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89 5.7 IROC...Leaking heater core, apparently this is a common issue with the F-Bodys and older GM in general. Need to replace, how much of a PITA is this, any pointers...does dash have to come out? Also, if I were to take it to a shop what should I expect to pay and about how many hours? Thanks.
89 5.7 IROC...Leaking heater core, apparently this is a common issue with the F-Bodys and older GM in general. Need to replace, how much of a PITA is this, any pointers...does dash have to come out? Also, if I were to take it to a shop what should I expect to pay and about how many hours? Thanks.
Pita, yes, but dash doesn't come out, take out passenger seat for extra room there are some good tutorials on this site, tedious, tight, but be patient, u will likely also have to struggle with heater hoses in engine bay, have fun
I just replaced the core in my '83 a few weeks ago. You DO NOT need to remove the dash.
It's a hassle, and a bit time consuming, but really not all that difficult. There are a couple of threads on this forum that go into detail regrding what's involved. Hardest parts are getting to the top bolt of the heater box up under the dash, and geting the tubes of the new core through the holes in the firewall (requires patience)...
It's not that hard. Expect to pay in the neighborhood of 4 hours to an experienced mechanic.
Don't even bother with the heater cores out there for sale. Get a used brass/copper core off ebay, etc and have it recored by a proper radiator specialist. The cheap aluminum cores produce terrible heat and often last no more than a year or two before failure. And that's all you can buy now. Yes they are cheap - and you get *at most* what you pay for. I paid my local radiator guy $160 to recore a used brass/copper heater core. It fit perfectly and works amazing just the way GM designed it to.
GD
Last edited by GeneralDisorder; Oct 17, 2018 at 11:22 PM.
General has its right, the aluminum ones suck if you actually need heat in the winter. I found a NOS copper heater core last year on ebay for like 50 bucks. They are still out there. The hardest part you have to do is get the heater core cover off on the inside, then the dash cover- which is like 8 or 10 bolts under the outer rim of the dash which is totally accessible. This gives you access to the top of the heater core cover. There's a ton of videos on the job on youtube. When I did mine I had a hard time getting the pipes lines up through the firewall but a buddy on the other side is worth a million in that case.
Good luck!
Easy job and only PIA is the screw on the upper right corner! Don't worry about the aftermarker alum. core. You will get plenty of heat.
Buying a used copper core is rolling the dice IMO. Taking the old core to most radiator shops is gonna be $pendy if they even want
to attempt to repair it. My alum. replacement is a few years old and no issues. I got plenty of heat for them cold fall days.
My car sleeps for the winter anyhoo.
My Buick rat needs a core now too and its gonna prob. get a alum. one. Its a easy one to replace as the access is on the inside
under the dash. Just have to remove the knee bolster and remove a couple of panels.
Good thing its not a GM truck or some others where you have to drain the a/c and pull the dash to get to the a/c-heater suitcase!
A $1200 job at the dealer!
Comparatively speaking, the $160 to re-core my $20 ebay brass copper unit is not that expensive. Most modern cars the heater core is 10+ hours to replace and they usually aren't less than $300 from the dealer.
What price do you put on not doing this again for another 30 years?
Not sure about Camaros on reaching the top bolt, but on the Firebirds, you can remove the upper lower dash panel and there's an access where you can feed an extension straight through to that bolt. As for the heater core, definitely check Ebay. I recently bought for my 90 Formula a NORS (New Old Replacement Stock), which means, not used, but new, just sitting in a box for years and never installed. It is a Bauer brand like you used to be able to buy in the 90s and early 2000s at any parts store, you know before China took over. I paid $50.00 for it and it was identical in every detail to my factory core and perfectly brand new. You can't get any better than that for the money! Another thing you can do is watch for low-mile wrecked part outs on here and see if the seller will remove and ship you the core. I did this with one of my other cars several years ago after fighting and breaking 3 of the aftermarket aluminum ones. The core I got from a member on here still works today even though it was used.
When I did mine I had a hard time getting the pipes lines up through the firewall but a buddy on the other side is worth a million in that case.
Good luck!
If you don't have anyone around, you can do what worked for me. I took a long (10-12") socket extension and put it through the hole and into the heater core tube. As I pushed up the core tubes followed the extensions up and through the hole. Hope that might help somebody out there.
Comparatively speaking, the $160 to re-core my $20 ebay brass copper unit is not that expensive. Most modern cars the heater core is 10+ hours to replace and they usually aren't less than $300 from the dealer.
Ok so I was CORRECT It would now cost $1400+ to replace the heater core in my GM truck then.
Gee what kind of core would they use?
NO radiator shops in my area want to bother recoring it!
So I'm stuck with a alum. replacement.
No issues with my Zs alum replacement core so far so my rat Buick is gonna get one too.
Both are easy and cheap to replace anyhoo so I'll roll the dice with this repair.
