Dodge Repair: Heater core issues, heater core replacement, heater cores

Question
Russell,

I just read a previous post about someone else being on their 5th heater core replacement.  My original one gave out in December and since then 2 more have failed.  Is it bad parts or someone at the garage where i'm getting it repaired is damaging the new unit when they replace it.  I want to make sure it doesn't go to a 4th one being replaced.  Luckily, they are covering the parts and labor.

Thanks,

Klaudio

Answer
Without knowing the year, mske snd model of your vehicle, I really can't answer your question accuratly. But generally, heater core failure these days are fairly rare. The most common failure is due to lack of maintanence. Either the core gets plugged up and you have low heat output or it just corrodes from the inside out. Another type of failure, albeit rare, is when the vehicle has a poor body to engine ground. What happens in this case is the electrical components in the vehicle seek out another path to ground and since water is a good conductor it will provide that pathway. When it does the coolant takes on a positive electrical charge which over time makes it very corrosive. That in turn will attack the weakest metals in the cooling system causing ailure and leakage. My guess would be that you have an older model Dakota or Durango with a 4.7 V8 engine. Some model years had a two piece heater core, the heater cores themselves never leaked but the tubes that bolted to them would become porous and would leak. Most all aftermarket, as well as factory, heater cores do not include the tubes in the heater cores they sell. So unless the installer also replaced these tubes, you could still very well have a leak. And as a side note, I will not question the workmanship of any repair facility unless I have direct knowledge to do so.