Submitted by: Sparky
First of all, this is not what I would consider a snap job (especially for the
first timer). But, I do not want to scare you off from trying. Rebuilding them
is the easy part, getting them off can be a bit challanging.
I can give you the entire blow by blow when and if you do yourself.
For now, heres the down and dirty:
1. Remove battery and vacuum tank.
2. Remove headlight canisters (I can really give you tips in this part)
3. Rebuild canisters. You should remove the actuator (I guess its not really needed, but you can clean it and the canister is easier to handle. It comes off easily with 3 self tapping nuts). Then drill out the rivits. Clean out canister and gently clean plunger/piston (I used mineral spirits). Grease cannsiter with silicone grease and fill the little channels/grooves in the rubber piston. Insert new spring (clamp the top to bottom...this new spring really has balls), use the supplied stainless steel nuts and bolts to secure top. Be sure the relief slots are clean on the cover interface so it doesn't air lock.
4. Reinstall canisters
5. Grease the hell out of all pivot points. (The little ball joints under the fender and inside the fender well where another little ball joint is on the light door bracket itself)
6. Cover the threads of the lower canister shaft with lock-ease or similar product to protect the treads (if you break off the long threaded mounting stud on the canister, you are screwed) ):
This sounds easy...but it will take you an entire Saturday to do it!
******WARNINING*****
When removing canisters it would behoove you to heat the lower nut on shaft
before trying to losen. DO NOT try and remove the ball joint assembly from welded
mounting bracket. Do not attempt to losen the upper nut on stud, this is used
for the riser indexing and is pre-set. They are a bear to re-index. After you
have removed the nut on the lower end of stud, slide the enitire canister up
and out of the ball joint sleeve and its in your hands!
Submitted by: Sparky
October 9, 1996
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I was getting tired of having to get out of the '66 Toro, put my arm under the
front bumper, and help lift up the headlight doors. For a while they were doing
okay, but then things got worse.
I read Sparky's FAQ about headlight doors -- what a tremendous help -- Thanks! I have some additional things to add, if I may:
1. Removing the vacuum canister in left front fender. The vacuum canister is attached by 4 3/8" bolts (one by the radiator, one under the wheel well, and two underneath. The frame of the vacuum canister has a tab on the bottom of it, for aligning it when you want to reinstall the bottom bolts.
2. Two hoses attach to each vacuum canister. Be sure to mark them if you remove them! The bottom hose appears to be the one that pulls in the piston to open the headlight door. Once the door opens, a small recess in the top of the piston locks against the vacuum valve on top of the canister. The top hose goes to this vacuum valve. When it works, it releases the piston so that the headlight door will close.
3. Each canister assembly is attached to the car at two points.
The bottom of the canister assembly has a threaded steel rod that passes through a ball joint assembly underneath the car. An upper nut and low nut secure the rod to the ball joint assembly. I loosened the ball joint assembly and removed the lower 1/2" nut from the rod.
The top of the canister is attached to the arm of the headlight door. I lifted up the headlight door manually, the piston locked in place, and then I could see the 1/2" nut that attaches the arm of the headlight door to the piston. Remove this 1/2" nut.
4. Pull out the canister assembly.
5. I could TRY to rebuilt each canister assembly, but I'm going to try something different: UPS the old canisters to Ken Hitchcock, 122 Rowley Hill Road, Sterling, Mass, 01564 (phone 978-422-6390) with a check for $100 (per canister) +$10 shipping (total for both: $220). He will send you two rebuilt canisters within the same week.
So that's where I am right now. I reinstalled the battery and vacuum tank, and put in bolts to plug the vacuum lines. Of course the headlamp doors are now closed, so I have used rope (attached to the headlight door arms) to keep them open. Hopefully next week I'll get the rebuilt canisters.
Submitted by: Paul Bartlett, December 29, 1996
July 19, 2004 update: I spoke with Ken Hitchcock on the phone a few days ago. He still rebuilds 1966 canisters for the Toronado! He said it was OK for people to contact him through this page. He sounds like a very nice guy, and I look forward to getting around to removing my canisters and sending them off to Ken! (Right now, my Tornado is perpetually "winking.")
This page was originally posted on www.toronado.org, the site of the Toronado Owner's club. I've updated some of the content and mirror it here. As of this writing, Toronado.org is mostly offline.