The heater core in your Dodge Dakota, as is the case with any vehicle, is perhaps the most important component in the heating/air conditioning system. The coolant must pass through it in order to generate heat, and a bad core won't let the coolant pass through. You can usually tell this through coolant leaking into the passenger compartment or a sweet smell coming out. Removing the heater core for replacement can be a long task, as it requires you to get inside the dash itself.
Take the truck to have its air conditioning system discharged if it has an air conditioner. This can only be done by a licensed technician; one can be found at the dealer service shop.
Disconnect the Dakota's battery at the negative cable.
Connect a 3/8-inch diameter hose to the radiator drain, open the drain with pliers and drain the engine coolant into a large container.
Disconnect the heater hoses at the firewall using pliers on the hose clamps then disconnect the air conditioning lines. The AC lines may require a spring-lock coupling tool.
Remove all the trim panels on the dash board, lower the steering column using its tilt lever then remove the dash -- disconnect all electrical connectors, remove the mounting screws and nuts with your wrench/screwdriver and lift the dash out.
Label all the electrical connectors, vacuum hoses and temperature control cables on the heating/air conditioning unit then disconnect them all.
Disconnect the evaporator's drain tube and the defroster duct that is above the heater/AC unit.
Remove the mounting nuts on the firewall studs connecting the heater/AC unit using a wrench and remove the unit.
Remove the unit's housing cover and pull the heater core up and out of the housing.
