I need help ( heater core ) 89' 5.0

[fms89]

My heater core is leaking, someone told me that you can bypass it. can you bypass it? I know i wont be able to use the heater. The other question is how do you bypass it? please help!

[Bad89stang]

You can bypass it by looping one of the heater hoses to the other heater tube outlet. There are two heater hoses that go to the heater core. One is the inlet hose and the other the outlet. Remove one hose and disconnect the other from the heater core only. The loose end of the hose will need to connect to the open heater tube opening.

Dam, it took me way too many words to explain that!

[fms89]

THANK YOU !

[ChunkFunky]

I suppose you have two options... you can pull both hoses off the firewall and just get a coupler... this way when you actualy get around to fixing the core you can just put them back where they belong.... I think it'd be tough to take the hose from the METAL COOLANT RAIL (for lack of a better term) and loop it back onto it self... that's a small area there.. you'd probably kink it...unless you went to the auto store and found a peice of MOLDED hose that does a 180 like that.. that would make for a clean install... there's actualy another option.. if you have no intentions of ever using the core again, you can pull the heater rail off the intake and put a nipple there and just run a hose from that nipple to the water pump where the other line returns to the waterpump originaly. Or I suppose you could plug it.. though I dunno if the intake woudl like that.. I would imagine it'd be best to keep it flowing...
-as

[CrimsonRacing]

On my 1988GT the hoses are 5/8ths and 3/4

I got a reducer to go between the hoses and then looped them back onto the coolant lines.Might wanna consider getting 2 new hoses(5/8ths and 3/4) so you can make the loop large enough to make sure it does not kink,which it will do very easily when the enging heats up.I have mine done like that now because I have lost a second heater core.When you decide to change the core,make sure you have plenty of time and ALOT of patience,'cus it ain't gonna happen in 45 minutes.

God Luck,
Crimson

[mpj76]

Chunky,

I thought about removing the whole metal tube assembly on my car too and just plugging the intake. How would you go about making sure the sensor could still read a temp? Right now I'm using bypass caps on my metal tubes. I was worried at first that the lack of circulation would cause a rich condition from an extended period of "cool" readings. That never happened, but those caps pop off under load sometimes when they get old. That really sucks.

[ChunkFunky]

Ive never removed the metal tubes but it shouldnt really effect things... I actulay forgot there's a sensor in there... lets assume we pull out the sensor. You'd need to rig up some plumbing to come out of the INTAKE where the metal tubes thread into it. Tap into this new plumbing setup and then run the hose back to the water pump.. this way the coolant will still FLOW out of there... and you'll stil get accurate readings on teh sensor... the alturnative is jsut get an adapter and thread that sensor into the intake where the metal tubes come out... and plug the nipple on the water pump... though I just dont know if that will effect the flow of things
-as

[silver_pilate]

Just couple the two hoses connecting to the heater core like chunk said. Problem solved, or at least by-passed. No reason whatsoever to make it complicated, and that way you can always reverse the bypass in about 2 minutes.

Anyhow, heater core replacement is a big ol' royal pain, but it can be done. I lived an entire winter without a heater core. Cold sucked, but the biggest problem was not having defrost. Windows kinda fog up after a while. It took me having a date and not wanting my lady friend to freeze to get mine fixed. A buddy helped me out and we got it done in about 2 and 1/2 hours. Expect it to take longer than that; he'd done a couple before.

--nathan