Heater Core Replacement

[GibMax]

I'm getting antifreeze dripping onto the passenger's floor. I understatnd this means that I may need a new heater core. I see the parts are cheap but the labor can be expensive due to the complexity involved. Anyone want to give me an idea of how much it should cost to have a heater core replaced? This is a 66 I6 200 coupe.

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[Gun Jam]

about 3 hours of your time....The horrid "complexity" of the job involves unscrewing 4 bolts from the firewall. One screw from under the box, 2 hose clamps, and 3 cable screws, and a few heater box tabs.

I can do my heater core in about 45 min if I had to..there is nothing difficult about it. I highly suggest doing it yourself.....unless you think its a good idea to pay 400 bucks to some guy for 45 min of work.

I think mustang monthly has a picture story of how its done step by step.

-Gun

[TexasAxMan]

Absolutely, one of the easiest things to fix. Do it yourself.

BTW, you can get a gasket/seal kit for about $10 from your preferred Mustang parts supplier. You might also want to replace the defroster ducts and the plenum, each $17. With the core being $30, the whole enchilada is only $74.00 plus shipping and/or tax.

[Gun Jam]

Oh yeah good call...I forgot the defroster plenum is cardboard and will probably not survive being touched let alone removed. Get the gasket kit and the modern plastic defroster plenum or you will just be paying extra shipping when you have order one because the original one turned to sand attempting to remove it.

get the whole thing at once and save money and time...Core, Gasket kit, plenum.

-Gun

[ThanksDad]

#1 on the Mustang Monthly story. I am to damn tired to look it up but I have it in a file somewhere and it appears to be a really good step by step instruction. I need to replace mine and havn't gotten around to it yet.

[JamesW]

while your at it, replace all the seals in your heater box. This will cut the interior temperature down considerably.

and if you're really inclined, install a valve in line that shuts off the flow. This will cool your interior substantially

[Canary94GT]

Here's the Mustang Monthly article

By the way, I would really like to replace my heater hoses (they work fine, they just could look better).
Could I do this without removing the heater core? I can feel the hoses behind it, would coolant probably spill out of the hoses if I tried to remove them (my system is drained, but I didn't drain anything from the heater).

[Gun Jam]

I do think if you have long fingers and skinny arms you could indeed replace the hoses without removing the box but it would take several hours of fighting it.... removing and replacing the hose clamps would be murder. or you could just loosen up the box and have it done in 20 min...however it would again probably destroy the cardboard defroster plenum but hey it needed replacing anyhow.

-Gun

[GibMax]

Originally Posted by ThanksDad

#1 on the Mustang Monthly story. I am to damn tired to look it up but I have it in a file somewhere and it appears to be a really good step by step instruction. I need to replace mine and havn't gotten around to it yet.

This is the description that I saw that looked complex:
http://www.mustangmonthly.com/howto/5769/index.html

[unit91]

While you're in there, might as well get a small vacuum and clean out your air return duct work and as much of the cowl as you can. Get rid of the dirt, acorns, mouse skeletons, and whatever else is in there!