WOODY MCC

WHAT IS IT LIKE TO CHANGE 87 GTA ANY TIPS?

Vader

Wood,

About the same as in an '86 TA. I did mine in about two hours, almost half of which was spent on disconnecting and reconnecting the hoses in the engine compartment. There is barely room for the hoses, let alone hands or tools.

My best advice would be to take the old core with you to the parts store to match up the replacement. I got three cores which were the "correct" one before I found one that had the correct angle on the pipes. All of them physically fit the opening, but two of them had standpipes that weren't angled properly. The hoses hit the back of the head when connected, rather than bend sharply enough to allow clearance. It's a tight area.

Aside from that, prepare the job by having a plastic trash bag on the floor of the passenger compartment to catch drips when the core is removed. Remove the large lower right bolt that holds the dash panel to the kick panel (about an 8mm bolt). This will allow you enough flex in the dash panel to provide access to the top screws holding the heater case together. A few long extensions and a ¼" drive ratchet will give you a good shot at the two problem screws.

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Later,
Vader
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Justice and Freedom will Prevail
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Mark A Shields

I second what Vader said about taking the old one to the parts store. At Trak Auto they looked it up in the computer and gave me the one that was designated for my car. After about 1/2 hr. trying to slightly bend the pipes I took the old one there and tried to match it up and they didn't have one, so I just went to the local auto supply shop and they had the correct one.

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"Rice burners are like tampons...Every pu$$y has to have one"
'86 IROC
T-TOPS, TINTED WINDOWS, BRAKE LIGHT BLACKOUTS
GM GOODWRENCH 350
EDELBROCK TES HEADERS
3" Hooker CatBack w/Aero Chamber muffler
EDELBROCK 600CFM CARB.
KN AIRFILTER
ACCEL HEI DISTRIBUTOR
160* Stat
3:73 Posi
Rebuilt 700R4
B&M Megashifter, 5" Autometer Tach w/shift lite

GTA88

I got what was supposedly the correct relacement core, and the angle on the pipes was right, but the flange on the bottom that was supposed to click into a mounting hookup on my daily driver wasn't the same. I used it anyway, and it is still fine a year later. Seems every heater core replacement is a little different from the orig.

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88 GTA 5.7 TPI Charcoal Grey Bone Stock except for loose muffler which makes it a bit louder than normal.

WOODY MCC

My GTA has no options no a/c so no hoses to cluter the engine no power nothin , a true musle car ..HEE HEE Do I have to take my dash apart at all, im so scairt ,this is the only GTA I could find cheap enough no squeeks no rattles and I don't want to make any!!!!!! tiz in such fine shape I don't to mess it up!!!!!!

fb305svs

Honestly, i have the heater core change down to 45 minutes in my car.

All i ever do is take off the pass. side kick panel, remove the large duct directly above. (u might have to take off the smaller dash panel to get to the top screws on the ducting.

From there you use a 1/4 ratchet with several extensions and or swivels help a lot. When you go to pull the heater core out, its a bit of a contest, just be patient and work it out, and also , be care ful and gentle when you push it back in...

its a very doable job, and doesnt take too long to do, and i haven't noticed any extra squeaks from my surgery

Steve

Steve

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86 Firebird, LG4, t-tops, 2.73 open rear, SLP 3 inch cat back exhaust, catco cat, 1 inch carb spacer, Fiberglass cowl induction hood, Formula wheels, vette servo.

Current Plans: Waiting on: rear end parts- upgrading to 373's, 28 spline axels, slp zexel torsion posi, and a disk brake setup. Also have lowering springs, front struts, and hopefully a new mild 350.


My Webpage- Battle of the birds, My own Thirdgen Page, still under construction, http://www.geocities.com/soares711/index.htm

88 Firebird Formula- deseased 2/9/99- 305 TPI, SLP 3 inch exhaust, SLP Intake runners, SLP cam, 3.45 BW disc brake posi, WS6, NOS, and all that good stuff, 13.8 on the motor, 12.89 on NOS and slicks! Hit by what else!?!? a FORD EXPLORER!!!!!!

Zepher

iTrader: (1)

I did mine just like Steve did, took about 45 minutes for me. I was scared at first because the Haynes book wanted me to remove the center console and unbolt the dash and pull it away from the firewall.
If it were summer time I would have bypassed it and then replaced it when it got cold.
It was already getting cold so I changed it, but I checked here before I did it and many people told me to do it the way Steve did.

Oh, if anyone has driven a car in the winter with a heater core bypassed let me tell you that it gets colder in the car than it does outside, sounds strange but it's true.
Did the bypass on my 94 V6 sunbird and I couldn't take it, had to drive with heavy jacket and gloves, it was like an icebox.

Ions91Z28

Try using this.

http://www.sethirdgen.org/heater.htm

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91 Z28
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