This is no going to be fun
 

So today i started on replacing my heater core. i have done this on a mustang once before, and it was such a pain. it sure isn't any easier doing it on a supra.. i just came up here to check on my laptop, how to get to the actual heater core out, now that i got the dash out of the way... And who's idea was it to screw all the wires on the dash were you can't get to them??? There are a lot of little things in this cars that don't make too much sends.. well, not to me. Good thing this cars are bad ass, or i would just say screw it.

You don't need to unscrew the harness from the back side of the dash. Follow it along and you'll see the plugs where it disconnects from the chassis harness.

And yes, the job sucks. :(

the thing is thought, that i couldn't even see where the wires were going to cause they were all hiding behind the dash. all screwed down with plastic.. so i just unscrew them.. i wont next time. I'm not all done yet, i ran out of sun light. i don't have a garage, so i have to do everything in the parking lot of my apartment. it sucks

Chalk it up as a learning experience.

:werd:I feel your pain with the apartment thing. I've made an art out of borrowing garages. :naughty:

As long as you're already in there I'd spend a little time working on some things you can't get to otherwise. When I pulled my dash for the heater core replacement I went ahead and sanded & painted the dash reinforcement bar (it was bad rusty, got rust stains over everything it touched). It looked better, and was much neater to work with and around. I also went to the trouble of redoing all the foam in and on the air box and ductwork. The foam that was there had all deteriorated long ago (it's an '88) and was allowing air around all the different baffles and doors which couldn't seal anymore. Made a noticable difference when I had the fan on.

Oh, a couple of fair warnings. The wiring harness plugs behind the drivers side kick panel were a serious PITA to get loose. Just wouldn't release without a lot of cussing and dire threats. Also, the dead pedal will have to be pulled if you haven't done it yet due to the bolt/screw hiding behind it which holds a panel in place. The head on the bolts on those things tend to rust, so they may give you some problems and try to strip.

I didn't think about that.. so where can i get that foam from? is that anything that i can get in a regular auto store?

I've used self adhesive foam tape for the job before.

http://www.pplmotorhomes.com/parts/c.../foam-tape.jpg

I think 1/2" thick would do for most, but there are a couple spots where 1/4" will be easier to reassemble. It's not expensive so using both isn't a killer. It's available at every hardware store I've ever been to.


Mirage83, did you find something else for the task?

i tell you what.. i sure am glad i found this site.. you guys are a big help. Thanks you..

I ordered my foam from a guy who makes pre-cut, ready-to-install kits for the air boxes for classic/vintage muscle cars and just used quality 3M spray adhesive to lock it to the box. It's the same kind of foam (density and all) as the original used on our boxes, pretty cheap too at I think $5.00 a sheet and 1 sheet is really all you need to do the air box. If you like I can send you some pics I took during the process of fixing mine.

The foam tape that Cre was talking about will work very well for the ductwork joints and such (and there are quite a few), but probably not so well for the panels and doors on the interior of the box. The control mechanism doesn't seem to have a lot of free-play to allow for any additional thickness of the seal which you'd likely end up with going with the tape alone. But for use on the joints, absolutely.

Here's the website for where I sourced the foam sheets from....

http://www.detroitmuscletechnologies.com/

Real nice guy to deal with, very helpful. Either call or email (and he responds well to either). He inquired if there was enough interest out there to justify making up a kit for our MkIII's, but given that our dash's aren't the easiest in the world to pull and we only do it when we HAVE to, I couldn't tell him that there was.

Good luck with yours in any case. Oh, and one more warning.... DO NOT BREAK THE DASH MOUNTING PINS UP NEAR THE WINDSHIELD WHEN YOU PULL THE DASH! They're tricky, they're just plastic and they aren't available through Toyota anymore (though the receptacles are) unless you buy an entire dash. So finding someone with replacements will be your only option if you do. Pull upward gently on the dash when you've got all your bolts/screws/wiring plugs disconnected.

Thanks for the info on the foam Mirage. I agree, it is unlikely there would be enough demand for a pre-cut kit to justify the time and effort.

Good call on the clips too... been there done that. I just rebuilt mine, but it is something which could probably have been avoided altogether had I known better.