Rear Heater Lines

[Surfcaster]

Rear heater lines

This happened to me too. I did the loop and went without heaters until I got some new lines. I ordered the OEM replacement lines from toyotapartszone.com for around $85. So if you find a price in that range you'll be good. Definitely do this yourself, you'll save about $300+ avoiding the dealership. :wow2:

This is the part number that worked for my 1997 LTD: 87248-35061

Easy to install w/ some hose clamps.

87248-35061 - OEM Toyota PIPE, WATER

 

[Nelsonmd]

This happened to me too. I did the loop and went without heaters until I got some new lines. I ordered the OEM replacement lines from toyotapartszone.com for around $85. So if you find a price in that range you'll be good. Definitely do this yourself, you'll save about $300+ avoiding the dealership. :wow2:

This is the part number that worked for my 1997 LTD: 87248-35061

Easy to install w/ some hose clamps.

87248-35061 - OEM Toyota PIPE, WATER

Yeah, $85 is too much though. $5 in flex line from any auto parts store and a couple hose clamps. About $7 total.

In all honesty, looking back, I would probably just do the bypass and go without the rear heater. It doesn't seem to really put out that much heat anyway.

 

[rickashay]

Cool, thanks for the Part #'s and the ideas. I may just leave it plugged as no one ever sits back there... rear heat delete mod.

Oh, another question kind of off topic. I lost a lot of my coolant when these lines blew. I re-filled the rad and plugged the rear heat lines (re-circulated) as above. I just got the 4Runner about a three weeks ago and havent really watched the temp guage all that close, and Im not sure what normal operating temp looks like on the guage. Can someone tell me where roughly theirs reads when the 4Runner is fully warmed up? The needle on my temp guage was reading just under half of the way up. (this was after I re-filled the rad to replace coolant I had lost when the rear lines broke)

 

[JohnsD90]

Yeah that bypass was only a temporary solution, i bought the rubber lines like 5 months ago, but i haven't gotten around to installing them.

 

[Nelsonmd]

Cool, thanks for the Part #'s and the ideas. I may just leave it plugged as no one ever sits back there... rear heat delete mod.

Oh, another question kind of off topic. I lost a lot of my coolant when these lines blew. I re-filled the rad and plugged the rear heat lines (re-circulated) as above. I just got the 4Runner about a three weeks ago and havent really watched the temp guage all that close, and Im not sure what normal operating temp looks like on the guage. Can someone tell me where roughly theirs reads when the 4Runner is fully warmed up? The needle on my temp guage was reading just under half of the way up. (this was after I re-filled the rad to replace coolant I had lost when the rear lines broke)

Yeah, just leave it plugged. For engine temps, needle in the middle is correct, but if you have a real temp reader, I usually run right at 190°C, hotter if it's hot out or the engine is really pushing. You shouldn't be going over I think about 220 or so though, especially if your not towing, climbing, etc.

Yeah that bypass was only a temporary solution, i bought the rubber lines like 5 months ago, but i haven't gotten around to installing them.

Eh, don't bother. The rear heat is overrated. I have felt down there, and the air flow is pretty poor. It's even worse if you have the back seats down, which I usually do; that essentially plugs the rear heater. Garbage in the back seat does the same thing. I'd say your temp solution is a good permanent one.

 

[rickashay]

Yeah, just leave it plugged. For engine temps, needle in the middle is correct, but if you have a real temp reader, I usually run right at 190°C, hotter if it's hot out or the engine is really pushing. You shouldn't be going over I think about 220 or so though, especially if your not towing, climbing, etc.

Thanks for the info!

 

[JohnsD90]

Eh, don't bother. The rear heat is overrated. I have felt down there, and the air flow is pretty poor. It's even worse if you have the back seats down, which I usually do; that essentially plugs the rear heater. Garbage in the back seat does the same thing. I'd say your temp solution is a good permanent one.

I personally like the rear heater, it got rid of the cold drafts from the back, and warmed the car up quicker, i mean i have the parts, i might as well do the install.

 

[Qyota]

Eh, don't bother. The rear heat is overrated. I have felt down there, and the air flow is pretty poor. It's even worse if you have the back seats down, which I usually do; that essentially plugs the rear heater. Garbage in the back seat does the same thing. I'd say your temp solution is a good permanent one.

I get tons of heat from my rear heater. In fact, sometimes it feels hotter than what's coming out the front heater.

I'm about to replace my lines as well...with OEM steel. I'll be coating them in high-temp paint first though.

 

[Green99]

Here is the Fix to loop the coolant before it gets to the rear heater lines, I just disconnect one of the rubber hoses from the rear heater lines, and disconnected the other rubber hose from the coolant distributer thing and then put the rubber hose that was disconnected from the rear heater lines and put it on the open slot on the coolant distributer thing. The pics are way more helpful than this paragraph. I just put the spare hose on the coolant lines so when i eventually fix it i know where the hose is. Make sure you connect the hoses back on with the metal clamps or else it may leak. And thegreenmonster gave me this idea.

JohnD90 Thanks! you just saved me from sending it back to the shop again. We just dropped $700 to get a hole in the frame welded and get it under-coated. We live in the mid-atlantic and we DO deal with rust. I never sit in the back. I don't care if there is heat back there.

 

[gagoulding]

4runner parts

Try toyotapartsoverstock.com Sometimes dealer parts are actually cheaper than your run of the mill autoparts store, or at least close to the same price.(especially for toyota and honda) remember when you buy from a dealer you are getting a true oem product. It always depends on if you plan on the vehicle being an actual travel vehicle or a beater. I always recommend using a factory part if possible, but obviously depends on the pricing. There are many sites out there for these parts at a really decent price and they are actually toyotas original parts.

 

[Drcoffee]

replacing the rear heater lines DIY

I contacted toyotapartsales.com and the price was $85 plus shipping of at least $10, which isn't unreasonable, just not what I want to spend my money on right now. Running a naked rubber hose under a 4x4 seems a little risky to me considering something could cut the coolant line leaving me stranded on the trail. Here's what I bought instead.

Spectra stainless steel braided line with a couple of hose connectors (which might not be needed in the end). The stainless steel braid will protect the hose and will never rust out. The hose is nitrile rubber rated for coolant and fuel. You don't want the teflon hose as it will not seal properly on the male connectors. The 10' length of hose was 5/16" ID at cost of $26 (using code P20 for 20% off at Advance Auto Parts). Each line is roughly 5' long. The plan for this weekend is to sister the hose right along side of the old rusty lines with zip ties. I'll cut off the last 4" of the rear steel line ends to make room for the connections and probably connect to the factory lines on the firewall since mine aren't rusting up there. More pics to follow.

 

[Nelsonmd]

Seems like a good idea. I need to re-hang mine as they are dangling right now. They have not gotten burned by the exhaust yet though. Definitely bad that I have pushed it though.

I may think about doing this. It seems to me that I have even had stainless stuff rust before though. Definitely not as bad as regular steel, but it still happens. I have some rust on my stainless brake lines on my motorcycle. They are Galfer lines, so they should be pretty good quality. It seems like I can't get away from rust no matter what.




FYI, Advance very often has 40% off coupons for certain levels of purchases ($35, $50, %75, etc...) I have gotten alot of goodies that way. It is best if you have little things you also need so you can sneak just over their limits. They seem to come and go, but they have been pretty consistent that last year or 2.

 

[Drcoffee]

But unlike the factory steel lines these have Nitrile hose inside which won't rust. Same for your brake lines. The steel just reinforces the rubber. You just need to secure the lines up with the frame so they don't get ripped off by road/trail debri.

Your's probably won't have heat/exhaust issues unless they lay against the pipe. I've used this stuff for the water cooling on turbos before and it sat just 2" away from the turbo housing. Imagine the heat it was exposed to right off the manifold.

 

[Nelsonmd]

But unlike the factory steel lines these have Nitrile hose inside which won't rust. Same for your brake lines. The steel just reinforces the rubber. You just need to secure the lines up with the frame so they don't get ripped off by road/trail debri.

Your's probably won't have heat/exhaust issues unless they lay against the pipe. I've used this stuff for the water cooling on turbos before and it sat just 2" away from the turbo housing. Imagine the heat it was exposed to right off the manifold.

Yeah, I am sure the lines are structurally fine, I just die a little inside every time I see rust on my bike. I have dealt with rust so much on my 4runner, so I hate seeing it creep on to my bike too. The SS lines definitely brought some bite to the brakes.

 

[jspagna1]

I did what a few of the others have done, just bypassed the rear heater. Has been like this for over a year and nobody complains about not having heat in the rear. It's probably because the 3rd Gen is so small inside so it really doesn't make a difference.

 

[Drcoffee]

I did what a few of the others have done, just bypassed the rear heater. Has been like this for over a year and nobody complains about not having heat in the rear. It's probably because the 3rd Gen is so small inside so it really doesn't make a difference.

I've bypassed mine by capping the lines and connecting the two heater lines together until I can fix it because like everyone else, my lines are extremely rusted underneath. That said, the coolant in the rear heater core will degrade over time and who knows if it will rot the core out. Besides, I like the heat in the back on those really cold northern nights.

 

[Drcoffee]

Fun Fun. I pulled my lines last night and installed the SS hose. If you haven't checked you rear heater lines, I would suggest that you do. The clamp bracket under the aluminum shield was a point of rust that had almost rotted the line. When I went to cut the lines, one just crumbled right where the rubber hose connected to it. It would have failed very soon.

New lines ready to install

 

[SmellaRat]

DRcoffee... best post I have found yet on how to solve the issue of rear heater issues... thanks for the pics and write up.

 

[Kennysmoke]

I just did this bypass on my 98 SR5... discovered a small leak while I was installing a Walker Quietflow SS Cat back complete exhaust kit from Rock Auto on Saturday... this is such a great forum! Thanks

 

[8355adam]

If you don't want to bypass the rear heat just find regular old rubber heater hose from advanced auto etc and some hose clamps. I had exact same problem on mine a few years ago and this was easy and did the job perfectly.