Has anyone replaced a heater core in an 87-88 v6/5.0? I think mine is leaking and am looking for tips on how to safe time and aggrivation. I noticed a previous thread where Micheal Pinto mentioned he can do one in about 3 hours. How is this possible? Is there some shortcut I am missing?
I know the dashes in these cars are complicated, I removed a mint dash pad from my 87 sport parts car. Any help would be appreciated. I may start this project tomorow. I'll be replacing the thermostat in the car and testing it again, hopefully it was a fluke thing, but I kinda doubt it. Any input it greatly appreciated.
http://www.coolcats.net/tech/troubleshooting/heatercore.html
nut #7 is under the steering colum. You can get the new on in about 1 hour the first time. It'll take an hour or two to get all the bolts back in and figure out where they all go again.
Thanks.
Does the console really have to come out? I can't see why there wouldn't be enough room.
you can cut three sides of a rectangle on the air box to expose the heater core. Make like a door so to speak.
duct tap the door closed.
somebody tried to make a "door" to my heater core. sawzall through the firewall with too long of a blade breaking the box behind it. I suggest not following that path, and instead trying the "door" idea from the inside. with the glove box out of the way and the entire assy. pen 15ed just right you can get a great picture of the mess.i pulled my p.s. seat being it isnt power and its much easier to get at the firewall without it.
Sorry thats a little hard to follow. I dont have a power seat, but I have a console. Do they have to be removed? What "door" idea from the inside? How does the glove box out and affect anything if the dash assembly is already pen 15ed out of the way?
im not sure how much more simple i could have explained it.
This is just an option though, so you dont have to remove the dash / pull the dash away from the firewall.
you would have to remove the glove box in order to expose the airbox assembly. There is only one person I know of who did this and she said it went pretty easy. I have not tried it yet but will one day on the white coug.
He's saying crawl under the dash and locate the box where the heater core sits. Then get a utility knife and cut three sides out and bend it out till you can get the heater core out. Then duct tape it back in. That way you don't have to pull the dash out at all.
Also with this method, if you have a working A/C, you won't have to dump your freon.
crystal said she removed the glove box and was able to get to everything from there.
Its her trick, not mine. Im just bringing it up because i remember her posting it back when we were on ezboard.
don't forget the silicon on the cover when you put it back on, I didn't and it was noisy (sounded like air leaking through cover on max)
I did mine about two weeks ago in about 3 and a half hours. Read the link to the the CoolCats site that was posted and try to visualize where everything is, that's how I did it. I think the thought of what I had to do was way worse then actually doing it, as I had no experiance in doing a heater core in something like this(used to my '72 F250).
That write up is great, I read it several times to make sure I wouldn't forget anything. Aside from being time consuming, it went pretty simple. Some of the bolts are hard to find, but just feel around for them as you really can't see them all.
Anyone have a pic of that method?
Do you go in through the driver's side and cut it?
Read the write up on the cool cats site. As stated before it sounds alot worse than it is. I did one in my sons 83(different dash but nearly the same directions) and it was done and together in about 3.5 hours. I had to remove his center console as to move the dash forward for clearance it was the only way to get the room needed. I have seen access holes cut but I myself would never do that to one of my cars, but thats just the way I am.
Do I need to remove the seats too? Or will they not be in the way?
I didnt but if I was going to I would only take out the pass side. I used the lt side to support the steering column after I lowered it.
I didn't have a problem with them being in the way, it's easy enough to pull out later if it is though. You should leave the drivers in place to rest the steering on though as stated.
And make sure the parking brake is set or you have the wheels chocked, I acidentally shiznited out of park and almost had an incident :dunce:
I just completed the dreaded heater core replacement. I was amazed at how easy the complete dash assembly can be pulled back to provide room to access the heater box. The center console doesn't have to be removed but there are brackets that attach the console to the dash assembly that have to be removed. I didn't see a need to remove the seats. Just put them all the way back. This isn't a hard procedure just very time consuming. A test of patience.
fordharley, did you follow the instructions on coolcats?
Alright and not to sound inept, but I have followed the instructions on coolcats to the "t". I am at the point where I am trying to remove the plastic heater box itself. I have removed the three bolts listed on Coolcats, the two on the braces, and the one down by the transmission tunnel, but the box will not move. I have pulled on it gently but it doesn't come lose. The hoses at the firewall have been disconnected. I was afraid to just yank on it for fear of braking something.
Any suggestions?
bump
did you remove the two nuts on the engine side of the firewall behind the acspoogeulator?
no I had not. One of them was still connected. I missed one of them. Thanks you. :) Your the man.
happy to help
J: I've been out a couple of days. did you get that core replaced?
yes, i completed it last night. I parked the car over night on a down grade to try and let the antifreeze i couldn't get out drain out.
i did it in mine ( 88 v6 car) i didnt pull it all the way out just pulled it forward, took me about 3 hours to change it . remove glove box radio trim etc, screws from out around dash and it will come forward. if ur car has ac u have to disconnect the ac line.
This thread is really old so i dont know if itll even appear on the regular forums but If i do it the way coolcats shows i have to drain my A/c stuff??? Well does ANYONE have pictures of where the "door" spot is because i dont wanna fool with my A/C. And how big of an opening will it be? big enouch to get the silicon easily. an clean the air box pretty good?
This is all I have as far as pictures, and I had to discharge the AC and remove the whole heater box. (http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y86/clintd/heater01.jpg)
(http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y86/clintd/heater02.jpg)
See I wouldnt have a problem doing that except the discharge part, idk how let alone what to store the discharge in if i do?
(I dont understand discharge)
Well, it's against the law to discharge it into open air (not to mention immoral and unethical...of course that's MY particular religio-political viewpoint, blah blah...)
Is there a shop nearby that does A.C. conversions and the like? They can "pull" the freon from it for you...then when you're done, you can convert to 134-a yourself.
I really do NOT understand why people are so scared shiznitless over pulling dashes. Use a Ford replacement core, and odds are you'll never have to go in again.
Look real good at ClintD's pics....it's really not that hard, doing it right beats doing a half-assed job you'll have to fix later on. ;)
There's a GREAT writeup on cool cats.
And, I've timed myself...had a heater box completely out in 37 minutes once.
The AC lines, etc were already removed from car before I had it, and it didn't have a console. :hick:
Anyway, I'm more familiar than what i'd like to admit with pulling dashes, to me it's fairly easy.
If you were closer Whiteboy, I'd put your heater core in for you...for a small fee of course, lol.
(errr, you're a little too young to buying beer lol) ;)
You still have R12 in you're system? If you do that is pretty amazing
If You have R134A you can just vent it out. It's CFC free and to replace it is around $8.00 a pound
On all of my older cars I replaced the receiver/dryer, pressure switch, flushed the system, refilled with PAG oil and recharged with R134A. It's cheaper, environmentally friendly and in a jam I can buy R134A at wall-mart.
lol it runs cold so it probably isnt r12. But Who knows im the third owner. And Today when i was driving home from school, the heat of it is gone now. lol after months of being hot but fogging my window, its cold air.
It is just as illegal to vent R-134A as it is R-12.
hmm. well then we shouldnt be venting it eh?