Has anyone replaced a heater core? 89 Firebird. I'm wondering if its worth the time and hassle. It only gets real cold here for about 3 months. In addition I think the blower fan is starting to wear so I'd be changing that too. And since this used to be a smokers car I'd probably try to scrub out the vents......

And I do realize this is a ridiculous question to post on July 16th.......

 

They are VERY easy to do. Getting the hoses off is harder than anything else.
Do a search, you may find the info you need

 

I wouldn't say it's very easy. You've got to rip the dash out to get to it and some tweaking the the replacement heater core might be necessary.

 

I have never gotten the hoses off & have always just replaced the hoses when doing a heater core, be sure all the vents ducting stays in place, if U have to loosen your dash....

 

Did this on my old 91 RS several years ago. Removed center console, unbolt steering column and lay on seat, disconnect and roll down dashboard. Wasn't overly difficult, just time consuming. I did find a bunch of crap that had fallen down defroster which was nice to clean out. If you take your time this is a fairly straight forward job. If I remember correctly dealer book time was 7 hours and I did mine from start to finish in 5.

 

The firebirds provide much better access to the heater core than the camaros. You should be able to access the top bolt for the heater core cover through an opening in the FB dash, no dash removal should be required. At least in my 85, don't know if there was a change in later models or not?

Cut the hoses off and replace, if they're crusted on. Otherwise they'll be the next thing to fail.

 

Only takes me a hour and a half to do them. NO need to remove or loosen the dash in either car if you have the correct tools.
There are some stock retainer parts to leave out if you use a aftermarket heatercore. Makes it fit way better.

 

I replaced mine a couple years back in about two hours with not knowing how to do it in my 88 gta. I just followed instructions in the chiltons manual. No need to pull the dash. Just a couple panel off of the dash. I could do it quicker having done it now. I had no choice but to do mine. I came out of work one day and had a puddle of coolant on the pass side floor. I agree that the hoses are pretty hard to get off and on right though.

 

On my '89, no dash removal required. Just the panel underneath the dash (like if you were changing out the ECM). There is a bathtub cover that for the most part isn't THAT bad to remove. But the top left bolt was tough to get to even with extentions and bendable ratchets.....I wound up simply pulling on the tub and breaking that last bolt off. Should make it much easier in the future if it ever needs to be done again.

As far as putting the new heater core in. Have a friend stick two screwdrivers through the 2 holes in the firewall to pry the heater core pipes through. I can't imagine doing it by yourself from under the dash. While the cores are generally bendable, you can't actually bend them once you're down there, because it's too tight and the pipes will be on the opposite side of where you are.

Even in Texas, I want to have a working heater.

As far as smokers and cleaning vents, the easier route would be to buy a BG Frigi-Clean (Ebay) for about $30. This is a "shaving foam" type of product that gets injected into the top of your A/C evaporator (which is what gets gummed up with tar, dirt, twigs etc). As the foam expands and eventually dissolves, it will drain out through the A/C evap drain hole onto the ground. Expect to see a bunch of orange and brown liquid dripping from there. Some of the foam will work it's way through the vents when you're injecting it and clean out the vents as well. But the major source of smell on a car will always be the evaporator.

 

I totally agree with TTOP350. I just replaced one on my 91 TA and also on my 85 TA. I had heard nothing but horror stories. Truth is, I just removed the lower panel under the dash and the middle trim panel just above that one. I also removed the ECM just to give a bit more clearance for some of the screws. All 8 screws (4 that hold the box up and 4 that hold the heater core mount) are 7mm. You will be able to place your hand on top of the box and feel for the top screw. I was able to get an extension through openings in the dash for that one. The main thing that will help you is some 1/4" extensions like the flexible one. As stated by some of the others, the main problem was removing the two hoses at the firewall that are 25 years old. I cut mine off and replaced them but even that was a major pain. It's difficult to get to the bottom of that right hose that is shaped like a question mark. It goes down a bit behind the engine. When you have it ready to remove just take your time and finesse it out and also back in.

 

Thanks for all the help! The Firebirds are definitely easier than Camaros... The only SNAFU is hit was the replacement cores aren't exactly right and they give you foam to MacGyver it in there.... I just had the stock one re-cored so I could use the factory mount up parts.

Dropping the ECM out of the way and on the TPI taking the coil off makes getting to the heater hoses much easier.

 

be advised that all of the replacement heater cores are made of aluminum/plastic! no longer are we able to buy the "correct" copper/brass ones. it would serve you well to have your original core repaired at the radiator shop of your choice. that way you can avoid the china made POS core

 

Yeah even the guy at the radiator shop that was going to sell it to me told me about 50% leak right out of the box....

Getting it re cored was the best bet