Heater core in 92 crown Vic

[redderthanafeut]

Hey all, if someone can shed some light on this for me I will be very very happy. My car has been in pieces for a few days now and I need to get everything back together.

I'm replacing the heater core so the dash is off, the hoses are disconnected, and the two nuts holding the bottom of the core's plastic casing are off. However, there is still something holding it on and I can't see/tell what it is. There has to be just one more thing I've missed and once I know what it is I can get thing thing done.

Any help is greatly appreciated!

Thanks

[ModMech]

Check out this site for details on heater core replacement...

www.p71interceptor.com

[crownvic95]

I am having the same damn problem. I was able to get the two lower bolts off on the inside and a bolt off on the outside next to the 2 water inlet and outlet but it won't come out. It's like there is something else holding it in on the driver's side of the (plenum?) or heater core plastic holder. Can anyone offer any insight? I can pull super hard on it and it will only move like an inch. I must be missing something.

[crownvic95]

ModMech, I didn't see anything on that site you posted on heater core replacement.

P.S. don't buy Chilton car manuals, they suck. The directions are awful.

[mdsummy]

I am having the same problem w/ my '89 Vic. The entire housing for the heater core (plenum?) is easily moved and wiggled. The snag appears to be some where around the bolt that tightens the casing to the fire wall; which is located on engine side adjacent to the inlet and outlet hoses for the core. I took off all possible nuts and bolts engine side, and every screw under the dash. I got a copy of the schematics of the plenum and there appears to be parhaps a bracket on top of the plenum, but I could not find it. The Haynes manual apparently doesn't have anything different than the istructions I obtained from a local dealership. This is very frustrating since labor is running around $400-500 and the core costs only $25. I really don't want to break anything (nor do I want anyone else) since I bought the car in mint condition. PLEASE help me.

[redderthanafeut]

I emailed crownvic95 about this, I'm not sure if he's having any luck yet or not...but this is what I told him

The last step in getting my heater core out was taking a 2x4 to the
engine side of it and just giving it a couple of good wacks. I was in
the car pulling and my cousin just hit the pipes in the engine bay and
it popped right out...Seems like it just needed a little force and
that was it.

This was a few months ago but from what it sounds like you've done
everything I did up until the 2x4. I would put all my strength into
it and nothing but the 2x4 worked like a charm.

Let me know if this helps, doesn't help, or whatever. I'll try to
"relive" the experience and see if I can come up with anything else...

Good luck, you should be almost there. I ended up with about 9 extra
screws/bolts when I put it back on so let's see if you can beat that

[crownvic95]

Hi Greg,

Ok I finally got it out. A big thanks to greg for helping me out. At first when I was doing this, I wanted to take as little apart as possible in hopes of not breaking anything and I wanted to slide the heater core down under the dash onto the floor to change it. Nope that is NOT going to work.

The key to doing this is taking the dash board off and laying it almost on your seat. You need to have at least a foot between the dashboard and the firewall/windshield. You need this space because you need to pull the plastic heater core box away from the firewall. You don't have to take the entire black plastic heater core housing out though. At the top of the box are 5 screws that will allow you to pull the heater core up out of the box. You will easily see them once you get the dashboard back. They are wrapped over the top of the heater core inlet and outlet pipes to hold them in place. The heater core plastic black box is held to the firewall with 2 bolts on the inside of the car at the bottom of the box and 1 bolt in the engine compartment very near the heater core inlet and outlet pipes. If you have these unbolted and the dash board disconnected you can then put on a pair of gloves and start pulling on the box until you can get your fingers between the box and the firewall. Then you should be able to finally pry it loose. Greg told me he used a 2x4 in the engine compartment to bang on the inlet and outlet pipes to force them out. I think that would have been my next step.

[redderthanafeut]

Awesome, that's great to here. Also good to see you've got some more descriptive help than I was able to give...It's been awhile thankfully

Did you get everything put back on yet?

One thing that I've noticed is that the heat absolutely sucks in this car. It is incredibly weak and really doesn't do much at all. I just got the car from my brother before this whole thing happened so I don't know if the weak heat is a result of the heater core or not...How strong is your heat typically in the Crown Vics? To give you an idea, I can barely feel it on my hands coming out of the vents whereas my Taurus it would be blazing hot and strong even on my face...

Good luck to both of you finishing up the work, I hope you're nowhere cold like here in Michigan

[crownvic95]

How do you get the dash off the firewall? You have to take off all the bolts and screws that hold it in and you have to make sure you take off the steering wheel and lower it onto your seat. You absolutely must do this or you won't have any room. I am including some pictures from this site. They are from a mustang but the process is similar.

Remove the crossbrace in the dash directly under the steering column. Next, remove the two nuts retaining the hood release and rotate the cable out of the way. Lastly, remove the four nuts that retain the steering column and carefully lower the column down until it rests on the seat. If you want more room, you can always remove the seat first.

MAKE SURE YOU UNDO THE GEAR POSITION CABLE ON THE STEERING SHAFT. TAKE IT OFF AND UNBOLT THE MOUNT. YOU WILL SNAP THIS WHEN LOWERING IF YOU DON'T REMOVE IT AND YOU THEN WONT KNOW WHAT GEAR YOU ARE IN< IN THE FUTURE.

[crownvic95]

With the column lowered out of the way, the only remaining fastener--besides the one Torx screw you left loose at the top of the dash--is the locknut found directly above the steering column that retains the dash to the pedal support. It’s barely visible here (arrow).

[crownvic95]

With the locknut removed, you can go back and finally remove the Torx screw at the top of the dash. Have an assistant ready and carefully lower the dash down off the cowl until it rests on the transmission tunnel.

[crownvic95]

Rotate the dash so that there is more clearance on the passenger side (this is where the 2x4 might be handy), and then remove the three bolts retaining the HVAC case. There are two inside the car at the bottom of the heater core case and there is one in the engine compartment near the inlet/oulet hoses.

[crownvic95]

Hey redderthanafeut,

I wound up with a dozen extra bolts and screws LOL. If you are following along and don't want extra screws and bolts, remember to make note of where the screws came from and don't just throw them onto a pile on your floor

If you have any other questions, fire away.

Thanks again Greg!!!!

[mdsummy]

Ok,
Thanks guys. I just needed a bit more by the sounds of it. It's gonna have to wait though. No garage right now and it's real cold in PA this time of year. Thank God it isn't my primary vehicle.

[crownvic95]

Hi redderthanafeut,

One thing that I've noticed is that the heat absolutely sucks in this car. It is incredibly weak and really doesn't do much at all. I just got the car from my brother before this whole thing happened so I don't know if the weak heat is a result of the heater core or not

I agree the heat wasn't that great. But at least it's no longer blowing a nice and deadly stream of vaporized antifreeze LOL.