96meangreengt

Does anyone have a good write up on a heater core replacement. I know its gonna be a pain to install but if its doable im gonna tackle one weekend.

The car smells musky all the time but i cant find any wet spots anywhere, When you turn the heat on you get a funky smell coming from the vents that has a slight hint of antifreeze and it never seems to go away and when you turn the air on you get the same smell for about 5 secs then it goes away, does this sound like the heatercore is leaking or is it something else.

smitty2919

Maybe try the cabin filter? I have no clue where it may be (other than in the dash somewhere)

cliffyk

These are muscle cars, no cabin filter through '04 at least--maybe the newer ones have 'em...

Here's the Evaporator coil housing/heater core RnR from the shop manual--to give you an idea, step 4 is "remove the dash"...

96meangreengt

thanks cliffyk, how much should I expect to pay a shop to replace it?

cliffyk

I have absolutely no idea...

I haven't paid a "regular" shop to do anything in my life, except for once maybe when I was 300 miles from home and dropped a timing belt on an '85 Corolla--the last year they made them RWD.

I would guesstimate it to be a 4 to 5 hour job for someone that knows what they are doing...

96meangreengt

Ok so probably $250-450 plus parts. might be worth it because the mustang is my dd right now, sold both my trucks and have to drive the mustang everyday untill i can find another vehicle for a dd.

erikka.paige

i did mine in my 99 and it wasnt all that bad I removed the seats to have more room and had a friend help cuz the dash is not light. if you have ac you will have to unhook it i belive.
I spent about 10 hourstaking care of the heater core and a few other things I would think one could do it with in 6 hours if they read how to 1st

b96gtman

My buddys shop calls for like 8 hours r&r i think?

jpacetti

I have done this twice in my 96... the second time was easier but me and a friend got it in one night, about 5 hours. You don't have to deservice or disconnect your AC but you will have to remove your entire dash. It's a bit of work. Not a job for just anybody. Once you get the dash out you will see a black box mounted to the firewall on the passengers side right under the window. The panel on that box that holds your heater-core is on the top side. It's tight getting that panel off without removing the whole box, but I did it twice. The 2nd time I modified the panel by cutting it and sealing it back together to avoid the mess if there ever was a third. Anyways it's an even tougher fit but you can squeeze your old heater-core out of there. Just be careful putting the new one back in. Otherwise installation is the reverse of removal.
FYI... Make sure you disconnect the battery before you start and be real careful when you drop and raise the steering collumn to get the dash out. Good luck!