[sixto]

That didn’t go well. The Four Seasons fittings were barely snug. No confidence they’d hold. I used PEX 3/4” tees instead. Getting half inch heater hose on a 3/4” PEX nipple is a bear! I used dish soap to make things slippery and it was still a struggle.

Sixto
‘04 LE FWD 203K miles

 

[paul r]

Next time use a blow dryer or heater gun to warm the hose a bit.

 

[sixto]

Thanks and noted and heat would have been welcome working in the open today, but the point of the exercise is to avoid a next time

Sixto
‘04 LE FWD 203K miles

 

[thebarmecca]

the heater hose tees are 5/8x5/8x1/2

 

[sixto]

It was a learning for me that a 3/4” spec PEX fitting measures 5/8”.

Sixto
‘04 LE FWD 203K miles

 

[jseyfert3]

Use the biggest Sawzall with the toughest blade you can find. That is a miserable, miserable job with the cheapest Harbor Freight Sawzall even with a quality blade.

I haven’t cut an axle, but one time I was cutting stuck rusted brake rotors off my car cause I didn’t want to hammer the crap out of it and possibly damage the bearings. Perhaps I was overly cautious.

Anyway, I had a cheap metal blade, wore out like nothing. Got a Dewalk metal cutting blade, got like 1/8” inch before it was worn out. Bought a Diablo carbide tooth metal cutting blade, and it cut through the brake rotors like butter. It was absolutely unbelievable how fast and easy it cut that 1/4” thick steel.

I had Harbor Frieght’s midrange sawzall, which I bought about 12 years ago. It’s all about the blade. If cutting more than nails, get a quality carbide tooth blade.

 

[sixto]

x2 on a Diablo blade for metal.

Sixto
‘04 LE FWD 203K miles

 

[billadams]

I just did this repair at the beginning of November and thankfully my wife was almost home when one of the tees went. I took the tray off the firewall to make it easier to get to and got the oem tees from the dealership and replaced both. I figured I was better off going with the oem tees rather than metal. I was curious about the old tees since they looked strange and not like real plastic in their deteriorated state. They looked like they were formed with cellulose in their construction. I asked the person at the parts counter at the dealership since I was concerned about debris in the cooling system and they spoke to one of their technicians and they didn't seem to think it was an issue. They almost look like tthey're designed to deteriorate since not all of them was left when I pulled them and their parts out of the hoses. Since the old ones lasted for over 230K miles I figure I won't have to worry about replacing them again.

 

[Dan06]

The plastic Toyota OEM tees measure 17x17x14mm OD, which is slightly largely than the Four Seasons (16x16x13mm) and 3/4x3/4x1/2" brass PEX (16x16x12mm). This could explain why some people making the swap to metal are unable to obtain a tight fit using the original spring clamps.

 

[Harideva Luu]

This is the most closely fit brass available on Amazon. There was an owner commented that it fit His Sequoia. https://www.amazon.com/Joyway-Reduc...b+hose+T+reducer&qid=1689205359&sprefix=3/4+barb+hose+t+reducer,aps,190&sr=8-24

 

[sixto]

Four Seasons is a bad fit. I have a pair I held on too long to return. Anyone want them? I forget what size PEX fittings I got but they were quite a struggle to fit. Definitely not loose like the Four Seasons. I’ve used barbed brass fittings on other cars. They’ll outlast the car.

Sixto
‘04 LE FWD 214K miles

 

[Azul]

This issue has been posted before, but since it's a potential engine killer I thought I'd mentioned it again.

Returned home and smelled coolant on my 09 Sienna LE with 208k miles. Pop to the hood to hear phft, phft, phft and could see coolant leaking from below the air intake hose between the throttle body and air filter housing.

I'm lucky I didn't have a catastrophic failure causing the engine to overheat.

Remove the battery, air filter housing and intake hose to the throttle body, that gives you plenty of room to replace the faulty tee. I replaced both plastic tees with the 3/4 inch brass barbed tees. I reuse the original hose clamps and the hoses were in great shape it was just the tees that crumbled.

Joywayus 2Pcs 3/4" ID Hose Barb, Tee T 3 way Union Fitting Intersection/Split Brass Water/Fuel/Air https://a.co/d/efdfa6G

I was cleaning up old bookmarks and saw a bookmark to this thread, to do list that I never did.

Finished it yesterday, thanks for the amazon link, the tee worked well. My back is hurting when I woke up this morning, sucks getting old.

The job also reminded me of my love and hate relationship with those spring hose clamps.

 

[jcazsienna]

The job also reminded me of my love and hate relationship with those spring hose clamps.

Love?.. :[

 

[Azul]

Love?.. :[

Love that they expand and contract with the hose when they change temperatures but I hate dealing with them.

 

[jcazsienna]

Love that they expand and contract with the hose when they change temperatures but I hate dealing with them.

Oh. My love/hate is HATE the locking ones, love the non-locking ones.

 

[rangerbentman]

Thanks for pointing out this thread and I looked at amazon T's noticing that what looks like, is not necessarily the correct part when comparing the year of fit? 1998-2007 for Sienna but another part that fits , looks the same , and is for 2006-2010

Amazon.ca

As my T's are just leaking a tiny amount I can safely drive till the parts arrive and have my mechanic manipulate the fittings , that look relatively easy to work on , if only my hands would comply.

 

[rangerbentman]

So anyone else done this T-fitting repair quickly or it this going to be like the guy in the Jetta video taking 10 minutes to change the lower ball joint and moi taking 97 minutes ?

 

[jcazsienna]

You can reach the tees by pulling the intake housing. 5 bolts and 1 or 2 hose clamps, all 10mm. Fighting the tees out is going to depend on how the hoses are.

If replacing the hoses, I found I had to pull the throttle body adding a good 20-30min. You can access 1 onf the 4,5 bolts with a socket.

Installing the hoses onto the lower hard lines was a struggle and I managed to have the hose clamp slip off and down under the car. Plus I had to run to the store for the short 1/2" line,.. then again for the missing vacuum line and as a bonus, clearing the check engine light for missing the mass air flow connector.

Then you have to refill and burp the system, a PIA with the radiator cap under the cowl.

1.5hrs wouldn't be shocking to me given I've been in there several times and know where everything goes. Less if just doing the tees.

 

[rangerbentman]

Woohoo someone said a simple 10 minute re and re! it took me 20 minutes just trying to get the easy to take off MAF connector to willingly part with it's male counterpart . I did the lower connector first and took off the spring clips to replace with 1" hose clamps Both T-fitting's were broken on the battery side and a piece on the firewall side was stuck for a while . Lots and lots of coolant all over and I put in about 2 liters so far. Rad appears full and I loosened the bleeder valve to see a bit of air but not much come out . So heat blows cool not hot, and I guess it is just a matter of further bleeding ???
I think the longest part of this is getting all the pieces of old plastic fitting out and wiggling the hands in a confined space but the new fittings feel like they snap into place on the hose. Now to fill the crank case with 90W gear oil and get rid of the lifter noise!

 

[Roader]

So heat blows cool not hot, and I guess it is just a matter of further bleeding ???

It took about three days of driving the van, letting it sit overnight, and adding coolant to the engine until it was full for all the air too be bled out. It was summer so I don't know if the heater was cool but the heater core is at the high point in the cooling system so air in the system would make sense.