1996 Heater Core HELLLL!!!

[brianrueb]

I am having a heck of a time getting this heater core out. Can ANYONE offer me ANY insite on how to get this thing OUT. I have the interior complete stripped out except the steering wheel and I can not get it past the cross-support-tube-thing that runs the full width of the car. Are there any tricks to getting this thing out? Any help is accepted on this, thanks!!!!!b

[surferfletch]

Just curious as to how many hours you're into it already. I wonder if it's the same setup as my Jetta - had to undo bolts at both ends of the dashbar to get the HVAC duct out. I'll check my Haynes. Let us know if you get it!

[surferfletch]

The only help I could get from the Haynes is that the evaporator housing must come out before the heater core housing. Did you do that? And there are 4 bolts that go through the firewall that mount it in place. Hope it helps. I think I have this repair in my near future.

[brianrueb]

I am about 2 hours into it. The manual doesn't really tell anything about it other than remove the dash and remove the heater core. There has to be a trick or something, maybe taking out the AC radiator first? I really am stumped.

[brianrueb]

4 bolts through the firewall? Does it say where those are located? It doesn't tell me that in my book.

[HI JOHN]

Just curious, why are you removing the heater core? is it leaking coolant? not heating the inside of the car? Here is a simple soulution tho that problem. Bypass the heter core then all you do is buy a very inexpensive car heater that you plug to you 12V outlet in your truck. Problem solve and you only spend around $25 bucks.

[brianrueb]

Yeah, I thought about that, but then realized that is probably the most ghetto thing that I could do in my life..... thanks though.

[surferfletch]

You don't have to remove the housing farthest right. You do have to remove the middle housing (evaporator). You are supposed to depressurize the refrigerant and remove the evaporator. It says the bolts are on the back of the housing and go to the engine side of the firewall. This is according to my Haynes manual. I hope it's not misleading you.

[brianrueb]

no not at all. I figured that I had to remove that, but my chilton's manual says nothing of the sort. I miss haynes manuals they are way better. Anyway, I am going to try that right now.

[surferfletch]

Bet you're not in the mood to post pictures?

[brianrueb]

yeah, I can post pics. I got the thing out right as it was dark, so the only picture I got isn't the greatest, but you get the idea of what I went through. I did have to drain the a/c system and the just unbolt it from the hard lines and that thing came right out. Then, a few more bolts, and the heater core box housing was free. The pic is with that all removed. I will get more up tomorrow and I will photo anything worth posting as tips for the next guy.

[surferfletch]

Glad you got it. I haven't seen a vehicle yet where the heater core swap looks fun in any way.

[Cat Fuzz]

I did a heater core on a 90 Mitsubishi Montero recently. The frustrating thing was, you could see the heater core before removing a single bolt BUT one of the pipes from the core snaked up and out through the firewall requiring dash removal and such. If they had simply made that ONE PIPE into a two piece set-up with a hose coupling, it could have been a 30 minute job instead of 6 hours.

[brianrueb]

yeah, I was kinda wondering why they put these in the order that they did. Had the heater core and the a/c crap been swapped around, I would have had it out in a half hour, but this thing is under EVERYTHING. The last bolts were burried under more wiring. I think whoever thought this up owns a heater core-replacement company or something. It is the worst thing I have ever done on a car.

[trooperbc]

brianrueb:
i'm looking forward to your pics and 'inside' tips.
thanks


//bc