How Hard Is It To Change The Heater Core On A 1999 Cavalier?!

JohnnyWadd · 10-25-2010, 02:52 PM

So, my girl drives a 99 Cavalier and the heater core just went out. I fancy myself to be a bit of a mechanic, so I'm wanting to fix it myself. Problem is, I know that sometimes these heater cores can be a bitch to change. Anybody got any helpful advice here?

I went out my buddy's shop and looked it up on All Data... it calls for 6.5 labor hours. Should I expect it to take every bit of that, or can I assume that I'll get her done a bit faster? I don't wanna spend a whole day on this if I don't have to.

I know the console's gotta come out. I don't have to take out the radio and heater control assembly, do I? I'm just hopin' that I can leave all of that stuff in place... wondering if anyone can confirm or disconfirm this for me. The less I have to take apart, the better!!

Any help you can give would be greatly appreciated...

JohnnyWadd · 10-29-2010, 07:42 PM

Hello?!!!

Is there anybody out there?!

inafogg · 10-29-2010, 09:32 PM

never did a cavalier but would'nt think the g/am is too differant
console,shifter.lower dash(under a/c controls)alot/most of dash trim
it was'nt fun and 6-7 hrs sounds right.(if the cars are simular) 98 G/AM

JohnnyWadd · 11-07-2010, 11:02 AM

Well, piss on it... I'm about to jump in head first. I'll let you know how it goes...

Helmuth48 · 11-13-2010, 09:34 PM

Never did a Cavalier...but I did a 95 Firebird....it was a real pain and took me two days and a case of beer.... Cheer Mate.. good luck...

JohnnyWadd · 11-20-2010, 04:19 PM

That friggin' SUCKED!!!

I ended up disassembling some stuff that I didn't need to, but in the long run, it helped me. Broke a few things, too... the plastic gets brittle over time and if you've missed a bolt or screw, it's easy to break the plastic when you tug on it.

The big thing is that I couldn't get the cover off of the heater core. I thought I'd removed all the bolts... turns out I hadn't. There's one tricky little bugger toward the right front of the cover that's really hard to get at. Once it's out, though, the job's a breeze.

Reassembly goes a lot easier. All-in-all, it was time consuming, but not overly difficult. Just make sure you get that bolt that I was talking about... that little guy added probably an hour to the job for me. I couldn't figure out why I couldn't get the cover off.

But, it's over now... no more leaks. If you know something about cars, you should be able to handle it. Just be patient and don't get mad like I did.

Good luck.

inafogg · 11-20-2010, 07:19 PM

glad to see you got through it.yea plastic is a bitch & then rattles if not secured
after you calm down(few beers)its all worth it,& you saved alot of $$$$!!!
make sure you bleed cooling system(if needed)

Modeeb · 01-01-2011, 05:50 PM

JohnnyWadd, I'm doing the heater core on a 2001 Cavalier but can't get the cover off. I removed that rear screw at the very back and all others. The cover seems "loose" yet is still seems to be getting hung up on something. Drain hose maybe?

Did you pull straight down or pull the cover backwards? Can't get the cover out for the life of me.

Any help appreciated.

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