I've not pulled a heater core before and since mine started leaking this weekend I guess it's time i learn. I did a little poking around tonight with my FSM in hand but didn't have much luck. First of all the FSM doesn't say what to do with ac installed. Also what i had going on didn't totally match what they were suggesting in the book. For instance it said to take off the blower motor from the engine side of the firewall but even after taking off the three nuts it still didn't want to come off. It wasn't clear how to get the seal and bracket off which seemed to be holding it in place.

Any tips for getting at the heater core? I've read many other threads on this job but they all seem different. I'm wondering if I can do this job with the heater still in the car. I ordered a new core from Rockauto.

Any tips greatly appreciated!
Travis

p.s. Went to the Carlisle car show this Saturday and had a blast. Just an incredible number of beautiful A-bodies. Came within one raffle ticket number of winning a 65 Valiant. Whew that was close, almost had more than i had bargained for.

Hey man, you look in the other side? some times the Heather core use a other nuts to fix them. because on the back of car panel have the ducts, this is a complet piece, you neet first check if the heather not use a "quick" sujector in the other side of the mirror or wires, I'm goin a check the A/C manual for more the details.

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That consume your mind, that's controlling your life

I just found this great article with photos. Very helpful.

http://www.moparmusclemagazine.com/proj ... index.html

Travis

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69 Valiant Sygnet. 273 V-8
You're only as good as your last u-turn.

Success! This was the first time my FSM let me down. Lots of misdirections and unnecessary steps. I'm sure the factory ac added to the cause of most of the misinformation.

Had a bad/good experience at Rockauto with the new heater core. I ordered it on Monday and with plane jane shipping I actually got it on Tuesday. The only problem was they had just chucked in a too big box with zero padding. Needless to say it was trashed when i got it. They quickly sent another unit which I haven't received yet but I was happy they responded so quickly.

One problem I noticed was the new heater core inlet and outlet tubes didn't line up very well with the holes in the heater. Looks like a sloppy soldiering job. I really hope the new one is better. I don't have much in the way of soldier tools.

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69 Valiant Sygnet. 273 V-8
You're only as good as your last u-turn.

hey, thas sounds fine, I think the first piece is a remanufactured piece, but, don't worry, I think you have warranty on your buy no? RockAuto have good things, I'm buying more things for my duster.

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That consume your mind, that's controlling your life

Follow up question after a weekend of driving.

-When I replaced the heater core i did not have a proper rebuild kit with new foam adhesive pads and the old ones we're basically dust so I peeled them off. Is that going to cause a big problem with cold or hot air blowing into the passenger area? I just now saw that I can get a kit from Detroit Muscle but am not looking forward to doing this project again.

Additionally I had just had my ac system recharged (day before the heater core expired) for the first time since I picked up the car and I seem to have some warm air coming out where it should be cold. Specifically the vent the sits right on the carpet and blows out on your foot on the accelerator. The air coming out seems to be outside air temp (warm). When I turn off the fan motor air stops coming out. The cold air is working just fine, mostly. Is this normal operation or with ac on should air only come out of the ac vents mounted under the dash? Maybe I mixed up the vacuum hoses?

Thanks
Travis

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69 Valiant Sygnet. 273 V-8
You're only as good as your last u-turn.

Oh too bad Travis you didn’t have the rebuild kit on hand. Yes you will get some blow-by with warm mixing with cold & cold mixing with warm, and defrost mixing with heat etc. It probably won’t be too bothersome, until extreme temperatures hit you local. Real hot or real cold weather, and you won’t be as cool as possible, or warm as possible if you get my drift.

If this was my car, knowing that a rebuild kit was available would drive me nuts, and I would have to install it anyway…

I did refresh my heater box a few years ago with one of Detroit Muscle’s kits, it was a pain getting that box in and out of the car, but the kit installed without much trouble. If you do decide to install a kit, spend the extra bucks and order a replacement cardboard backer. You will have to remove the old cardboard one during the rebuild, and it will most likely become damaged.

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67' Dart GT Convertible; the old Chrysler Corp.
82' LeBaron Convertible; the new Chrysler Corp
07' 300 C AWD; Now by Fiat, the old new Chrysler LLC

Glad to hear I'm not the only one to think this way! I just ordered the kit. My knuckles we're saying no way but I was already dialing the number.

What exactly is the cardboard for? I don't remember seeing anything like that in the heater box.

Thanks

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69 Valiant Sygnet. 273 V-8
You're only as good as your last u-turn.

I may have mislead you, as my car dose not have air conditioning, and I have not seen an air type box to compare it to a non air equipped box.

On a non air equipped heater box that cardboard forms the back, or the side of the heater that faces the fire wall, from the floor heat outlet to about half way to the main portion of the box. It just forms a plenum for warmed air to be directed to the floor. It is held in place by about ten metal clips.

What you could do, is have an air conditioning shop evacuate your system before disassembly. A call to Detroit Muscle, after six if I remember correctly, to ask if your air equipped box utilizes that black cardboard backer. Also ask which spray adhesive is recommended to stick the foam down.

When I did my box, I gave it a good scrubbing with soap & water removing 40 years of crud, than sanded, primed & painted all the metal bits. When it was done that thing pumped new car smell into the cockpit…

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67' Dart GT Convertible; the old Chrysler Corp.
82' LeBaron Convertible; the new Chrysler Corp
07' 300 C AWD; Now by Fiat, the old new Chrysler LLC

hello guys.............does Detroit muscle have a website or just a local number? It's time for me to do the same.......I'm tired of all the leaks. Thanks in advance.
Best regards
MaX

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1966 barracuda 360
1964 signet conv. 170 turbo
Bonneville or Bust 2012

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67' Dart GT Convertible; the old Chrysler Corp.
82' LeBaron Convertible; the new Chrysler Corp
07' 300 C AWD; Now by Fiat, the old new Chrysler LLC