heater core woes

streetstang88 · 11-18-2006, 05:17 PM

the heater core in my 89 5.0 left me a gift in my floor board ........ is it worth trying at home ive never replaced one in a mustang ive got it bypassed
but its kinda cold .....thankful for any tips

banditmwp · 11-18-2006, 05:19 PM

You can try it at home, but you will basically have to remove the whole dash.

streetstang88 · 11-18-2006, 05:21 PM

daumn...i was afraid of that ,,,will be pricey if i take it somewhere

Hotrod · 11-18-2006, 08:25 PM

Its not hard to remove the dash. It just takes time. (I think I got it out in an hour and I had never messed with it before). You also have to remove the console to get the dash out of the car.

joker · 11-18-2006, 08:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hotrod

Its not hard to remove the dash. It just takes time. (I think I got it out in an hour and I had never messed with it before). You also have to remove the console to get the dash out of the car.

Yea it really isnt that bad, just time consuming. You have to remove the center console, unhook the dash harness from the rear harness and eec harness, remove guage cluster, speaker covers, drop the steering wheel, then you can drop the dash. Not a bad idea to unhook the dash harness from inside the engine bay, but not a must do either. Figure about a 4 to 8 hour job if you do it yourself, depending on how mechanically inclined you are. Someone who has done it a time or two could probably do it from start to finish between 2 to 4 hours. From a shop, I would expect it to be around 4 hours of labor.

FastRedPonyCar · 11-18-2006, 09:38 PM

yeah back in auburn, one of my roomates got his dad's F150 and the week after, the heatercore took a leak all over the floorboard as well. As I was leaving for work one morning, a guy that used to be the head mechanic at a ford dealership showed up with a tool kit and new heater core parts. As I was coming home that evening he was leaving.

It's not easy but it has to be done. Antifreeze fumes can wreak havoc on your sinuses. Whitney's volvo's heaetercore was leaking too but it was an interior leak so we couldn't actually see fluid but you could smell it. Volvo makes a small access panel on the firewall for easy access right to the core. Guy that did the work said it took him 30 minutes to swap them out.

Catang5oh · 11-19-2006, 07:45 AM

i did mine without removing the dash completely from the car, i unbolted it and pulled it as far back as possible on the right side, it was very time consuming and tedious, but it came out after a little pushing and pulling here and there.

ncontt · 11-19-2006, 08:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FastRedPonyCar

yeah back in auburn, one of my roomates got his dad's F150 and the week after, the heatercore took a leak all over the floorboard as well. As I was leaving for work one morning, a guy that used to be the head mechanic at a ford dealership showed up with a tool kit and new heater core parts. As I was coming home that evening he was leaving.

Done one of those before too....ARGGGHHHHHH the F150 is wayyyyyy worse (IMO) like they said, not hard just hard to get to

QWKSNKE · 11-19-2006, 09:37 AM

pretty sure that shop labor is based off of 6 hrs. If it is a factory non-a/c car you can change it in 20 minutes

04 Mach1 · 11-19-2006, 10:22 AM

They not that bad just don't get in a rush like they said pull the console drop the column and pull back the passenger side. If you have ac you will have to evaculate the system.

11-18-2006, 05:17 PM	#1
streetstang88 Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: confusion Posts: 184	heater core woes the heater core in my 89 5.0 left me a gift in my floor board ........ is it worth trying at home ive never replaced one in a mustang ive got it bypassed but its kinda cold .....thankful for any tips __________________ '89 LX 5.0 Hatchback (light blue metallic) t-5 ,traction lock ,high volume fuel pump underdrive pulleys, chip NEEDS MORE COWBELL

11-18-2006, 05:19 PM	#2
banditmwp Welcome to America! Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: in the 11's Posts: 4,501	You can try it at home, but you will basically have to remove the whole dash. __________________ 91 GT Convertible 2006 Nissan Titan LE Crew Cab 2014 Peterbilt 337/Marion 22' box

11-18-2006, 05:21 PM	#3
streetstang88 Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: confusion Posts: 184	daumn...i was afraid of that ,,,will be pricey if i take it somewhere __________________ '89 LX 5.0 Hatchback (light blue metallic) t-5 ,traction lock ,high volume fuel pump underdrive pulleys, chip NEEDS MORE COWBELL

11-18-2006, 09:38 PM	#6
FastRedPonyCar They call me CrazyFingers Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Westavia Hills Posts: 2,377	yeah back in auburn, one of my roomates got his dad's F150 and the week after, the heatercore took a leak all over the floorboard as well. As I was leaving for work one morning, a guy that used to be the head mechanic at a ford dealership showed up with a tool kit and new heater core parts. As I was coming home that evening he was leaving. It's not easy but it has to be done. Antifreeze fumes can wreak havoc on your sinuses. Whitney's volvo's heaetercore was leaking too but it was an interior leak so we couldn't actually see fluid but you could smell it. Volvo makes a small access panel on the firewall for easy access right to the core. Guy that did the work said it took him 30 minutes to swap them out. __________________ - Drew - 2017 Dodge Charger ScatPack 392 2016 Mazda CX9 Signature Edition - Hers 1999 Volvo S70 T5 - Un-killable beater (Always for sale)

11-18-2006, 08:25 PM	#4
Hotrod Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Posts: 68	Its not hard to remove the dash. It just takes time. (I think I got it out in an hour and I had never messed with it before). You also have to remove the console to get the dash out of the car.

11-19-2006, 07:45 AM	#7
Catang5oh Senior Member Join Date: May 2005 Location: Between the A and the T Posts: 365	i did mine without removing the dash completely from the car, i unbolted it and pulled it as far back as possible on the right side, it was very time consuming and tedious, but it came out after a little pushing and pulling here and there.

11-19-2006, 09:37 AM	#9
QWKSNKE 3v's are slow Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Here and There Posts: 17,152	pretty sure that shop labor is based off of 6 hrs. If it is a factory non-a/c car you can change it in 20 minutes

11-19-2006, 10:22 AM	#10
04 Mach1 Bet I red light B4U Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: ANNISTON, AL Posts: 975	They not that bad just don't get in a rush like they said pull the console drop the column and pull back the passenger side. If you have ac you will have to evaculate the system.