" wheel won't fit in there.

Key trick 3: The trany dipstick has 3 bolts holding it in. Remove the top one from above, the 2nd from the rail. The 3rd is optional as the tube will now flop down out of the way a bit.

Key trick 4: Buy an extra length of 5/8" heater hose and a 5/8" 90 and a few extra clamps. 50/50 shot you'll mangle the elbow piece top side getting it off the top end of the metal tube.

The system is drained. Change all the big hoses, the thermostat, do a flush to clear and fill up with Toyota red & distilled.

Be paranoid and carefull with a truck on jack stands. If the truck doesn't look right or you even question a bit how stable it is, start over.

YMMV.

 

[sportbiker929]

eewww idaho in the winter changing a phh. hope you have a garage!

 

[atijerino]

Got the replacement hose

I drove around town today during my lunch hour looking for the silicone heater hose and the constant torque clamps. I found the clamps at one of the local NAPA stores, total cost $5.75 for both. The I got 6 inches of the silicone heater hose for $2.25 at a local industrial hose supply store. I will try to do this job tonite. The weather forecast predicts a high of 37F for tonite and a low of 17F. it will be cold, but I have a garage heater that should help.

Thanks for all your comments and will report after the job is done.

 

[jamisobe]

My knuckles were a heck of a lot harder than either of the PHHs. Freekin' cone washers wouldn't let go.

Positioning the truck and the axle can make a big difference in the PHH change. I put my truck on heavy jack stands at the frame in front of the front wheels and then another set on the frame under the front seats. Then I remove the front wheel and lower the axle down to just above the ground. This gives me a BIG wheel well to work in. I double jack stand it because I'm the nervous sort when I have a 6,000 lb truck hanging over me with my body half crammed into the wheel well over the top of a disk brake and my arm up to the elbow through a 6" hole contorted around back and up so I can barely feel a nut to put a tiny ratchet on it...

Key trick 1: Once you get the 1/4" drive ratchet with a shallow socket onto the back bolt, use the 3/8" drive ratchet as a lever between the 1/4" ratchet and the fender.

Key trick 2: Use a half worn cutoff wheel on a flexible shaft rotary tool to destroy the factory hose clamps on the PHH. Be carefull (VERY) if you do this that you don't cut too deep. A full size 1" wheel won't fit in there.

Key trick 3: The trany dipstick has 3 bolts holding it in. Remove the top one from above, the 2nd from the rail. The 3rd is optional as the tube will now flop down out of the way a bit.

Key trick 4: Buy an extra length of 5/8" heater hose and a 5/8" 90 and a few extra clamps. 50/50 shot you'll mangle the elbow piece top side getting it off the top end of the metal tube.

The system is drained. Change all the big hoses, the thermostat, do a flush to clear and fill up with Toyota red & distilled.

Be paranoid and carefull with a truck on jack stands. If the truck doesn't look right or you even question a bit how stable it is, start over.

YMMV.

X2 on 3+4 definately(I had extra hose but only two clamps). I used a spanner on 1 just to loosen and I used little channel locks with no problems on 2. Not saying I did it the right way. Just that way ...which is similar.

Either way I think your lookin' at 3-4 hours if you take no breaks. My cooling system was already rebuilt and I did the PHH as a PM afterthought about 2 months later in preperation for a camping trip.

 

[Brentbba]

Any time, but you can leave the at home. I still have some beer I bought last summer for a trip and didn't drink. Now some would be just fine.

Me too! I'll dip into my cellar for a good one or two or three.........

 

[atijerino]

Well I did it today, what a difficult job that was.
Key learnings:

1. Remove the tranny dipstick. A first I didn't and it was way harder, finally after a couple of hours scrathing my forearms, I gave up.

2. When draining the radiator, remove the radiator cap before opening the petcock. I have pictures to prove this point.

3. The right tool for the job. I spent $40.00 on a set of Gearwrench tools and it made life easier.

4. I wish had smaller hands!

5. Cover the firewall insullation with plastic duct tape. I CAN'T stand the itching!

Here are some pictures:

This one is related to point 2 above:

 

[atijerino]

Another picture...

This one is the PHH or should I say FHH!. For the looks of it I would say it was replaced at one time in the past with cheap $0.50 clamps and the cheapest heater hose available. I think the original clamps were the cotter pin type.
The second photo shows that the actual cause of the failure was the type of clamps used to replace the original heater hose.
The third picure shows the old hose next to the new clamps and new silicone hose.

One of the hardest things to do was to align the down tube with the nipple coming out of the block after putting the new section of hose in. It was the most difficult part of the job. BTW: Another key learnings:

1. Use the recommended 60 mm lenght of hose, not the same length that was installed before. I measured the old hose and it measured 70 mm. I think you could push it down to 50 mm, but the new clamps are too wide and probably will not seat properly.

2. Use lots of Vaseline or a similar "slippery" product, will make the hose slip in easier.

I think silicone is more flexible than the cheap heater hose.

Photos:

 

[Mikesta]

P esky H eater H ose.

by far my worst experience... but worth it. Took me 2 hours to get the hose off and the new one on.

Wax on, Wax off.