Hey Guys,
I know there has been a few threads about changing the heater core out if you do the carpeting, to prevent later mess and :cuss . But I was looking through Chiltons last night, as Im getting ready to do this lil job, and it seems like no small replace. Im sure a bunch of you have done this before, I just wanted to get an idea of 1) How bad is it really? 2) How long did it take you to do? Thanks in advance! :auto:

 

Step #1: Disassemble entire car.

Not quite that bad, but close. Took me two weekends. One of those jobs where I would find myself just staring at it at times...

Good luck,
Mark

 

I just finished doing my 89. I will say its a pia, but looking back at it, now that I'm done :D it wasn't that bad. I wrapped mine up in about 5-6 hours total.

Find the fastguy procedure and you'll be ok.

 

Well... It's not That bad. Certainly there are Easier cars to do it on, but there are harder too. One of the biggest pains on the 'vette is how low you have to get to do it - it helps to have the car on a lift where you can stand beside the open pass. door and work at chest height. If you don't have a lift handy then put the car on stands and work kneeling next to it. You wind up laying across the door sill somewhat either way, but it helps. In actual labor time - took me about 4 hours to get it all apart, another 4 or slightly less to get it back together. Do some homework up front and pick up a new plastic connector for the temperature control cable before you start - you'll probably break the old one-it's old and brittle! This is the clip that connects the end of the control cable to the arm on the temperature control door, it'll have to come from GM. I broke mine and spent at least an hour cobbing up something to work so I could keep putting it back together. It's still in there... Couple of other things (as I remember them - I replaced the core in mine about a year ago...) There are a couple of metal "clips" holding the core into the froward half of the heater housing (you only take out the Rear half of the housing thereby exposing the core). They come out ok, but are a real bear to get lined up going back in. Toughest part of the job. The foam seal that the pipes stick through going by the firewall into the engine compartment is probably not going to be re-useable either - I just used a caulk gun and glopped it up from the firewall side. Neatly! None of the steps along the way are all that bad by themselves - but none are real easy either. The "hush" panel or lower dash panel is a pain to get out with the hidden screws up inside - silly design. The screws that hold the two heater housing halves together are located such that they are as hard as possible to remove. Could have been thought about a bit more before it was designed quite that way. I mentioned the retaining clips for the core... I could go on. It was frustration about stuff like this when I was a full time mechanic that made me become an engineer. Of course, I'm not now working anywhere near the auto industry! Have fun - and don't be afraid to ask - I'll help if I can. remer@direcway.com (I won't be around this saturday).

 

WOW! Thanks for the awsome breakdown and tips!! I dont plan on starting it just yet, but def in the up comming weeks.....any other tips are greatly appreciated! Thanks so far guys! :auto:

 

Did mine last winter. would not do it if it's not leaking :smash:

 

ya i wouldnt but the car is 20 years old and ive heard that replacing it now is better then putting in new carpeting and then having it go......all over the place! Any truth to that???

 

As you can see it's a horrible job. But as you point out it IS a 20 year old car. It WILL fail. Better to anticipate the problem in warming weather, than get caught needing it and changing it in the cold. If, when, it fails, you will get ample warning by fogging the windshield and the odor, giving you time to "short circuit" the heater hoses before any damage is done, but that won't keep your tootsies warm.

RACE ON!!!

 

Wool sweater, baseball hat, driving gloves.

When the steering wheel gets up close to body temp., take off the gloves. :lol:

 

:rofl: me too, and about 40 hours of break time when working on replacing the heater corethose two weekends. Remember to lable ALL the screws to where it should be at. Some screw have different treads than the other.

 

I've come up with a leaking core too. I just looked at the instl in my '91 and it looks like it's possible to get to the core from the engine side of the firewall by removing the RH wheel, wheel well inner liner, coolant reservoir, frame-to-latch support brace, blower & motor, and w/s washer reservoir. :lurk: Then, I'm hoping, disassembly of the core housing can begin. I'm also hoping I'll find the heater core in the same housing with the a/c core. If it's under the dash, I'm not even going to go there. :nopity

So . . . whatcha think? :grouphug:

 

Hey Guys, I just replaced the core in my 95LT1. Purchased a new GM core, before I installed it I had my local radiator shop pressure test it. Guess what?? Leaked all over!!!! Just a word of ADVICE. Good Luck.

 

Are you kidding me, the NEW core leaked? :eek:

 

:iagree:

If it ain't broke - don't fix it :nono:

This is not a regular maitenance item. Too may posts I have seen where people replace their heater cores and the new one end up leaking shortly thereafter. You will :beatdeadhorse: if this were to happen to you.

 

Quick question?

Why do you need to replace to heater core?

 

Fumes inside the car can't be eliminated by adding coolant sealer. I'm at the point of bypassing the core just to be able to keep driving it. :banghead:

 

I replaced the heater core on my red '85 in a parking lot stall. I pulled the pass seat out, that helped. It does come out from the inside, I didn't need to do much on the outside. The tricky part is r & R the core itself ($70 @ GM). :smash:
Plan a whole day or about $600 + $70 at the dealer. Took me about 11 hours.

redvtt :)

 

Anything you can elaborate on would be appreciated. :)

 

Did my 91 vert a few months ago. Went in under the dash per helms instruction. Quick way to check if it will come out through the engine compartment, undo the high surge tank and you can see where the core comes through the firewall. If its a solid piec then probably not, but I can't remember. :confused: :D

 

Thanks for all your inputs. Looks like this weekend I'll be taking a hacksaw to the heater hoses, adding plugs & clamps.

Sell it this summer. :party: