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Aircon
Climate control is an option. If you have it then the control panel as as shown here - with the temperature control (second lever down) marked 20-25-30 (deg C ?). The rear unit has similar temperature markings. With climate control the system will turn on heat or aircon depending on whether the cabin temperature is below or above what you selected, and the blower(s) will slow down as the selected temperature is approached. Also, with the vent control (top) levers in the middle the blower will not start trying to produce heat until hot water reaches the heater matrix.
Rear climate control unit(J Corfield #25)
Blower for rear climate control (J Corfield #24)
Hot/cold box control system (J Corfield #12)
Hot/cold box side cover removed (J Corfield #13)
Rear a/c controls access (J Corfield #34)
Rear a/c controls removed (J Corfield #35)
RH side where rear a/c controls go (J Corfield #22
Sight Glass
The a/c should cool the air to 10C below ambient, or 5C, whichever is lower. Check the sight glass when it's running. Sight glass and drier on 4x4 versions (CR30) are in front of the lefthand/nearside front wheelarch, - just push the rubber flap a bit and you should see it.(on CR21 it's higher up in front of the rad.)You should see fluid with the odd bubble. Continuous bubbles, foam or nothing indicates a problem.
Drains
There is a discharge of water from the aircon at the front of the vehicle through a small rubber hose which emerges through the floor. It is offset to the left, quite near the front. A drain tube around the middle of the vehicle, ie, behind the drivers seat and battery area, is for the rear aircon.
Belt
Toyota p/no. is 99332-60835 (same as liteace van with aircon. Ask for that. Local car shop £4.50)Intermittent sqeal, only with the aircon running, usually when its been on for a good while and usually when driven hard ie. high revs? Check that the belt is tight, but it's probably just the compressor's electric clutch not locking in quick enough.
Fitting No easy way. It's driver's seat and floor out, p/s & fan belts off, then the aircon belt. All fairly self - explanatory, other than the idler for the aircon belt - loosen the nut in the center, then use the bolt at the front of the sump to tension, before tightening the nut.
is the passenger side, under the injection pump. If there's no gas in the system, a low pressure switch stops the compressor from cutting in to protect it.
Two unions/access points on the air-con pipework
At the side of the compressor (under the expansion bottle) is the filling point/low pressure or suction valve. The high pressure valve is beside the sightglass and dryer. The valves are both the same, looking like a large tyre valve.
Refrigerant
is R-12. You should expect to have to recharge the aircon every 4 years so. Seems to cost £50 to £150 depending what other a/c maintenace is done at the same time. It's normal to evacuate whatever gas is in the system (to weigh and recover it), rather than just adding more. The gas is then forced in to the low pressure side of the system. Quantities are | | 750g | | If there is only A/C in the front |
| | 1200 - 1400g | | If there is A/C in front and rear |
| | 1600g | | A/C front and rear plus a [hot/]cool box |
It's illegal to produce R12, the only gas now available is reclaimed/recycled. There are a number of direct replacements available, or you can try your luck with R134a. Conversion to R134a isn't too difficult, doing it perfectly is. A search on the net will bring up a few options - David Miller, June 2001
... chose a local auto aircon firm, who turned up four hours later to do the job. They recovered 260g, pressure tested, dried the system out - deep vacum, added 1440g of R12 refrigerant and some mineral oil, no mention that this gas was illegal, Gas/leak test with electronic sniffer and treated both evaperators with antibacterial spray. Time taken just over an hour cost £68.00. They advised me that the original refrigerant is now illegal and that the particles of the R12 are a lot smaller and thus escape faster, recommending that it is done every 12 - 18 months this appears not to be the whole truth. - John Hardman, July 02, 2001.
I recently had mine topped up, they recovered 580g, evacuated the system, and filled it with 1200g of R12 for £50 - David Miller, June 2001