Auto Parts: Heater Core/Hose Replace or Reroute, heater cores, kia sportage

Question
QUESTION: Hello Mr. Evans, thank you for your time.  It is greatly appreciated! I own a 1998 Kia Sportage 2WD 2DOC I noticed the floor on the front passenger side was wet.  As I looked closer I found it's coolant.  I removed some of the trim and carpet and saw coolant dripping just to the right of the rear of the radio just under the dash board near the firewall.  I checked the radiator it was empty so I filled it with coolant and w/in hours it emptied into the passenger compartment. I cant afford to take it to the shop.  My dad is mechanically inclined but is not familiar with foreign cars.  When I showed him where it was dripping into the car I asked him "how are we gonna get to that?" He said "I dont know."  I believe the entire dashboard needs to be removed.  My dad just wants to reroute the hose and says I will not have a heater if we do so.  What do you suggest?

ANSWER:      You could reroute the hose, eliminating the heater core (which is almost certainly leaking) from the circuit.  Of course, then you would not have ANY heat.  I don't know where you live, but here where I am it is not expected to get above freezing for the next week or two.  Replacing a heater core is a complicated job, involving taking apart the heater box underneath the dash and possibly removing a panel under the hood.   I am not familiar with the Sportage HVAC system, but the vehicle is relatively easy to repair.  The thing that worries me is that KIA borrowed a lot of their design technology from Mitsubishi, and Mitsubishi's HVAC systems are notoriously hard to fix.  You might want to go to a library and see if they have one of those big repair books that will give you a clue.  If you can get the core out, you can put a new one in.  In the old days we used to repair heater cores, but nowadays it's cheaper to buy a new one.

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QUESTION: Thanks for getting back so quickly.  Well the decision is that we are going to remove the dash and fix or replace the heater core and hoses.  Can you tell me where I can get some info and or diagrams and wiring info/diagrams  online on how to begin, what to do and what not to do when removing and putting the dash back together?

Answer
    This kind of information is not generally available online.  The folks who publish the repair manuals make good money on them, and the mechanics they sell to like to think that the general public doesn't have access.  But, as I mentioned, most public libraries keep a complete set of repair books, with wiring diagrams, in their reference sections.  I have good luck using this reference source.  Another way to go is to go to someone like motorbooks or carbooks and buy a repair manual for your car.