Heater core replacement in a 69 396 w/ AC

[Longhorn Paul]

Had my new best friend gone over by someone qualified to turn wrenches. She passed, overall, except they discovered my heater has been bypassed. I'm told this likely means she has a leak.

Question: is replacing the heater core something that someone with modest mechanical skills should attempt or should this be left to the professionals.

If left to the pros, does anyone have any idea what it might cost and a general idea of what's involved?

I did scan over the archives but it seems most concern heater core setups in rigs without AC.

Any help / advice is appreciated.

Paul

[Tynee]

What you'll find is that this is a chore, but not so complicated that you want to pay someone. You'll have to remove the glove box, it probably needs to be replaced anyway. You'll need to drop the inner fender on the passenger side to get to some of the screws that hold the heater core in from the engine side of the firewall, and you'll want to be careful handling the diverter boxes under the dash as 40 year old plastic is usually brittle. PM if you have specific qustions, I'll be happy to help.

[Longhorn Paul]

I wish I had a heated garage to work on it in

Any special tools? Prior threads were mentioning 1/4 socket with some extentions. Do folks here sell heater cores (guess I can go look for that myself.)

Does the core have to be "primed". I really don't know how it works.

When I get into it I will PM you. Thanks for the offer.

Paul

[RicksTrucks]

I have purchased a couple heater cores on eBay fairly reasonable.

[hubcapboy]

I have a '68 396 w/o AC, and I don't know if the heater cowl is the same, but I had no choice but to snap the bottom-starboard bolt off... it's al the way down in the corner by the wheelwell, and I could NOT figure out how to get it off.

there'll be a grey goop sealing the cowl to the firewall, I replaced this with home depot EPDM rubber adhesive window stripping... worked great.

there's also a big used-to-be-squishy rubber gasket against the cowl around the fan intake... this thing was totally shot on mine, and I made a new one out of squishy piple insulation cut in half, and stuck around the fan hole on the cowl... I used some spray glue to stick the ends of the insulation together.

I'd suggest that while you're at this, you should pull out the heater control, lube up the cables, and clean the fan speed control switch.

/g

[Tynee]

Originally Posted by hubcapboy

I have a '68 396 w/o AC, and I don't know if the heater cowl is the same, but I had no choice but to snap the bottom-starboard bolt off... it's al the way down in the corner by the wheelwell, and I could NOT figure out how to get it off./g

Yeah, this is why I said he'd have to drop the inner fender.

Paul, before you buy a heater core (especially if you can let the truck sit while the core is out), check with your local radiator shop, they may be able to repair it at a fraction of the cost of replacement. I had one repaired 6 years ago that's still holding up great.

Really, don't overthink this one. Its nothing but turning wrenches...

[nyncompute]

Don't forget this helpful thread in the FAQ's
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=124556