Heater Core in a 94 Mustang

This has got to be the biggest PITA. The whole dash has to come out. No shortcuts. Do not pass go. Pay way more than the car is worth should a mechanic do the job. What were they thinking. I swear it is designed obsolescence. The cost of the repair would be more than the car is worth. A simple way to design in a way to get many of them to the scrap yard.

. .. . . Ok.. .. . . I feel better now... . . . Carry on... . .

Sounds typical for most cars built in the past 20+ years. Not that this fact will lessen your pain and/or frustration.

I'd rather change a clutch in a parking lot in the winter than change a radiator core on a 70 degree day in almost any car. And I've done both.

I could be wrong on this, but, like cranking up the A/c in the winter once a month to keep the seals lubed, would cranking up the heat during the summer help lengthen the life of the core? Get fresh coolant flowing through it, crud-building junk out? I've never seen this addressed anywhere.

I know on many cars the A/c does come on in the winter, partially to help defog the windshield.

It has been that way since the Fox platform has been out. Everyone wants interior space, well something has to give to get it.

Actually a bigger PITA is WJ Grand Cherokees.

Brian

In reply to triumph5:

Only if you have a heater control valve in the lines.

Yeah, I've done TWO of those berkeleyers in foxbodies. Never again if I have anything to say about it.

I understand most modern cars maintain constant flow through the heater core to help prevent this problem and regulate heat output by directing the amount of air that passes through the core.

It does seem like that on modern cars, they start with the heater core and assemble the car around it (mental vision of a bare heater core floating down the assembly line...gradually becoming hiden by the rest of the car...)

Is there a 'short cut' in the Foxbody? Volvo 240's also have a rep for it taking a crazy amount of time, but I talked to a guy a few weeks ago who said he can do it in under an hour by making a couple of strategically placed access cuts with a hole saw.

The shortcut was to cut the box open and glue it back together, but you still have to wiggle the dash around to get it out.

Follow this: http://www.mustangsteve.com/heatercore.html

I didn't cut the one in my SVO, I wedged the box open with an extension. For some reason I have no picture of that part.

This won't make you feel any better: Vatozone junk has me down to an hour in/out on the Caprice.

Chyrsler junk had kept me turning 2.5hrs on new Ram's for a blend door repair and that included dash removal and reinstall. I have since learned a different way and have it down to 35 min.

Brian