Louis J Hoppmann

My 92 needs to have the heater core replaced. It’s quit expensive. Not to mention every thing that has to be removed. I wonder if it would all work again. I properly only use the heater three or four times a year. Was thinking about just turning the hoses to the heater core back on one another. Has anyone done that and what do you think?
Lou

zr1fred

Whatever they want to replace your heater core would be cheap! When they start building a corvette, they start with a heater core and build the car around it! Or so it seems. A lot of people down here just bypass the heater cores. Of course, we do need our AC working good.

hooked073

There is no reason why everthing should not work again. I have done vehicles that are a he#l of a lot harder then c4's. You may not need it for heat a lot in SC. But I know of a lot of cool nights you may need it to defog your windows. By passing works but just think about the weather you are going thry right now or last week

samsonb

The down side about using defrost is the car has to be at temp for it to work. I'm usually almost at my destination by the time the car is at temp to use the heater/defrost.

LT1*C4

On a '92 Vette, you can replace the heater core without having to remove anything besides the glove box lid and the hush panel below to gain access to the core itself from underneath. The lid up top is removed in order to get access to the upper screws along the heater core housing. Contrary to popular belief, you DON'T have to remove the entire dash...

I did the heater core on my '92 a few month's back in preparation for this upcoming winter since I drive the car year round, and bypassing the heater is simply not an option for me. It wasn't exactly an "easy" job by any stretch of the imagination, but it did require a lot of patience and of coarse, a lot of flexibility on my part.

You can follow the link in my signature to the thread I started showing a few pictures of what I had to remove. Should give you a rough idea of what's involved in the project.

If you insist on ditching the heater all together though, yes, it's as simple as just splicing the two coolant hoses (that go into the heater core through the firewall) - together using a barbed fitting of some sort. You can usually pick them up at your local plumbing supply/hardware store for cheap.

Hope that helps!

hooked073

Your right josh.car has to get warm. I dont know where you live but the other night went to get in the car to go home it was in the low 20 all the windows iced over. Car would be sitting 4 days latter if I did not have defog or heat. Iv even had to use defog on summer nights when going down into cool valleys.

BillSF49

Mine is a 94, and when I changed mine, it was a religious experience. I am a novice mechanic, but I did it. Had to remove the dash and everything, but, was glad when it was over.

NebCorvette94

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c4-t...-that-bad.html

Nice write up.

redvetttes

On a 86
Is it bad ?

CorvetteMike2024

The first time you change out a vette heater core it can be challenging.
After the first one, its alot easier.





If you do it yourself, you can apply for this certificate

WW7

Actually the earlier years ( up to 89) are easier to do then the later years, but none are alot of fun..Trust Me...WW

Desert LT1 Vette

funny

Louis J Hoppmann

Thanks everyone. LT1*C4 your info makes it look possible. I may try it myself.
Thanks Lou

Redghost

I'm still in the process of changing out my heater core. I've gotten to the point of having the new one in and the cover back on. But, due to alot of Christmas stuff, that is where I had to stop. I'll continue working on it after Christmas.

I was doing mine according to the post of "Fastguy" and some others. If it helps, here is a "copy and paste" of Fastguy's post.

Heater core done, it was pretty easy.

Whoever wrote that huge "pull the dash out" article was a friggin' crackhead.

You don't pull the dash, instead, pull the passenger seat.

Pull the hush panel, drop the ECM and the door control module.
Remove the support bar going from the door pillar to the dash.
Use a 7mm to take the cover off the heater box.
Pull the cover, unbolt the core, re-install.
Drink beer and laugh at webpage showing guys pulling dash.


[Modified by Fastguy, 8:17 PM 4/6/2003]

Now, believe me, it's not as easy as it sounds. I had to remove the top dash pad to get the screws to remove the (what I call) the passenger impact pad. Once that was out of the way, it was still not an easy task, but alot better then removing the whole dash, as some say you have to. The first thing that you really have to do is remove the Passenger seat.

Anyway, good luck. This is a job I don't wish on anyone.

But,,,,,,, I do agree with the "having a beer" part.

Redghost

I'm still wondering if CorvetteMike is going to give me one of those certificates for changing out a heater core.

Jimbo 89

I thought my 89 was a piece of cake, (after I finished it...lol)
The hardest part is the unknown. Take your time. For 89 & earlier, all done from under. Remove pass seat & get small pillow for neck & head.
there are earlier posts w/pics. Worked for me. Don't let this 63 yr old show you guys up!!!

H P Bushrod

100%. This is the procedure I used to swap out the heater core on my '85. Had the job done in two nights after work. Removing the passenger seat is the key to making this job a lot easier.