94 Bonneville heater core

Have a 94 Bonneville and pretty confiident the heater core is shot. Looks as if the complete dash needs to be dropped down to replace the unit. Anybody care to comment on how big of a job this is - not much experience with air bags and looks as if the passenger air bag is integrated into the upper dash unit. Haven't had a chance to get to the library to check out a Chilton's book on the subject.

No problems with the aribags... just disconnect the battery then disconnect the yellow connectors above the hush panels. The dash can be removed enough to get at things without removing the bags, radio or climate control.

You might want to explore the option of replacing without the pain and agony of taking the dash out. A couple of months ago, there was a discussion about replacing the air mix actuator which is screwed onto the top of the heater core cover. Normally the dash needs to be removed for this procedure. One guy chimed in and gave instructions on how to change it by removing just the core cover. Personally, I haven't researched it any further but it's worth a shot. You can do a search in this forum to locate the thread. Basically, he removed the ECM and HVAC programmer to access the two screws that fasten the cover. You will need to disconnect the air mix door rod to remove the cover. I believe he did this through the glove box opening with a long screwdriver.

Here's a couple of pics that might help with your task:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v155/randman1/1993SSEi/DSC01066_edit.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v155/randman1/1993SSEi/DSC01068.jpg

randman1:

That was a great help and I found your earlier post about the deinstalltion - a really big help for a Bonneville novice like me.

Did run into one problem in the fact that I broke the plastic connector from the park lock cable to the shifter. I see it runs pack to an electrical connector on top of the column - is that a simple fix by replacing the cable & connector? It was about 20 degress in central Ohio yesterday & my garage wasn't much warmer...
Something I need to fix as I have two toddlers & can't take the chance of an accident - figured I could at least wait for a warmer day & hit a junk yard.

Thanks again!!!!

I have a spare column in the shed that I can take a look at. I believe the locking tab that you broke is a part of the entire cable. Let me see if this in the case and if there is any other way to secure. I have an extra shifter assembly floating around here somewhere too. The cable is somewhat of a bitch to change as it travels under the floor duct and snakes through all of the steering column wiring.

Thanks.

Since the clip was plastic I am thinking/hoping that maybe there isn't much tension on it when it's engaged - don't know if I can get away with crimping an eyelet (like the ones for electrical connections) onto the end of the cable or doing something along those lines. Doesn't appear that there is much slack in the cable to work with and the factory crimp on the end may not allow me to modify it much.