While I have the dash out.. does it make sense to do the heater core? The heat works fine.. but, the car is 25 years old. Does it make sense to tackle it while the inside is so bare?


thx
j

 

I'm assuming you haven't pulled the hvac box yet. The first think I would do is take the cover off and look inside. You will probably find a big mouse nest. When you have the cover off you can take a look at the blend doors and the core and see how things look. If things look good on the outside, maybe try disconnecting the heater hoses from the core and flush some water through it and see how it looks. If its clogged or nasty stuff comes out, replace it.

 

I need to do my heater core I think when I bought the car it was disconnected so in assuming its bad let me know how big/bad of a job it is

 

toyo its not a hard job, some make it harder than it is. remove the hush panel under pas side dash, you will see a box shape and you remove all 6 or of the 7mm screws. there is one on the very top that you can use an extension or flexi-stention to reach it thru the gap below the dash pouch.

the box will come off and you will see the core. go into the eng bay and drain the rad a bit to eliminate a bigger mess and remove the 2 hoses at the firewall.

go back into the car and remove the 4 mm screws holding the frame that holds the core, the frame will pull right out. there are 3 mm screws that hold the core to the frame, loosen them, and swap in the new core.

when putting the frame back in you will need a friend in the eng bay to help lie up the core lines. the frame will slightly hang on the blend door arm so use a flat head to pry it past. not a lot of force needed here.

once the frame gets past the am and the hoses are lined up it should slide home easily. start screwing everything back together and when putting the box back on make sure the groove lines up. be patient, it sometimes can be irritating and iv had times where it all lines right up.

I can generally do a core in an hr but iv done quite a few for others.

BTW, THE DASH PAD DOES NOT NEED TO BE REMOVED WHAT SO EVER!!!!!

 

Good stuff.. will check it out. My entire dash is out.. I'm not talking about the dash pad. Will examine and see what's what. If it looks old and crappy.. I'll replace.. couldn't hurt..

thx!

j

 

Replace the heater core regardless. It's super easy (since the dash is apart) and cheap insurance while ensuring many years of trouble free driving.

For $50 or so it's a no brainer....I did.

 

Agreed. The part isn't very expensive. You already have the dash apart to expose it all. Change it now instead of waiting.