'97 Heater Core (dammit)

OK, my wife wants to keep her 97 Jimmy, so I gotta replace the heater core. A task I swore off long ago. I've read other threads here and know what I'm in for...pull dash, drop steering column, etc, etc. No problems there. What I need you geniuses to tell me is: what else do I need to look for or replace while I got everything pulled apart?? Of course I'll check wiring, vacuum hoses and the like. What I wanna know is...whats gonna grenade 2 weeks after I put it back together?? Thanks for all your help. This place is the greatest place on earth for anybody that loves wrenchin!!

You've got it covered. A good visual inspection. Oh, and did I mention, don't buy a cheap heater core. Do the job once.

Watch the hazard switch when you pull the dash trim. In the past, I've pulled the trim on mine several times without incident. Yesterday while changing my heater core, I pulled out on the trim and broke the hazard switch. Now, I'm waiting on the $160 replacement to come in.

rlith made a good "how to" about just replacing the button ($20 fix), but unfortunately it wouldn't work in my situation.

The red push-button hazard switch is available separately. It just snaps in to the multifunction switch.

The red push-button hazard switch is available separately. It just snaps in to the multifunction switch.

That's the $20 fix that I was talking about.