Starting the long fixit list on Kaylee; from neglected to spoiled (1 Viewer)

[TLC4K2]

I have noticed that the Fresh/Recirc slider, and the Warm/Cold slider, do not go to the full extent on either side. So I expect there's junk or dead mice or fragmented foam as you describe. Not sure if the AC works or not; the little button lights up but we never actually used it last summer so no idea if the system is charged up with freon or whatever refrigerant is in there. I'm thinking I won't be able to get the heater system out of the truck until things have already warmed up enough that I don't need it anyway. A summertime project. For your pictures, I'm having a hard time figuring out how that would be oriented in 3-D space under the dashboard. It is currently sitting on the table the same way it would be set up under the dash?

 

[georgebj60]

Here are some photos of it in situ, during reassembly. Does this help?

EDIT: There are three boxes to the heat/AC system. The heater box is in the middle of the truck, which houses the heater core and all the associated vent flaps. The box to the right is the A/C evaporator core, with the pressure switch inside. The far right box is the fresh air intake with the blower fan, and flaps for fresh/recirc function. This draws air in from the cowl area, which has a mesh screen over it. You can see this when you take the access panels off the cowl under the hood. This area is often clogged with leaves and other debris, which causes drainage issues, and then potential rust issues over time.

If your AC is not working, now is a great time to get that going too, as the dry air from the AC is essential to clear a fogged windshield.

 

[TLC4K2]

Wow, thank you! That helps a LOT!

 

[TLC4K2]

Been a long time since I've posted; been fixing this-n-that little stuff, but I've been dragging my feet on the dreaded heat/AC removal project. Fast forward 3 months and the time has come. I've been reviewing the Haynes set of instructions, thin as they are, as well as the Toyota shop manual. That's been a lot more helpful. My question now is: how long should I allow for just the disassembly portion of this exercise? I'm thinking a full weekend, but should I maybe bump that up to being a solid week of working on this? Second question: how do I remove all these components without also discharging the AC freon (or whatever is in there now?) I know it's a big no-no to discharge that stuff into the atmosphere, and the Haynes manual says it's all pressurized. But I have yet to find anything in either the Haynes book or the shop manual about how to either discharge it safely, or avoid discharging it at all while working with that system. Suggestions or warnings? Thanks all...........

 

[kirvesmies]

Been a long time since I've posted; been fixing this-n-that little stuff, but I've been dragging my feet on the dreaded heat/AC removal project. Fast forward 3 months and the time has come. I've been reviewing the Haynes set of instructions, thin as they are, as well as the Toyota shop manual. That's been a lot more helpful. My question now is: how long should I allow for just the disassembly portion of this exercise? I'm thinking a full weekend, but should I maybe bump that up to being a solid week of working on this? Second question: how do I remove all these components without also discharging the AC freon (or whatever is in there now?) I know it's a big no-no to discharge that stuff into the atmosphere, and the Haynes manual says it's all pressurized. But I have yet to find anything in either the Haynes book or the shop manual about how to either discharge it safely, or avoid discharging it at all while working with that system. Suggestions or warnings? Thanks all...........

not quite following what a/c parts you're going to try to dismantle, but my thoughts are you'd have to evacuate the system before tearing into it. i've been wrong before though

 

[georgebj60]

Been a long time since I've posted; been fixing this-n-that little stuff, but I've been dragging my feet on the dreaded heat/AC removal project. Fast forward 3 months and the time has come. I've been reviewing the Haynes set of instructions, thin as they are, as well as the Toyota shop manual. That's been a lot more helpful. My question now is: how long should I allow for just the disassembly portion of this exercise? I'm thinking a full weekend, but should I maybe bump that up to being a solid week of working on this? Second question: how do I remove all these components without also discharging the AC freon (or whatever is in there now?) I know it's a big no-no to discharge that stuff into the atmosphere, and the Haynes manual says it's all pressurized. But I have yet to find anything in either the Haynes book or the shop manual about how to either discharge it safely, or avoid discharging it at all while working with that system. Suggestions or warnings? Thanks all...........

My memory is a bit fuzzy, but I'm pretty sure the A/C box is the first of the 3 to be removed, so getting the blower box and heater core box out won't happen unless you have the A/C unit out. But if you're going in this far, I would have the A/C system evacuated at a shop (they will recover the refrigerant so it is not released to the atmosphere), and then get it charged again later when it's all back together. There is likely to be a LOT of debris in there, especially since the system creates a lot of moisture that can get trapped if the drain is plugged. I would really want that cleaned out while I was in there.

It sounds like your A/C isn't working anyway, so it's very likely there isn't anything in there to evacuate. Do a bit of research on what A/C parts are still available. I've seen recently that the condenser is NLA from all vendors. Not sure if that's true.

Here's a few more inspiration photos. This is a job worth doing.

 

[TLC4K2]

Thanks for the inspiration and the pix. That last one with all the crap gathered in the bottom is about what I'm expecting to find in mine. Several of my control knobs don't move freely from side to side, and I'm willing to bet it's due to accumulated junk of some kind. That being said, it sounds like I've got some prep work to do before diving in. One of the comments on another thread suggested that a person contemplating this task should first catalog everything that needs to be fixed once the instrument panel/dashboard/top pad comes off. Take care of everything all at once, rather than leaving some task for later, and having to remove everything all over again. That seems prudent advice, and one of the things I have not yet solved is why my fuel gauge doesn't work. I suspect the fuel sender in the gas tank (which is another PITA project) but I was thinking it might be smart to do that first. That way if the sender is OK and it's actually the gauge that needs replacing, I can add that to the list. I also like the idea of driving the truck down to get the A/C discharged before I tear into that system. So apparently I've got some prep work to do in advance. Thanks again for the pictures though. That helps me figure out what's what in the various pictures and drawings I've been studying.

 

[cps432]

Defiantly have your AC system discharged properly. I made the mistake of unbolting the condenser and moving it while everything was still connected and charged. I broke one of the rubber seals and it shot Freon and mineral oil all over the front of the house. It was pretty scary to be honest. I had to just let it drain.

I put it all back together and didn’t think much of it after I cleaned the mess. Fast forward a few years and I went to disconnect everything thinking it had completely discharged itself… nope. Still about half of the Freon and oil still in there. Got a good misting of that crap again. Not fun.

There is a valve mounted to the firewall that opens and closes the heater lines. That valve is connected to the sliding switches you’re having issues with. It’s likely the valve is getting corroded and that’s why it’s sticky. That valve is still available and easy enough to change while you’re in there.

As far as order of operations or what else to fix while you’re in there, I’m not sure. I’m about to tear into my dash for this same job while I have my engine removed for a rebuild. I might start this weekend. I’ll follow along and if I run into anything I’ll let you know.

 

[georgebj60]

Honestly, tearing apart the dash on these trucks is not a big deal. It's easy work. Newer cars are a hot mess of scratched knuckles and hidden plastic clips that break and can't be replaced. These trucks are a bundle of philips screws and 10mm bolts - it's all very obvious. Which is great.

 

[TLC4K2]

In my ramp-up to doing the heater core, I've decided to knock out a few other tasks first. One of them was a non-functional fuel gauge, and determine if it's the gauge itself, or the sender. I had started trying to test the fuel sender awhile ago and got stymied by 2 access plate bolts that just wouldn't cooperate. Finally decided to just drill them out and get that access door off the top of the fuel sender, so I could finally test it. That happened today. I found that the fuel sender leads were extremely corroded. The unit worked, when I could get a reading at all across those two terminals. But even after carefully cleaning the terminals I had a hard time getting a reading. Given that I couldn't really clean out the female spade terminal ends, that left me with an old, tired, corroded sender that can't get a signal to the gauge. I was about to just pull it out to replace it, since I'd seen senders easily available at multiple auto parts places. Then I read in the Haynes manual that to replace the sender I'd have to replace the entire tank. Um, why? Is that just overly cautious on the manual's part, or is there some hidden complication with replacing the sender? I'm just about to chalk it up to an overly cautious manual, but I figure I'd better ask to be sure. Don't want to accidentally knock the planet off its axis or anything dramatic.......

 

[cps432]

In my ramp-up to doing the heater core, I've decided to knock out a few other tasks first. One of them was a non-functional fuel gauge, and determine if it's the gauge itself, or the sender. I had started trying to test the fuel sender awhile ago and got stymied by 2 access plate bolts that just wouldn't cooperate. Finally decided to just drill them out and get that access door off the top of the fuel sender, so I could finally test it. That happened today. I found that the fuel sender leads were extremely corroded. The unit worked, when I could get a reading at all across those two terminals. But even after carefully cleaning the terminals I had a hard time getting a reading. Given that I couldn't really clean out the female spade terminal ends, that left me with an old, tired, corroded sender that can't get a signal to the gauge. I was about to just pull it out to replace it, since I'd seen senders easily available at multiple auto parts places. Then I read in the Haynes manual that to replace the sender I'd have to replace the entire tank. Um, why? Is that just overly cautious on the manual's part, or is there some hidden complication with replacing the sender? I'm just about to chalk it up to an overly cautious manual, but I figure I'd better ask to be sure. Don't want to accidentally knock the planet off its axis or anything dramatic.......

replace the whole tank with the sender? That’s absurd. Unless the tank is full of rust…

 

[kirvesmies]

Don't want to accidentally knock the planet off its axis or anything dramatic.......

too late

 

[TLC4K2]

Been plugging away with repairs to Kaylee. Was able to get the fuel gauge working again simply by really cleaning off the contacts between the fuel gauge sender male terminals, and the appropriate receptacles. Nice! I also took the heating system partially apart, without getting into the heater core, and found that everything was clean and working, and simply stiff from lack of use. The more I worked everything, the smoother it worked.

Next on the list was the front right turn signal, and here's where things got weird. That front turn signal assembly is wired in a strange way. When the light selection switch is set in the first position, such that the headlights are OFF but the running lights are ON, both my right front turn signal and my running lights are on. When I turn the light selector to the second position, the headlights are ON, the other running lights are OFF, but that front right side turn signal and running light are still both on. When I use that turn signal, it blinks faster than the left side, as if the bulb is burned out, but that lamp is actually lit and blinking just fine.

So I took everything apart today, thinking that someone just reversed some wiring, and discovered that the bulb assembly is aftermarket. Furthermore, there's no other way to switch around the wiring, because both bulbs are wired into a single quick-connect housing, which then plugs into the existing system. So I'm not sure how or why it's misbehaving, but it's definitely not behaving correctly. Any suggestions?

 

[OSS]

——/
Replace all bulbs with the correct incandescent bulbs and see what happens

 

[TLC4K2]

——/
Replace all bulbs with the correct incandescent bulbs and see what happens

 

[TLC4K2]

Will do! Three of the four parking lights don't work either, so I was going to just get a set of the correct bulbs and replace everything. I'll be curious if that fixes the turn signal issue. I'll keep y'all posted.