Heating Core!!!

lonnie · 01-10-2012, 12:24 PM

Couple of questions:

1. How long does it take...I've seen 6hrs

2. What prices have you seen...I've seen 103.24

3. Is it a bitch to get to? I know its under the dash and toward the front.

Just asking cause I'm looking at forking over 505.00 to get it done (before taxes).

[ion] C2 · 01-10-2012, 12:32 PM

1. Takes as long as you want it to. As with almost anything on a car, it's simply bolts and such. It's all just a matter of accessibility and how afraid you are to handle things.
2. DELPHI Part #HC0338 ($33.79)
3. Sounds like a bitch to me.

That would suck to have to pay someone to do things like this. My friend paid some place $200 to change his spark plug wires where the wires only cost $15 or so and I could've done it in 10 minutes..

Shops charge like $90/hour and then usually make up how many hours it actually takes. Like when I went to get an O2 bung welded on. Took 15 minutes. Heard them in the background "Just charge 'em an hour labor."

guiguilandry · 01-10-2012, 01:00 PM

it's a bitch to do... and I have one good for sale from my wreck 20$ plus shipping... does this work for you??

lonnie · 01-10-2012, 01:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by guiguilandry

it's a bitch to do... and I have one good for sale from my wreck 20$ plus shipping... does this work for you??

Thats a very nice price but I'm not interested...thanks!

a.graham52 · 01-10-2012, 03:03 PM

im willing to bet the whole dash it going to have to come apart plus drain and fill coolant, and evac the a/c system too. im saying this becuase im guessing your going to have to take the whole hvac box out of the car to separate it to gain access to the core

lonnie · 01-10-2012, 03:53 PM

yeah every place that I have called has said about 6 hrs labor....not looking good for me.

[ion] C2 · 01-10-2012, 04:26 PM

have some fun and try it yourself haha

it is one of the jobs i will despise the most when mine plugs finally..

a.graham52 · 01-10-2012, 04:31 PM

its not taht bad. iv done one in a trailblazer/cobalt and a couple k trucks. its very time consuming however with the right info it can be a strait forward job.

edit. also sounds like to gain access to the hoses and nuts holding the box in you will need to get from under the car. just what what i read anyways.

zzyzzx · 01-10-2012, 05:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by a.graham52

im willing to bet the whole dash it going to have to come apart plus drain and fill coolant, and evac the a/c system too. im saying this becuase im guessing your going to have to take the whole hvac box out of the car to separate it to gain access to the core

That's how it works on my Escort (1991-1996 model years). It is as if the rest of the car was built around the heater core. It costs like $600 to replace a $25 part.

Also, I doubt that there is much or anything 2.4L engine specific about the repair; I don't know why it's in this section.

zzyzzx · 01-10-2012, 05:42 PM

I assume that your heater core is leaking? If it's just clogged you do have some options.

[ion] C2 · 01-10-2012, 05:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zzyzzx

Also, I doubt that there is much or anything 2.4L engine specific about the repair; I don't know why it's in this section.

I can move it, but I don't really see anything else that a heater core fits in.. we should rename our sections a bit so everything can be put somewhere and make sense.

a.graham52 · 01-10-2012, 07:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by [ion] C2

I can move it, but I don't really see anything else that a heater core fits in.. we should rename our sections a bit so everything can be put somewhere and make sense.

"general performance" drop the "performance"

[ion] C2 · 01-10-2012, 08:49 PM

If only I were an admin haha

lonnie · 01-14-2012, 02:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zzyzzx

That's how it works on my Escort (1991-1996 model years). It is as if the rest of the car was built around the heater core. It costs like $600 to replace a $25 part.

Also, I doubt that there is much or anything 2.4L engine specific about the repair; I don't know why it's in this section.

It was placed in here because the car has a 2.4L engine in it. Had I placed it in the other thread then someone would have said that it needed to be in here. Can't win for losing I guess.

zzyzzx · 01-16-2012, 11:56 AM

I still want to know exactly what's wrong with the heater core. I.E.- why are you wanting to replace it.

zzyzzx · 01-16-2012, 03:48 PM

Is this helpful:
http://www.gaownersclub.com/forum/sh...d.php?t=138769

They had better How-To's there but they were for different years.

lonnie · 01-16-2012, 05:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zzyzzx

I still want to know exactly what's wrong with the heater core. I.E.- why are you wanting to replace it.

Well I don't think that it is the heating core now...at first I was smelling coolant in the car, and I had no heat, but there was no film on the windshield and nothing was wet inside. Today I was driving, and the car ran hot...I could see steam coming from the engine but I couldn't see the leak. A couple of weeks ago my upper radiator hose had a quarter size hole in it from it rubbing against some high pressure line just above it. So I replaced that and check the lower and that was fine. Fast forward to today...when I finally get home I look under the car and coolant is pouring down. I check all of the hoses again and nothing I can see one hose coming from the heating core that connects to the water pump and that is fine...but I can't see where the second hose runs to, and whether it is leaking from there. It is the only place I can think of that would leak coolant toward the back of the engine.

Any ideas?

[ion] C2 · 01-16-2012, 06:11 PM

yeah, it's the cheapo plastic quick-connect fitting on the metal pipe that leads to the water pump

get the replacement hose, and break the fitting down there and just clamp the hose onto the pipe itself.

i did that about 1.5 years ago. car started leaking hard from there while i was out of state on my way home... had to tape it up and fix it when i got back.

it's very hard to tell that it's leaking unless you can get your hand back there and feel it without thinking it's just dripdown from your initial leak problem.

lonnie · 01-16-2012, 09:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by [ion] C2

yeah, it's the cheapo plastic quick-connect fitting on the metal pipe that leads to the water pump

get the replacement hose, and break the fitting down there and just clamp the hose onto the pipe itself.

i did that about 1.5 years ago. car started leaking hard from there while i was out of state on my way home... had to tape it up and fix it when i got back.

it's very hard to tell that it's leaking unless you can get your hand back there and feel it without thinking it's just dripdown from your initial leak problem.

Ah gotcha...yeah it was a bitch to reach back there but I felt that it was wet...I'm hoping its just that and that pipe hasn't cracked or something...but it is coming from there I'm sure. Thanks...I wanted to be sure.

zzyzzx · 01-16-2012, 09:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lonnie

Well I don't think that it is the heating core now...at first I was smelling coolant in the car, and I had no heat, but there was no film on the windshield and nothing was wet inside. Today I was driving, and the car ran hot...I could see steam coming from the engine but I couldn't see the leak. A couple of weeks ago my upper radiator hose had a quarter size hole in it from it rubbing against some high pressure line just above it. So I replaced that and check the lower and that was fine. Fast forward to today...when I finally get home I look under the car and coolant is pouring down. I check all of the hoses again and nothing I can see one hose coming from the heating core that connects to the water pump and that is fine...but I can't see where the second hose runs to, and whether it is leaking from there. It is the only place I can think of that would leak coolant toward the back of the engine.

Any ideas?

Yes! Smelling coolant inside th car is often the result from an engine coolant leak odor coming in from the HVAC syste, Switch to recycling interior air and you should notice that you don't get the coolant smell when that happens. That's the easiest way to rule out a heater core. That and it seems perty rare on these cars.

Were you inspecting for leaks with the engine running and warmed up? It's much easier to find them when the system is under pressure.

Quote:

Originally Posted by lonnie

Ah gotcha...yeah it was a bitch to reach back there but I felt that it was wet....

Isn't that what you have kids for?