Sourcing radiator and heater hoses for a 2001 Sambar TT2

The coolant tube saga continues.

Well, the bed took a little more than half an hour to remove, due to the fact that wire harnesses and a lot of tubing were attached to the underside. A couple of bolts snapped off in the bed. I might seek alternate suspension designs for all the attached harnesses to make any future bed removal much quicker. It took a lot of pressure washing to clean things off enough to tell what was what after a decade and a half of yearly under body oiling. Most cable stays were destroyed in the process of bed removal, but I have procured a suitable replacement stay design that should adapt to most if not all conditions.

Upon removal of the bed, I sent it and the drop gates to be blasted, epoxy primed and repainted white ($870 US). The shop also took it upon themselves to remove all broken off bolts from the bed, weld a gusset to a weakened tail light surround. I love a good initiative.

Removal of the bed revealed that every last steel coolant and heater tube was full of holes or soon to be full of holes just forward of the engine block, in a place where salt, mud and sand were able to collect and hold moisture to the tubes. The remainder of the tubes' runs seemed in pretty good condition, as were all related hoses. All clamps needed replacement. I do SS.

I cut a three foot section out of each tube at a point that did not interfere with mounting hardware and left plenty of room for creating the hose and clamp joints with best access from below, in case future work is required. There were two 1" ID tubes (engine cooling) and two 1/2" ID tubes (heater tubes). One of the 1" ID tubes had a 3/8" ID side manifold near the engine end (it crumbled to pieces as it was removed from the hose), in a position where it was not visible until I began removing the tube sections. That little sucker came as a surprise, as it is not revealed in the Danko manual. In fact, the Danko manual bears little resemblance to the system in my 2001 TT2, including the total omission of one of the 1/2" ID tubes in the heater loop. The 3/8 tube enters the block via an articulated hose to a fitting just below the supercharger. It's hard to see in there. Perhaps it helps to cool the supercharger. I know not.

One of the 1/2" ID tubes was articulated somewhat elaborately, with four separate bends. I know that these were all one piece, metric, steel tubes, but the matching of the tubes was perfect in ID and OD using standard heavy wall copper plumbing pipe, so I built new tubes myself and suitably isolated them from contact with any steel portions of the vehicle.

The 3/8" ID tube was reducer-T'd off the 1" ID tube. Using a 90 degree 3/8" elbow and a short run of flexible 3/8" ID copper supply line I was able to create a substitute for that little side manifold. It matched up perfectly.

While the bed was off, I pressure washed everything, carbide scraped any reachable areas. Using a Wagner HVLP sprayer, I applied several coats of Black Star rust proofing until I could see no rust red anywhere back of the cab. This was followed by several coats of satin black, high temp engine paint anywhere that could be reached. It looks a lot better. There was a lot of surface rust present, but plenty of metal still remains. I have no illusion to the fact that I am only slowing the tin worms down a little bit.

Yesterday, I finally reassembled the cooling system, reinstalled the battery, filled the cooling system with 50/50 coolant and after sitting for 3 months up on ramps and jack stands, the engine fired up on first crank of the starter. I ran the engine to operating temperature at an idle while adding coolant as air left the system. I left the front end up on ramps to give a better chance of purging air from the rear. I then took the truck, with engine cold, to the side of the steepest hill on the property, which is about a 30 degree slope. I parked it nose up in low low gear and ran it at idle back up to operating temperature, topping off the system as a little more air came out.

I brought the truck back up to my work station in the driveway and check for leaks. I cut and riveted some 28 gauge galvanized steel to the top of the muffler heat shield which had significant rust out and some holes. It was a perfect time to do that.

I have one serious problem left to solve. The heater tubes remain cold, no circulation in the loop. I suspect there is an air lock somewhere in the heater loop. I think it might be in the heater core. The heater valve was functioning fine last cold season, a simple open and close valve operated by the sliding control on dashboard, so it's not high on my list of suspects. I have had automated heater mixer valves go bad in a climate controlled vehicle (BMW), but this Sambar has a fairly bullet proof manual control system in that regard. There is a small chance the control cable has rusted off the valve over the summer. I have no idea where or how to access that valve.

I return to addressing this heater loop puzzle on this day, while the sun still shines and the snow does not fall. There is a degree of urgency. My next plan is to park the truck nose down on that steep pitch and see if I can get some air movement out of the heater core. I can't open the radiator or the engine coolant will pour down in flood. The plan is to pop off the highest hose on the block, engine off, and see if I can get some air rising from the heater loop, at least enough to allow coolant circulation to push the rest out in a level parking position.

If anyone has any knowledge about addressing this air lock problem in a TT2, let me know. I need to get back to my real job and stop dubbing around with this truck. I seem to recall a discussion about problems with air lock in a TT2, KV4 coolant system in the distant past. I have not run onto it in my searches.

By the way, the TT2 is pretty quick sans bed and side gates. It looks menacing, all black, naked and rustproofed behind the cab. Can't go too far down the dirt road without a licence on the back. It will spin both rear tires in second gear. I didn't try third, but pretty sure I could get a two wheel scratch forever. There is nothing holding that rear end down.

I hope everyone might glean some valuable insights from my experience on this project, so far.

Regards to all from Rick

 

There is a bleeder hose on the EN07 (the engine used on both the KS and the TT chassis) to allow the air to escape. If you look above the valve cover, there is a capped off hose.. it may be zip tied in with some other hoses. Point the hose straight up and remove the cap to let the air escape.

 

No joy. The bleeder tube yielded coolant, fully extended, while the heater loop remains cold.

I pulled the upper hose (return to engine) off the heater loop and got a flood of coolant, though the metal section of that same section remained cold.

I pulled the lower hose from the block (send back to heater core) and got absolutely nothing.

I tried it hot. I tried it cold. I tried it on the hill, nose down.

I'll re-assess after some lunch.

 

There is a valve on the heater core that prevents the water from flowing through it unless the heat is on. It is possible that valve is stuck closed.. or, do you have the defroster on, or are you trying to do heat out of the vents? The other possibility is a blocked heater core?

 

I am trying to sort out where that heater control valve is. It is not obvious, but it must be somewhere below the dash, near the blower housing. I popped out a pocket on the dash for a better view of linkage/cable connection, to no avail. Everything in there looks in great shape, zinc chromate shining. It isn't likely the cable/linkage has rotted off the control, unlike how things appear out under the bed.

Meanwhile, I discovered a second bleeder hose with plug under the passenger seat beside the radiator/washer fluid access, clipped in on the frame (getting smarter on what to look for thanks to you). I popped that and got a single spurt of coolant under pressure and then, nothing. Took the truck for an offroad run in the back 40 until the radiator fan kicked on, then pulled the plug again. Nothing.

Maybe I try opening both bleeder hoses at the same time? Pretty sure I already tried it.

When parked in spring, this heater was working like a champ. I even have AC.

Maybe I air bleed this thing a few times after use and the coolant will gradually displace the air. I have no other solutions.

 

EDIT: So, I looked up some diagrams of the TT chassis, and it looks like there is no valve.. at least not at the heater core itself..

I am digging around some other diagrams to see if I can give you a better answer here.

 

Great image. I think it will be helpful. Raining today. I'll have to wait to see. Thanks.

 

Could the thermostat be causing this issue?

 

I warm the engine up and watch the temp go up to normal operating temperature and hold. I can feel the return engine coolant tube (1" ID) warm right up after the engine warms. I assumed that means the thermostat is opening.

I guess I should just order a thermostat and replace it on principle. It's about as easy a time of it I'll ever have. It's not hard to get to. Know a substitute thermostat I could get at Autozone? One way or another, I can make my own gasket.

Going on a thermostat search now. Thanks for the advice.

 

If it were me, I’d hook my hand vacuum pump on the bleeder hoses and suck until I got fluid out.

If you don’t have one they are worth having. They are really handy for checking the distributor and all the vacuum actuated devices. Not sure how many of the blasted things your rig has, but my Hijet has about thirty and since they are all twent five years old, they are starting to not work right. The ability to quickly test them is really handy. And, once you have one you can come up with lots of ideas on how to put it to use.

 

The most vac hoses I ever saw were on my '84 Civic si hatch back's 1.5 liter carbureted engine. I have a vacuum engine oil extractor. I swear by it. I'll take a look at hand vacuum pumps online.

 

Rick, check out rkrenicki’s spread sheet. It shows another thermostat.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1mASg41uyMmMQCKHPuEAaKd6tTgOhHdlgUGOQIc_ojwo/edit?usp=sharing

But your probably correct if you can feel the return hose heat up the thermostat is probably working.

I’m sure you have checked, but on mine the slide for the heater would move but the actual on/off valve on the heater was not moving. I had to lay on my back, look up at the heater and move the slide controls from hot to cold to find out it was not moving, just kinking the cable up. Would be a quick check to see if yours is doing the same thing.

 

I ordered a thermostat on principle. It was kinda pricey, all the way from SD. It's on its way to NH. I found a vac pump kit available at Harbor Freight. It looks highly adaptable to many situations. I might pick it up this afternoon. I'll call and make sure they have it in the local outlet. I'm all in on this, facing major back surgery soonest. I need this bed on before the snow falls.

I do recall some resistance in the heat control slider before the truck was parked on stands in June. I'll get in there and check the linkage. I can see the slider moving the linkage below, but there is a further link concealed by the heater housing, perhaps the linkage bucked off the valve, a retaining clip failed. One can only hope it is so simple.

 

I have not yet verified that the Camry thermostat actually works.. I still have 2 brand new ones from the Japanese dealer, so it will be a very long time before I actually need to test that theory. I believe I found that crossreference somewhere on this forum, and added it to my list so I wouldn't lose it..

 

rkrenicki, any chance I could get you to do a spread for my VIN? KS4164020 I think I just need the hoses right now.

 

Sorry for the long delay here, I saw this when you posted it and then forgot to follow up.

The list for that VIN is exactly the same as the one you quoted.. except for the Heater Inlet and Outlet hoses (line 13 and 14) which are as follows:

Code:

Hose, Heater Inlet         45161*A    45162TA330   2720¥
Hose, Heater Outlet        45161A*A   45162TA340   2530¥

The prices are the same, just a different version of the hose.

 

CtrlZ, check out the info on the link below. I changed out all of the radiator, fuel and vacuum hoses on mine a while back. (Page 3)

https://minitrucktalk.com/forums/subaru-sambar-references.32/

Subaru Sambar specs/ interchange part #'s

 

Er, as noted above, there are two differences for @CtrlZ's truck. Keep in mind that not every Sambar has the same hose arrangement.

 

I took the whole truck apart..

 

Okay? Do you need new radiator hoses?

 

No but it makes it easier to replace them.