PLEASE HELP - 1997 LX450 208k Miles - MAGNETIC METAL IN OIL

Kernal · Mar 18, 2026

In the photo above, yes, there are two black pipes (for the rear heater) running side-by-side then hose sections then pipes again as shown in the diagram.
Can you get a better photo of the rusty pipes?

Either way if you develop a leak in those pipes some people bypass the rear heater circuit altogether and at least part of the reason for that is that the first section of rear heater pipes (starting from the firewall) are very difficult to replace with the engine/transmission in place.

Search for Rear Heater bypass, mod, etc

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Here's a photo showing the firewall, engine removed, which shows where the rear heater pipes start:

Thread 'bypassing rear heater hoses?'

Apr 17, 2008

So, I'm doing a PM of all heater hoses. Basically I want to do this once and forget about it for many years to come. Problem is, I can't replace every single heater hose. There's at least one formed hose that Toyota doesn't sell seperately. It's the passenger side rear heater hose and goes from the T down to another pipe behind the engine and into the firewall via another hose. There's a second pipe in the loop on the driver's side I think. And there's two lower firewall (if I'm looking at the diagram right) hoses that look impossible to get too. Maybe these aren't firewall...

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This photo was stolen from @LandCruiserPhil who sells the specific hoses needed for a rear heater bypass:

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This thread has good photos showing the water heater pipes/hoses:

Thread 'Rear Heater Delete/Coolant Line Cleanup'

Sep 8, 2018

I just wanted to give a quick picture tutorial on how I cleaned up my heater and coolant lines under the hood.

On my '93, this method reduced the number of heater hose connections from over 50, to about 10. It also makes the whole system much more simple. This method requires deleting the rear heater (obviously), PAIR system (which Toyota did on later models anyway), and the throttle body coolant lines. On colder-climate trucks, you may want to avoid deleting TB coolant lines.

Replacement parts needed:

OEM Heater Control Valve (Toyota PN: 87240-60140)
Gates 5/8" Green Stripe...

And another:

Thread '1996 FZJ80 Coolant & Heater Hose Part Numbers & Pictures'

Jun 21, 2018

This is subject to change, but here's what I've come up with so far(updated 7/6/2018):