Heater core ?

[WHYBYNU]

I noticed my heater core was leaking ( under the hood and not in the cab thank goodness. ) I'm going to change it over the weekend and was wonder if you guys have any tips you want to share ?

I know it is going to be a pain but it has to be done. The truck has factory A/C, is it true the heater core comes out from under the dash unlike a non A/C truck where you remove the heater box from the firewall ? Any tips for a smoother install would be great !!


THANKS,
JOHN

[pierce]

Yes the a/c version comes out from the inside of the cab probably so the a/c won't have to be disconnected. There are hangers with screws holding the core in place once you get to it. It's been awhile but there are nuts hard to get to on the engine side of the firewall. The hood hinge has to come off so prop the hood up with a 2x4 or somthing in the center where it latches. Drop the inner fenderwell to get to the lower nuts. That and the glove box are the biggest pain of the job. Good time to clean out all the leaves, nests found inside. Good Luck!

[72moneypit]

I was able to replace mine without removing the hood hinge. There are two nuts on the firewall side of the AC box (bottom) that are nearly impossible to reach without removing the inner fender. I used a Dremel and cut them off from inside the cab. Those two nuts make a PITA job out of an otherwise easy fix.

[WHYBYNU]

Thanks for for the help. Sounds like it will a nice way to spend my SAT. ( YEA RIGHT).....


JOHN

[willow72]

yes do cut those nuts off!

[smitty62]

It's called castration................................

[jewels.]

dont know if that will help, but here is a thread i made a while back about rebuilding my heater core..... it doesnt have A/C, but the rebuild should be similar..... hope it helps!

heater core rebuild thread (lots of pics) (click here)

jewels.