Heater core & Rack

[Girls can too]

Well, I can't complain after owning my 9 year old Fox for 7 years the H.C. finally went south. Any tech articles on replacing one?

I hear it's a major pain. But I'll have all the interior out soon for the cage, so wondering if there's anything I should expect...besides a headache. haha!

Also, I'm in the market for a new rack. Any good aftermarket pieces or should I go thru Ford? (It's a street/drag car.) I already have an aftermarket in there, but it stinks. I lost a lot of the tightness and it's pretty sloppy compared to stock. For the $$ break, I've found it definitely wasn't worth it.

Thanks! Nic

[sn95gt19]

your lucky it lasted that long, i have had to replace the heater core on 3 of my mustangs, all went out within 6 mos. of buying them. anywas in a fox body you have to pull everything off, the entire dash(real pain in the a#&) it took me a whole day to do mine, just be glad that you dont have a 94-98, i had to change one in my 95gt and it was a lot harder than the fox. i have heard nothing but good about the flaming river racks(manual and power.
i dont know what kind of aftermarket rack you have but if its a flaming river let me know, that would be the first bad thing i have heard about them. hope that helps, and yes your right the only thing you have to expect is a HEADACHE

[Girls can too]

Thanks sn95gt19! I too have heard good things about the F.R. Unfortunately I went with a no-name factory replacement. Like I said, to save a buck. What a p.i.t.a. I guess I will go with them, they're still cheaper than the Ford piece.

About the core, I'm sure glad I wasn't in your shoes! Hopefully I won't have to do it again for a loooong time once installed. Sucks because the cage requires removal of everything BUT the dash...go figure. LOL! Wonder if it will be a darn rattle box after taking it out. Haven't had to yet. But guess I'll get some time cleaning up the old stereo wires while in there. Thanks again! Nic

[Mustang_289]

If you have AC - dash has to come out - if you don't - it's a snap to replace heater-core.

[Girls can too]

Originally posted by Mustang_289
If you have AC - dash has to come out - if you don't - it's a snap to replace heater-core.

Ahhh...I look forward then to a big ole pain in the rear.

[fiveohpatrol]

Well if you dont mind doing some cutting in there then i have a bit of a shortcut for ya.

You dont have to pull the whole dash out of the car, but it would be easier that way.

Ok, if you read in the manuals about this job, they all say the AC evaporator casing has to be pulled back and off of the firewall from inside the car. This means taking it to a shop before and after the job to have the AC discharged and recharged again. I didnt feel like doing that.
The reason they say it has to be pulled back is because you cannot reach the back 2 screws holding the cover of the heater core casing without doing so. It is wedged right underneath the windshield support area.

You can however access the front screws.
So what I did was remove the front screws, and then as far back as my dremel could reach, I cut the top of the casing. This allowed me to access the heater core to pull it out and replace it without touching a single AC component. I just used a little epoxy and duct tape (after all, HVAC ducts is what this tape was made for in the first place) to seal it back up after I was done. Everything has worked perfectly fine from that day.
Well except for when i was messing with the return line from in the engine bay and BROKE the tube off the heater core and had to do it all over again, but thats a different story

good luck with it, and umm, well i would say have fun, but it won't be fun in the least bit

-Drew

[Mach 1]

Originally posted by Girlscan2
Wonder if it will be a darn rattle box after taking it out.

actually, this is a great opportunity to tighten everything up while in there and while puttting it back together, and it should be LESS of a rattle box when your finished if done correctly.

[silver_pilate]

Yeah...my dash ended up being tighter than before after replacing the heater core.

I did something similar to fiveohpatrol. However, instead of cutting the core lid, I simply used a couple of large screw drivers/pry bars to lift the lid up while my buddy pulled the core out. It's definately not worth discharging the A/C. Just either cut the box and epoxy it back together or do as I did and pry it apart. My way takes two people, however. If you loosen a couple of the supporting bolts of the housing and pull the whole thing down a bit, it makes things easier.

I only took us about four hours start to finish for the core swap. I worked one side and he worked the other. The good thing is that most of the screws are pretty much the same. There are some that are different, but for the most part it's easy to figure out where they all go. You might grab an egg crate to seperate em out. Label the crate with a sharpie and you're all set. Course, I'm sure you've done more than enough work to know how to keep organized.

Oh...and have fun with the wiring harnesses for your lights and flashers and such. There wasn't much slack in mine and it was hell getting the harnesses off.

--nathan

[drtbiker]

yeah for a 40.00 dollar part it is the biggest pain to put in with ac i hate it i hope it never goes out again

[Mach 1]

I did mine similar to nathan, but i actually removed the screws in the back of the cover. It was tight, and my hands were scratched, and a little prying helped, but it can be done. Discharging the A/C isnt required, but if money isnt a concern, just dump it yourself, then pay to have it serviced after you put it together. It sure does make things easier. If you dont want to dump the A/C, loosen the clamps on the engine side of the firewall around the a/c lines, and remove that long bolt that goes in the bottom of the heater box from the inside.

This will give you some room to move the box around slightly without opening up A/C lines.

[lx mike]

here in florida it doesn't get cold enough, so we just bypass the heater when it starts to leak.

[silver_pilate]

Haha...I lived with a small leak in mine for an entire winter. I only used it when my windows fogged up or if I could no longer feel my extremities.

Then when it went for good and dumped antifreeze all over the ground, I simply bi-passed it like you Floridians do. It was great...for the summer. A couple of dates in 20 degree weather in a car without heat and you get kinda pressured to get it taken care of. Course, right after I got it fixed I got dumped. Go figure.

--nathan

[Girls can too]

Thanks so much for the detailed info, tips & tricks!! I greatly appreciate it! Makes it a little easier to head out there to begin the job. I'm going to take everything into consideration. Like you all, I guess I'll have to see what works best for me. I'll keep you posted.

Good call on the dash too. You're right, it will probably be better, being slammed, I'm sure I've loosened plenty up in there. I've been lucky that my car doesn't rattle much...especially inside. Man have I heard some doozies tho... haha!

Again thanks! I never expected such a great response! Post with ya soon! Nic