QuestionI recently bought a 95 Ciera SL with a 3.1 L engine. The heater core appears to be bad because I have a persistent coolant leak into the passenger compartment, which also badly fogs the windshield on cool evenings. It will be undrivable by winter if not fixed.
I got a replacement core from a reputable local junkyard and took it to my mechanic (works from home, but is quite good). He got up under the dash and told me that as far as he could see there is no way to replace the unit without dropping the engine. As he explained it, the heater core can't come out without first removing some ductwork. As far as he can see, the ductwork can't be removed from the passenger compartment side, and the only way to get at it from the engine compartment side is to drop the engine.
Now, as I said, my mechanic is good - but he's largely self-taught and works without benefit of shop manuals. What I'm hoping is that there's some trick to getting the core out easily that he just missed when he looked at it.
Can you help?
Thanks,
-Steve
AnswerSteve,
Absolutely you can remove it from inside the vehicle. You should never have to pull an engine to replace the heater core. I looked it up on my online service, and here is what their manuals have to tell me...
Disconnect the battery cable. Always the first step in everything. He will need to disconnect the fan, that's electrical, so play it safe. Also... if you have a passenger side airbag, disconnecting the battery allows for it to begin deactivating itself. It has a backup power source that should last no more than 1 minute. But have him wait about 5 before doing anything to the dash just to play it safe.
Drain the radiatr and all the coolant he can. The last thing you want is more antifreze all over your interior.
Disconnect the heater hoses where they connect to the core. (this should be in the engine compartment)
Remove the lower instrument panel sound insulator
Remove the floor outlet ducts
Remove the heater core cover. From experience this should have both screws and clips holding it in. So if he takes all of the screw out and it still wont budge, have him look for some small "flip clips"
Remove the heater core
And the installation is the same as removal, but in reverse.
If he needs any further assistance, though I am not certain what I can tell him without looking at the vehicle, feel free to ask.
All told, this will involve alot of crooked neck positions, but it will save alot of trouble versus pulling the engine and finding out that he cant get it from there.
Thank you for your question and I hope I was of some assistance. If I can do anything further now or in the future, do not hesitate to ask. If you found this response useful please remember to rate this answer. Thanks again and good luck in everything.
