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I recently discovered a pond on the pass side floor board. After researching both on this site and in my Chilton's and 85 Camaro Shop Manual, I've come to believe that we who own the earlier cars are fortunate where replacing the heater core is concerned. All can be accomplished from beneath the dash. The horrible top screw that is so widely complained about was, frankly, a breeze. Note that you can insert the rachet (intermediate sized-extension and 7mm socket) between the dash and heater box; note too that you can insert your hand up over the box to guide the rachet/socket onto the screw head (to make reinsertion of the screw easier, I applied a bit of auto shop sticky to the socket, which kept the screw in place so that I could again guide it into place). Ten-minute job to remove and replace all four screws. The whole core replacement was probably an hour and a half or so.
JamesC
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__________________ "There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, / Than are dreamt of in your philosophy." Hamlet
getting the core into the braket and getting it to posisiton itself back into the box was the hard part...
__________________ Built decked, machined, blueprinted and spun balanced sbc 355 with holley street dominator intake, holley 650 cfm carb with vacuum secondaries. 3.08 posi rear, new summit cam. TRW forged flat top pistons. flowmaster exhaust, SLP headers, electric fan control by a toggle switch inside, vanilla air freshner =]
I replaced a heater core on a '87 IROC. Exact same way as my '84 T/A. Its so easy to change a heater core on a 3rd-gen compared to a 1st or 2nd-gen!
__________________ 1971 Trans Am - 455 HO - Cameo white/blue stripe
1973 Trans Am - 455 - Buccaneer red
1982 Recaro T/A - 305 CFI- Black
1984 Trans Am - 305 - Silver(parts car) - PARTING OUT
1984 Trans Am - 305 - Royal blue
I just replaced mine about 5 min. ago. easy! the tech artical is not that helpful,
all you need to do is remove the hoses (duh)
remove the lower kick panel (if equipped)
remove the lower dash panel (on the firebirds they often say "performance suspention")
remove the cruise module (if equipped)
now all of the screws are easy to reach. the top screw can be seen now just look strait back in opening the cruise module was covering and that's it a strait ext. with a 7mm socket (1/4 drive seems to work well)
the rest is plain as day. just take your time reinstalling the heater core (getting those tubes through the firewall takes a little wiggling but, don't force it)
the picture above is a perfect one of the screw location, I have a tpi and I did not move the ecm only the cruise module.
the firebirds and the camaros may be a little different.. Mine did not have the cruise modual there, and the heating duct was touching the heater box preventing the socket to sit like that. else yes it would have been a snap... I had to do all the nice removal stuff. but it really does not take that long even doing it that way... takes an extra 15 to 20 minutes. Plus it gets you a little knowledgable about how your dash goes on in case you ever want to replace it with say a 4th gen dash or something
ok......fisrt of all I didn't bother in checking here first on removing and reinstalling heater core.....so I'm learning the hard way.....I've just broke the new heater core trying to installing.do you really need brackets in box?.....also I broke cover but I've glue most of it back. S o please help me so tips and ideas please?
Go get yourself a Haynes Manual from a parts place and it will tell you right down to the last nut or screw u have to remove.. the only brack in the heater box is a metal traingle that is part of the vac door system.. you do not need it.. but it is needed if you want the vents to work like they should... the only other part in there is the part the heater core sets on... you need that too.. one thing to note is to make sure the tubes are the same distance apart on the new one vs the old one... my new one was about 1/2" to close together so I had to very carefully bend one tube into place.
Originally posted by JamesC I recently discovered a pond on the pass side floor board. After researching both on this site and in my Chilton's and 85 Camaro Shop Manual, I've come to believe that we who own the earlier cars are fortunate where replacing the heater core is concerned. All can be accomplished from beneath the dash. The horrible top screw that is so widely complained about was, frankly, a breeze. Note that you can insert the rachet (intermediate sized-extension and 7mm socket) between the dash and heater box; note too that you can insert your hand up over the box to guide the rachet/socket onto the screw head (to make reinsertion of the screw easier, I applied a bit of auto shop sticky to the socket, which kept the screw in place so that I could again guide it into place). Ten-minute job to remove and replace all four screws. The whole core replacement was probably an hour and a half or so.
JamesC
i was prepared to take the dash apart like it says in the haynes manual but after reading your post i followed your directions and it took 2 hrs. thanks.
only thing i can add is after removing the first screw of the five take an extra socket and use silicone to glue the screw to the socket. while you are doing the other stuff it will have time to dry. that will make putting in that top screw easier.
you know. taking out the dash like it shows in the manual only takes 2 hours... at least if you have the right tools for the job.. nice and quick and easy.
I finally figured out how to get the heater core "assembly" out, after loosening most of the dash. Eventually my Chilton's gave me a better mental image of the setup than my new GM Shop Manual, how about that.
I just got the new core back in and will be instaling the cover tomorrow. Then comes the coolant line hookup and the TB collant bypass.
Since the dash is now pretty much open it's a good time to drop down and connect the wiring for the "new" lighted RVM and the hi-mounted radar detector.
Thanks to all for the helpful tips that got me moving pretty much in the right direction...
__________________ 1986 IROC Z-28 Site
Best Times:
60'=1.92sec, 1/4mi=14.42sec @93.99mph in 65deg F
Current ride: 1988 IROC Z-28
Used this thread to replace my heater core today. I have one thing to add.
Ya know those little screwdrivers for 1/4" sockets? Take a cheap one........smash the handle with a hammer.......throw whats left in a vise with about 1" in the vise and bend it in a L. Makes an awesome little wrench for getting in little places you can't get into.
Your hands may fit up there, but I cut mine up, and diffinately could not get up over the top of the vent passage to the side vents. Also, didn't your car have another piece of plastic to remove before getting the core out?....and can I just stick that core back in the place, allowing the tubes passing through the fire wall to hold it in place? I'm afraid it would rattle around.....
