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Old 10-29-2015, 06:03 PM   #1
QDH Dale
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97 Astro Heater Core Replacement - Hints

My 1997 Astro AWD conversion van needed a new front heater core. The hint was the large release of coolant all over the passenger side carpet after a long run back from a radio expedition on a mountain in CN96 (any ham guys will know what that means .)

Considering all of the routine things that are torture to perform on these Astro vans, surprisingly the heater core replacement is pretty easy. A shop will want many hundreds to do it but if you are at all handy it's not very difficult. Bought a new core from RockAuto dot com - I got the Spectra Premium, about $50 with shipping.

The Haynes and Chilton manuals are somewhat generic about the replacement procedure. It looks like the pictures show the core mounted vertically, parallel to the side wall. On my 97 the core is actually mounted horizontally, somewhat parallel to the floor. The manuals will guide you with the basics. I'll just throw in a few hints that might save you some time and headaches.

First, do yourself two huge favors: Be sure you have lots of light down there in the passenger footwell. Have some sort of bright flashlight that you can set down and aim where you want it. It is incredibly frustrating to try and find some of the fasteners if you can't see them. Also, REMOVE THE PASSENGER SEAT before starting any of this. Unless you're a glutton for punishment or a contortionist, you need some room down there. On my conversion van it was easy - four big nuts and the seat comes out. I assume the OEM seats are similar. Hint - when you put back the seat be sure to torque those nuts down tight! If you get in a wreck it's the only thing preventing your passenger from flying into the windshield with the seat still attached to him. This isn't an ejection seat for a fighter jet.

You will have to pull off the two coolant hoses that feed the heater from under the hood. Pretty straightforward if you first remove the coolant/windshield cleaner tanks as mentioned in the manual. Back in the passenger footwell, remove the lower trim panel (the panel below the airbag compartment) and the cover over the heater core. You'll figure it out; there aren't many fasteners. Hint: some of the fasteners require 5.5mm socket. I had a 5mm, and a 6mm, but no 5.5mm. A 7/32" works fine. Hint: the manual says to remove the engine cover. I did, but I don't think that was really necessary looking back on it. It does give you a bit more room and a bit easier view, so it's up to you. The heater is held in place by two long metal straps. The bottom of each is just tabbed into a slot, and the upper of each has a 5.5mm screw. Finding/accessing those screws is not a lot of fun. A box end wrench is probably your best bet because the air ducts make it difficult to fit a ratchet up there. Once the two straps are removed, just gently pull on the core and out she comes. Installation is pretty much the reverse. Again, the upper two screws on the retaining straps are a bear, and this is where you'll be glad you removed the passenger seat so you can lay under the dash and actually see where the holes are.

One more hint - my Spectra replacement core had the correct length pipes but it was immediately evident when set down next to the original one that the pipes were not at all at the same angle. No panic - the replacement one's pipes are cleverly gasketed to the core body and they actually twist to the correct position. Just gently grasp each one and you can twist it to match the correct orientation. Other manufacturers may have them rigidly crimped to the core body at presumably the correct orientation.

The entire job should take a couple of hours, more or less. Good luck!

dale
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