Not sure how accurate the thermomter is I used but in my 3rd gen runner, the center vent read 54 degrees. That is cold enough to freeze me out but I get cold easily. I have installed AC but always have to take them to a shop to have them finished up.

Anytime the system is opened up it it recommended to replace the Dryer located but the drivers headlight. Really not sure how to check the compressor and when to know if it is full or over full. I know it wont kick on if it is to low on freon.

I know you have done alot on your ac but I need to go thru and look how you cleaned your system when I go and install a used system on my truck. I wonder if the condenser is allowing good air flow. ( the one behind the grill, right?)

I know you tried to flush the evaporator ( in the dash? always get the two confused) I still suggest and pull it out and take it to the carwash and use low pressure to flush the fins, that thing gets nasty.

I have still yet to get ac in my first gens but I have wondered with just the front vents if it isnt too small of a system for these trucks and especially for your area as the humidity is worse in your area then my area. I do know the insulation does help for the winter times in my runners for heat. Might try and insulate the doors and rear panels. Any air leaks on the firewall?

 

Thanks Terry, you are always full of useful information. Around 6 years ago, the evaporator was out of this truck and we cleaned it very well and replaced the expansion valve. About 2 years ago I replaced the drier, flushed all the lines, blew air thru everything, and replaced all o-rings and vac'd system and filled with about 1.5 cans of r134. Looking back at my post from that time though, the center vent temps never got down into the 50's. I'd probably be happy with low 50s, that would make it pretty bearable.

On the insulation, yes I definitely need to do the doors and I do have a hole up on the passenger side inner fender that needs attention.

Thanks for your encouragement, I'll work thru it, but it's frustrating sometimes.

 

Terry what was the temp of the air coming in?

 

I did my retrofit several years ago and I am getting 42* at the center vents.

 

Cory and Outsane... Not sure if my AC are working correctly, but when it is 80-95 degress here, my 3rd gen, house, shop, and camper do well. When we get to 95-105, I do good just to get it fairly comfortable. We are getting some heat and with the humidity, it really makes it miserable.

Been years since I have been to Florida but it is known for the humidity. 90 degrees with humidity here is worse then 99 degrees in Southern California. I did not know what humidity was until I left here and was in S. California and had to come back to it. 99 degrees felt great to me out there. Miserable here with the humidity. I just remember that as I flew from here at it was 90 and when I hit California it was great temperture to me. Humidity is something else.

I am slowly gathering all the things I need to get my AC working on my truck and will be doing everything I can to get the truck to cool down. It takes a while for my 3rd gen runner to get the vents, and with all the glass to cool down, I dont shut it off when doing short errands.

 

Wow - you must have done it right, I'm nowhere near that.

Terry - yeah here in South Florida, it is in the 90s many days in June, July and August, and the humidity is absolutely brutal. You will get soaked with sweat if you are outside for more than 5 minutes, so good working AC is a must. I've really been contemplating what to do with my AC, I've been discussing it with cyberjunk who also lives down here in Miami. I think my plan is going to be:

1. Have system evacuated
2. Open up every line & flush them
3. Remove evaporator & clean fins & flush internally
4. Replace expansion valve & drier
5. Remove condenser & clean fins & flush internally
6. Remove compressor, clean & flush, replace internal seals & bearing
7. All new o-rings
8. Vac system
9. I may fill it with r-152a (UltraDuster)....the temp/pressure chart looks better than r134a which means it should be easier on the compressor.

I did a lot of this 2.5 years ago, but I did not remove the evaporator, did not change the expansion valve, and I did not change the compressor seals...so I'm hoping that doing those things will make a big difference. I'm really hoping to get closer to the 40s for vent temps.

 

I have not heard of the R152 guessing it is the newest freon to come out. Will look into it and see if it is a better freon. I am going for the 40s temps as well as the humidity is just to much here. Sounds like I have about the same conditions you have. I did find a thread here >>> https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f116...-r134a-284801/ that may help you. I added it to my Ventilation thread.

 

hey cory, have you figured out your AC yet? I saw a few posts back that you used the condensed foam to seal between the evaporator and radiator. I did the same, but there is also a gap at the bottom, as well as one in the front. I didn't take pictures but if you look down between the condensor and radiator, you'll see the areas i'm referring to. I sealed up all of these areas with the wal-mart foam (same stuff you used) and noticed a HUGE temperature difference. basically, just make sure that all the air your fan is pulling through the radiator, must come through the condenser. Hope this helps

 

liveoffroad - thank you very much, I will look in there and check out those gaps. I basically only drive the truck right now for short trips to Home Depot or maybe to take the kids out for a quick ride. It's too hot to drive this thing very far.

 

Actually did something over the last week, over 3 years ago, I took my winch apart to rebuild it after burning up the relays. I've had all the new parts to fix it, so finally this week I decided to get on it.

Here it was 3+ years ago:



And after cleaning it up, painting it, and replacing all the relays, the bearing, the bushings, etc:



And decided to give my bumper a quick coat of paint before mounting the winch:



Still have to re-splice my synthetic line to replace the thimble in the end of it, but I tested the winch with no rope and thankfully it does work.

 

Nice going on the winch.

 

Winch looks great!

 

Thanks junk and thanks Ed, I'm happy with the way the winch looks and really happy that it still works. I've been watching a ton of videos on splicing the eye back into the winch rope, looks simple enough, it's basically like a chinese finger trap.

So in other news, last weekend the wife, 2 boys and I loaded up the 4Runner for a 3hr drive to go camping for the weekend. Now remember that this is South Florida, so it's basically hot already. But the weather really cooperated, and the drive was pretty nice, although windows open for 3 hours on the highway is kindof exhausting. Here is the truck all loaded up, I had to buy one of those hitch cargo carriers to be able to fit the cooler, all the camping equipment and the kids bikes, but it all fit.



Every time I drive this truck I'm smiling because it really drives well for a nearly 30 year old truck on 33" mud tires. Smooth, tracks straight, brakes work very well, it's really a comfortable highway cruiser. And in FL, it's flat so I can keep it in 5th gear all the time. On the way back from camping, it got a bit hot and I was going to try some AC, but when I turned it on, the air was not cool at all. So I guess it's done. I really really need to do something about it and make it work WELL. I saw this review that Motorweek did in 1985 on the 4Runner, and even then they said the AC barely kept the front passengers cool. And that was running R12. I don't think that r134 with the stock condenser is going to work. I need to find a replacement condenser and that means new probably custom AC hoses as well.

Here's the Motorweek review:

 

Nice looking setup, makes me want to go camping, and really makes me wish I had a softtop!

 

Ed - we really had a great time camping, and yeah the soft top is hard to beat.

Did a little AC research tonight and I believe from what I've read that the 1995 4Runners had a parallel flow condenser, which I imagine dimension-wise would probably fit, holes might not line up but that's no big deal. I'd need all the 1995 hoses, and a compressor manifold from a 1995, but luckily there is a u pull it junk yard around here that always seems to have 1995 4runners. I think I might run up there next chance I get and scavage whatever parts I can and then buy the rest of the parts new. I'll probably buy a new compressor, maybe condenser , and of course a drier and expansion valve. So really I just need some hoses and the compressor manifold from the junkyard. The 1995's were made for r134 so I'm sure that using that equipment on my truck will be MUCH better.

Not sure if I need to get a compressor for my 1988 or the 1995, but maybe going to the junkyard and looking at everything will give me an idea.

 

Cory, Great setup on loading for your trip. Looks like you're out to have some real fun with the family.

Weather has gotten really warm, not to hot not to cold. A/C's always feels not so cold but cold coming out of the vents most of the time. It is a given that these a/c weren't designed to cover so much room. Years ago my dad had a cargo van and the a/c was blowing super cold, but never seemed cold. He took it back to the dealer and they installed a plastic curtain divider behind the front seats. That made a big difference. I've thought of in the past to put something similar behind the rear seats if nothing is needed cooling in the back area. Thus the amount of space needed cooling would be reduced. Insulation around the walls of truck goes without saying as well.

Here's a picture taken from Toyota Aussie for the HiAce van the sale over there that shows basically what I'm talking about.



As far as the parallel flow condensers, I think they are great. The only caution I have with them when picking one up at the junk yard is to make sure you keep the flow line capped. The flow lines are way smaller than the serpentine condensers and can get clogged very easily, but the results should out weigh the effort.

 

Well I signed up for the GSMTR up at Windrock Park in Tennessee in May. My brothers are driving down from Kentucky to meet me there and possibly my dad, so it will be a family get together. I've never been to any event so big and organized before, so it should be fun. I'm going Wed thru Sunday, camping in my tent, so I hope the weather cooperates.

In preparation for the event, I put the winch back on the truck today and I managed to get the eye spliced back into the end of the winch rope after watching some videos on how to do it.








I'm going to change the oil in the next week or so, and I might adjust the valves. I was thinking about repacking front wheel bearings, but I think I'm going to look back thru this build thread and see when I last did that, I have not put many miles on this truck in the last 5 years.

 

Nothing major, just noting some maintenance:

187,696 miles: Changed oil & filter, Changed air filter, lubed all steering, balljoints, and driveshafts

I was thinking of adjusting valves, but honestly the truck is running great, so I think I'll leave them alone. As far as I can tell, it's ready for the 12+ hour drive up to Tennessee. Too bad my AC has quit working, that would make the trip a little more bearable.

Ordered this CV axle from RockAuto to have a spare for Windrock in case I break one:

 

Here's some ac info from toyotoler's thread http://tms.cleanautoalliance.org/documents/ac002t98.pdf

 

Thank you for that info, I appreciate it.


Well, the GSMTR is coming up next week and wouldn't you know I see a small puddle of fluid under the truck this weekend. Upon further investigation, it was antifreeze. I looked at my radiator and I believe it was leaking in upper right of this photo:



So with a 12 hour drive coming up and this beat up old radiator, I just went ahead and bought the Spectra Premium CU945 one from Amazon so I could get it will guaranteed 2 day shipping. I believe it was $89 shipped.

Arrived in perfect shape, went in with no problems other than the fact that the shroud bottom edge hits the bottom outlet neck, so the shroud will have to be notched if I want to put it back on. I left it off for right now because I'm in a bit of a rush and I haven't yet decided if I want to notch it. But other than that, I'm very happy with the purchase. After I get back from GSMTR, I plan to dive into the whole AC issue again, so for that reason I would like the shroud to go back on...we'll see.