I have a 91 firebird that the heater core cracked in last year and i just bypassed it and delt with the cold cause i didnt have a garage to pull my dash in...
well i found that i didnt need to pull the dash after all. since we dont have a glove box i pulled the map holder off and cut a hole right in the middle and had a straight shot at the bolt on top of the box. heater core popped right out after that. its kinda ghetto i guess but you cant see the hole once you put the map holder back in and it only took 20minutes to replace my core. just thought i would let you late model owners know since everyone says you have to pull the dash.

 

There are bolts holding a cover on underneath the dash, it takes one minute to undo those, then you have another plastic plate directing the airflow that you take off, which takes about 5 minutes to get off. You yank out the heatercore and put in another (~5 minutes). Put the bolts back and you're done. You spend the same amount of time and you dont have a hole in your dash.... you should invest in a haynes manual..

 

might work on a maro but every help guide i found on here about replacing it in a firebird says you need to pull the dash out to get to it. except for the early model. looking under there for almost and hour trying to find another way and all i came up with was the hole.

 

i have a haynes manual and it says to remove dash etc.etc. but then i found this havent done it yet but dont see y it wouldnt work

https://www.thirdgen.org/heatercore

 

I've done 2 on a Camaro without pulling the entire dash, just the lower under-panels, and looking at my GTA, I see nothing different. Just remove the under-dash pieces, ad it looks to be the same. And no cut dash.

 

Lol well in a post of four replies, it looks like I'm the first to say "thank you" for considering other people and posting your tip. Personally, I'd rather not hack up the dash too much, but thank you for posting this information.

 

hey i said it was ghetto when i did it...lol
i couldnt find any way to hit that bolt without cutting the hole. the firebird specific guide that i found on here said early firebirds i think up to 87 had a gap that was just big enough to get at the screw but anything made after that didnt have the gap and required the dash to be pulled out just about an inch to get to the bolt. i got some big arms too so going in from the top wouldnt have worked for me very well...lol

 

I see you mentioned that "up to 87". Does this apply to Camaros as well? I bypassed my heater core as well when it started leaking and I have an 86 z28. Never wanted to tackle the dash removal but is there another way besides making holes or taking apart the whole dash? If so are there any diagrams on this site to show how its done?

 

there are tons of threads on here about replacing heater cores but i only looked at the firebird specific ones so im not sure about diagrams. as for the gap it said it was only in firebirds since the dash setup is diffrent in camaros.

 

Pulling the dash is not hard at all. You don't have to completely remove it, just drop it down a tad. the 10 screws holding the pad on., then there are four holding the top lip, the two holding the HVAC/radio compartment on, two holding the steering wheel to it (the wheel wont come out, it will just lower), and between 2 to 4 big bolts holding the dash to the car. However, I only say it's not hard because I had to remove it many times from my car lol, and it's sort of become second nature.

 

any photos of the installation?

 

Heater cores are NOT fun. I started replacing mine yesterday. I worked on it for 4 hours before I had to stop. I took out the console, dash pad, and most of the screws out of the dash on the passenger side so I could get my hand up in there to get that top screw off the heater box cover. Hopefully I can remember how it all goes back together. If you have small hands and you can get in there to get to the top screw, there is no need to take anything out other than the passenger hush panel.

 

okay- I have my full center console & Radio out at the moment and figured I might as well fix the heater core since the hose is currently rerouted under the hood to avoid it. Anyone can tell me a step by step from here? pics would be awesome.

FYI- I have big hands and I'm not short so the less neck cramps the better.
Thanks

 

Then you'll have to do what I did to get the top screw out of the heater box cover. Just read my post above yours. Another tip, put some electrical tape on the socket and the screw won't fall out.

 

i just did the heater core on my 88, and didnt have to take the whole dash apart. i just had to remove the two lower panels on the passenger side. i was able to get to the top center screw on the heater core cover by sneaking a super long 1/4" ratchet extension between that crossmember on the dash. top right screw was done with a 3inch 1/4" wratchet extension.

took me longer to figure out where all the screws were than it took to actually do the job.

 

i never did a heater core on a third gen but i did on my monte ss. I know (as we all talk about) the core is on the inside etc. I'd like to get the reapir book to make sure i do it right without breaking the fragile dash parts. Which book do you guys recommend for doing this job? Better yet- which one has the best pictures. Hey- even pop-ups would be cool!

 

i did the heater core on my 92 bird last summer, and it wasnt too bad. i had to take the computer out and a couple of other things but was able to get all the bolts without taking apart the dash. i wont lie though i never put the top bolt back in the heater box cover lol. i would have to say i spent a heck of alot more time trying to get the heater hoses off and on at the firewall... it literally took longer than the heater core install.. those factory clamps are a PITA when you cant get to them!

 

Sorry to bump this, but i figured i'd thank you for this tip!! just replaced my heater core in my 1988 firebird today. As others have said, the hardest part was getting the hoses at the firewall OFF the old heater core tubes.

One tidbit, if you're going to drill through the plastic behind the map holder (like I did), i used a 1/2" drillbit and drilled the hole about 1" from the bottom of the map holder indentation, and about 1/3 of the way over from the right hand edge of the map holder indentation. by trial and error (drilled 2 other holes all the way to the left) this 3rd hole ended up being right over the screw. needed a 3" and 6" driver extension to access it, but it worked like a charm.

 

I just bought a 91 firebird with a leaky heater core. I have somewhat small hands so I'm gonna attempt replacing it without taking apart the dash. It would be awesome if someone could post a picture.of where they drilled the hole to get the top bolt

 

you dont need to drill any holes and you dont need to remove the dash. On my 88 camaro all i need to do is remove the lower passenger side panel under the dash and I can see the cover for the heater core. On my 90 it was alittle more plastic to remove but I replaced the heater core without pulling the dash

 

everyone needs to know that the only replacement heater core available is made out of ALUMINUM!! and they suck. it seems they loose too much heat. I find it better to just repair the copper/brass core that came in our cars than to try dealing with a part that isn't even made for our cars (some bozo thought itd be a hoot if they changed the design from OE)

 

I put an aftermarket core in my 90 iroc with no problems, made more heat than you could stand with it turned all the way up

 

No need to pull the dash. Just takes a few 1/4 drive extensions and a universal to get to that tricky top bolt.

 

just did my heater core... Took about 20 minutes. I used a 1\4 drive ratchet a long 8mm socket and my small hands :P

 

I'm planning my heater core this weekend. I'm not expecting to take the dash apart on my 91 firebird. this will be a first for me but so far this is the easiest car I have ever worked on. I'm not sire whats up with my heater core. it was bypassed when I got it.

 

So glad to read these threads. I'm going to do my 91. Girl with small hands- hope its to my advantage. Wish me luck.

 

Hi Lb1865, I wish you luck

Oh, and, don't let the posts here about Aluminum VS Copper worry you, a couple of years ago I was forced (by a leak) to replace my copper one for an Aluminum one, and the heat is a good 95% of what it was with the Copper.