Okay, the dash is pulled apart and now all I have to do is pull out the heater core to replace it; problem is, the hoses attached to the heater core by the passenger firewall are NOT coming off. Both of the hoses are in good shape, but they are jammed on there. I have tugged and pulled on the hose that sends coolant to the core and it will not budge; And YES the clamps are loosened. As I mentioned before, the hoses are in good shape, so I do not want to cut them off. Especially since the hose that runs coolant out will be a pain to replace. Does anyone have any tips on how to get those hoses off (any lubes I could use maybe) w/o cutting them or pulling the motor out to have more room? Thanks for any suggestions.

 

I always just get some pliers, hold them on the hose with moderate pressure, and rock it up and down. The hose should eventually "break" free. It also helps to keep twisting and/or turning the hose while you pull on it. I'm not sure if this is the best way, but that's how I've done it, with success.

 

Vice-grips on the hose where it connect to the heater core, moderate pressure. Twist laterally to break the hose loose, then pull.

 

Done deal. It is kind of obnoxious twisting yanking and pulling in that area - I keep thinking I am goint bust some of the wires lingering around back there Anyway, now comes the fun part - putting it all back together

Thanks all.

 

I feel your pain, I just got around to doing my heater core today. WHAT A MAJOR PAIN!!! When I bought the car, the heater core had been bypassed and the hoses were just cut off on the end. That made it a real biotch to get those hose ends off! I ended up cutting them slice by slice until I could get adjustable pliars on to pull them off. Anyway, I will be trying to piece it all back together tomorrow.

 

Yep, its a pain alright. It also sucked trying to put some of the screws back in for the heater core shroud. But I managed that.

Right now I am stuck though. There are a few electrical ends that I seem to be drawing a blank on - I have no idea where they plug into. I have just figured out how the ecm should sit and what plugs into it. There is also this little yellow flat box - don't know how that mounts.

Fun, fun

 

The little yellow flat box mounts to the left of the ECM on that same bottom metal bar. It should line right up to some screw holes.