Need help replacing heater core 91 Accord

Hello, I bought my son a 91 Accord EX Coupe. Unfortunately the heater core went out it sprung a bad leak leaking water on passenger side carpet. Its my understanding that in order to replace the heater core I have to remove the dashboard and steering column/wheel. Has anyone here performed this task we just bought the car local mechanic wants to charge $1,200. I cant afford that repair but I am willing to try and fix this this my sons first car and its disappointing he has a major repair. Hope you guys can give me some tips so I can show him we can do this ourselves and use this as a learning experience. I hope someone here can offer some advice or instruction.

Thank You

Blanco954

Unfortunately you do have to pull the dashboard but it's alot easier than other dashboards I've removed. The steering column doesn't have to come out. You can unbolt it from the dash support and lay it down on the seat,(pulled way back and lowered). Try not to turn the wheel once its unbolted. Unplug and unbolt the dashboard and remove it. Then you have to remove the case that the core is in,unbolt it from the firewall and disconnect the hoses going to the engine. Split the case and replace the heater core. If you're still interested,your best bet is to have some text and visual references. This is not a killer job and you can do it. Especially if you have a helper with removing and installing the dash. I would suggest you go to the AutoZone site below and sign up,(it's free), to get an idea of what it entails. If you decide to tackle it and you want better references go to All Data DIY and you can subscribe to the Honda Factory manuals, 1 year for $19.95. That'll give you step by step repair info to everything on the car plus specs,recalls,TSB's etc. It'll also give ya access to labor times and factory parts pricing and part numbers.
AutoZone:http://www.autozone.com/az/cds/en_us/0900823d/80/0d/0d/63/0900823d800d0d63/repairInfoPages.htm
All Data Diy:www.alldatadiy.com/alldatadiy/DIY
It will be a good experience for you and your son and a chance to work together especially if he's of the age where he'll be going off to school soon. It'll also teach him to stay in school and not want to turn wrenches the rest of his life! But he'll learn his way around tools and automobiles. In his future years he'll have a feel for what it takes to fix a car and maybe even know when someones BS'in him on an estimate.
I hope this helps.

Unfortunately you do have to pull the dashboard but it's alot easier than other dashboards I've removed. The steering column doesn't have to come out. You can unbolt it from the dash support and lay it down on the seat,(pulled way back and lowered). Try not to turn the wheel once its unbolted. Unplug and unbolt the dashboard and remove it. Then you have to remove the case that the core is in,unbolt it from the firewall and disconnect the hoses going to the engine. Split the case and replace the heater core. If you're still interested,your best bet is to have some text and visual references. This is not a killer job and you can do it. Especially if you have a helper with removing and installing the dash. I would suggest you go to the AutoZone site below and sign up,(it's free), to get an idea of what it entails. If you decide to tackle it and you want better references go to All Data DIY and you can subscribe to the Honda Factory manuals, 1 year for $19.95. That'll give you step by step repair info to everything on the car plus specs,recalls,TSB's etc. It'll also give ya access to labor times and factory parts pricing and part numbers.
AutoZone:http://www.autozone.com/az/cds/en_us/0900823d/80/0d/0d/63/0900823d800d0d63/repairInfoPages.htm
All Data Diy:www.alldatadiy.com/alldatadiy/DIY
It will be a good experience for you and your son and a chance to work together especially if he's of the age where he'll be going off to school soon. It'll also teach him to stay in school and not want to turn wrenches the rest of his life! But he'll learn his way around tools and automobiles. In his future years he'll have a feel for what it takes to fix a car and maybe even know when someones BS'in him on an estimate.
I hope this helps.

Thanks a lot DeltaP I will follow your suggestions, you definitely conveyed my thoughts of tackling this task together, he is heading off to college and I am gonna do what I can to support and keep him on that path. I look forward to getting this repair done. I will keep you posted on our progress and end result.

Please post any other tips you have. We gonna need all the virtual help we can get.

Blanco954

I'd suggest you flush the cooling system and replace the engine thermostat after the heater core is done. New antifreeze also.