So, I had the center transmission hump off and figured it was a good time to rebuild my rusting front heater. Here are some of my observations and what I learned. This is from a 12/72 built 73 FJ40.
It wasn't terrible but this is after soaking in rust remover, one side at a time. As you can tell it is more of a grey than a black and flat not shiny so locating an appropriate paint was hit and miss. I chose Rustoleum Metallic Flat Soft Iron. I also followed up the soak with a die grinder and wire wheels to remove as much rust as I could. I gave the body a coat of Rustoleum Rust Reformer before applying the color. The left end and internals were clean enough that I only applied the color coat and no Rust Reformer.
The clip and screw holding the air diverter are factory original while everything else has been repainted. I think it is close but not an exact match.
Being frugal if you're nice or just plain cheap, I couldn't see spending what they wanted for a heater rebuild kit, a whole lot of money for basically some raw foam except for a few pieces. I did however buy a SOR trans hump gasket kit which had what turns out to have been plenty of extra foam to accomplish my heater rebuild.
I flushed the heater core with green muriatic acid, Klean-Strip brand which has less fumes than regular muriatic acid. Because it really didn't foam or bubble I'd let is soak for 15-30 min. and then see what spilled out. After several hours and several flushes when the particles stopped falling out I soaked it over night in plain water to ensure all the acid was neutralized before I started the assembly.
I forgot to mention that during disassembly it is important to note where all the foam is placed and be gentle with pieces that cannot be replaced. Also, take the time to straighten out the heater fins for optimum air flow and heat transfer.
It started out looking like this.
Although the foam was in place on the side, it was brittle and shot. The end pieces are molded and were reusable but you need to be gentle with them.
Here it is after cleaning and applying new side foam.
With everything cleaned and repainted it was time for assembly. Place the one end foam in the housing before inserting the core.
(to be continued)
It wasn't terrible but this is after soaking in rust remover, one side at a time. As you can tell it is more of a grey than a black and flat not shiny so locating an appropriate paint was hit and miss. I chose Rustoleum Metallic Flat Soft Iron. I also followed up the soak with a die grinder and wire wheels to remove as much rust as I could. I gave the body a coat of Rustoleum Rust Reformer before applying the color. The left end and internals were clean enough that I only applied the color coat and no Rust Reformer.
The clip and screw holding the air diverter are factory original while everything else has been repainted. I think it is close but not an exact match.
Being frugal if you're nice or just plain cheap, I couldn't see spending what they wanted for a heater rebuild kit, a whole lot of money for basically some raw foam except for a few pieces. I did however buy a SOR trans hump gasket kit which had what turns out to have been plenty of extra foam to accomplish my heater rebuild.
I flushed the heater core with green muriatic acid, Klean-Strip brand which has less fumes than regular muriatic acid. Because it really didn't foam or bubble I'd let is soak for 15-30 min. and then see what spilled out. After several hours and several flushes when the particles stopped falling out I soaked it over night in plain water to ensure all the acid was neutralized before I started the assembly.
I forgot to mention that during disassembly it is important to note where all the foam is placed and be gentle with pieces that cannot be replaced. Also, take the time to straighten out the heater fins for optimum air flow and heat transfer.
It started out looking like this.
Although the foam was in place on the side, it was brittle and shot. The end pieces are molded and were reusable but you need to be gentle with them.
Here it is after cleaning and applying new side foam.
With everything cleaned and repainted it was time for assembly. Place the one end foam in the housing before inserting the core.
(to be continued)