Stiff heater/temp slider controls

[4Runner4Leon]

The heater controls and temp sliders on my '97 are fairly stiff. I currently have the bezel off and would like to clean or lube the controls to make them less stiff.

Has anyone tried it, and if so, how and what were the results? Is the resistance mainly from the controls in the front unit or from the far ends of the cables (doors, etc)?

 

[snow junky]

Mine are stiff too. I have tried spraying lube down the cables with not much luck.


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[pluton]

Thank you both for reminding me what I meant to do with the 4Runner today.
The main cold/heat slider on my '97 has always been stiffer than the other sliders, and way stiffer than the other 3 Toyota trucks I have owned that had this control arrangement.
Just yesterday, 'all of a sudden', that slider has acquired a additional fine spaced notching that can be felt as it is operated.
Heater season just started here...
The only way to accurately assess where the stiffness is coming from would be to be able to detach the cables, and then be able to reach in and operate the various doors and devices directly by hand. Except for the main heat valve on the firewall, access is going to an issue. I don't know what's going to be possible...I guess I'll find out tomorrow morning.

 

[Tyler James Inc]

I would use a bike cable luber- it's a clamping tool that has an opening for a straw, but is otherwise sealed to the cable jacket- it forces lube down cable assemblies.
I swapped my '97 to the '98-'00 style dials, and it was much nicer to operate. I hadn't ever tried to lube them, but I can only imagine how nice it would have been if they had been able to slide freely.

 

[4Runner4Leon]

I don't know what's going to be possible...I guess I'll find out tomorrow morning.

Cool - please post back if you find the magic solution!!

 

[4Runner4Leon]

I swapped my '97 to the '98-'00 style dials, and it was much nicer to operate.

I'm afraid to ask, because I can see where this is going to go, but... how hard was that swap? (asked Leon who is already swapping the '99 floor console, roof console, dash bezel, and is now beginning to wonder why he didn't get the '99 truck to begin with )...

 

[jbrentd]

I'm afraid to ask, because I can see where this is going to go, but... how hard was that swap? (asked Leon who is already swapping the '99 floor console, roof console, dash bezel, and is now beginning to wonder why he didn't get the '99 truck to begin with )...

Glad you asked...I was going to ask as well.

Inquiring minds want to know!

 

[4Runner4Leon]

I'm pretty convinced that the resistance is coming mostly from the cables and the far end of the cables, i.e. not from the dash control unit. And since I have too many irons in the fire already, I'm going to try to hold off on doing anything with this for now. Unless [MENTION=116470]Tyler James Inc[/MENTION] comes back and tells us that the rotary knobs were a breeze, or [MENTION=89081]pluton[/MENTION] tells that he found a way to easily lubricate the sliders or cables .

 

[pluton]

Here's my update:
I was able to eliminate the notched drag on the hot/cool slider...which had started suddenly a couple of days ago... by partially removing the HVAC control panel (leaving all cables attached) and then bending the brass-colored contact follower away from the notched track on the underside of the HVAC panel. I wiped off some of the old grease and added a very thin runny grease. The Hot/Cool slider still has more overall drag than my earlier Toyota products, but not having the notches does make it smoother.
The action of the hot water valve at the firewall was smooth...not the problem at all.
The hot/cool slider operates two cables: one that runs to the left and forward through the firewall to the hot water valve, the other travels to the right and down to a multi-part white plastic actuator assembly on the underside of the heater box.
I applied a thin coat grease to some of the sliding parts of the white plastic actuator assembly on the underside of the heater box, but I doubt that it helped much. Access is terrible w/o removing whole dash.
Makes me wish I had a military vehicle.
I once took a short ride in an Army National Guard Humvee, and was charmed to see the entire heater unit was attached to the outside of the dashboard.

 

[Tyler James Inc]

Hm, so you didn't like the notches? I like the notchy-ness, just not the hard-to-actuate slides.
[MENTION=198376]4Runner4Leon[/MENTION], I had the same thought when I was doing all my '99+ updates [emoji23]

It's a pretty simple swap, but you need to have the center bezel out(obviously), as well as the glove box. I believe the driver side panel too, but don't remember 100%.
You have to fish all the cables around to their appropriate locations, and the fresh/recirc blend door was definitely the most tricky to get to. I think I could only get one eye on it, and working with no depth perception- in an area you can barely get your hands in- is tricky.
The hot/cold cable wasn't too bad. I just taped one cable to the other one, and used the old cable to guide the new one in. That's the one that goes through the firewall. It's also a little tricky to get to the valve. It's in the center of the firewall, right above/behind the engine.
The face/floor/def cable was real easy. It's just down by the exhilarator pedal, and nothing tricky about it.
Overall, it's a pretty simple swap. I thought I could do it after work one day, 'cause I thought I might be able to use the slider cables- not the case. If I'm remembering right, it was probably about a 3 hour job start to finish.
I remember having to do something with the fan switch... I wish I knew what it was. I think the switch connector is the same, but when I plugged it in, something in the engine bay was clicking or something?! Man, wish my memory was better on that. It couldn't have been too tough to figure out [emoji12][emoji847]

 

[4Runner4Leon]

Thanks [MENTION=116470]Tyler James Inc[/MENTION]! That's enough to convince me to live with my current controls for now, I just don't want to open up yet another rabbit hole at this point . As it is I'm trying to finish the console/bezel swap, while also installing Homelink, finishing up the trans and diff/transfer case fluid changeouts, upgrading the rack guide, and I forget what else . Multitasking like this never ends well.

 

[jbrentd]

Thanks [MENTION=116470]Tyler James Inc[/MENTION]! That's enough to convince me to live with my current controls for now, I just don't want to open up yet another rabbit hole at this point . As it is I'm trying to finish the console/bezel swap, while also installing Homelink, finishing up the trans and diff/transfer case fluid changeouts, upgrading the rack guide, and I forget what else . Multitasking like this never ends well.

How are you going about adding Homelink? I actually have a rear view mirror with Homelink, compass and temp waiting for me under the tree.

 

[4Runner4Leon]

How are you going about adding Homelink? I actually have a rear view mirror with Homelink, compass and temp waiting for me under the tree.

That's the more elegant way of doing it . I went the crude way, stuff it above the headliner:

 

[jbrentd]

I’d say that looks pretty good. I was going to get one of those, but wanted the temp and compass too in one mod.