My heater core experience

[Robrote]

Good morning. I finished up a heater core job on my 2012 SLT this weekend. While I wont get into the procedure, as there are plenty of write ups about it, I wanted to let you know that if you're apprehensive about doing it, it's not a terrible job at all. I had a buddy of mine give me a hand and we had it in and out in 3 hours. Definitely helped having another set of hands especially when taking the dash off. My 3 hours does not include evacuating and recharging the AC. There is a great video on the Youtube that shows the procedure and I found it was dead on accurate. I can't really tell you of any hard or tricky parts of the job. Just some nuts and bolts and wire connectors.

If anyone has any questions about the job, I'd be happy to answer them.

Rob

 

[GTyankee]

Did you already toss the Heater Core ??

I wonder how your heater core looks after 9 or 10 years ?
Did you try putting either Air or Water through the heater core after you took it out of the Ram ?

What did it look like inside ?

 

[Robrote]

Did you already toss the Heater Core ??

I wonder how your heater core looks after 9 or 10 years ?
Did you try putting either Air or Water through the heater core after you took it out of the Ram ?

What did it look like inside ?

Yes, I still have it. It looked ok. You could see some staining on the core itself where it was leaking, but there was no open core or coolant in the heater box that needed to be cleaned out. Now, I did not pull the AC evaporator which I hear gets pretty nasty. What I didn't see, didn't hurt me.

 

[jws123]

I have done a few myself its not bad like you said however I learnt my lesson. The last one I changed the heater core and not evaporator and 3 months later it had a leak from corrosion had to pull dash again its worth the money to change both hopefully yours lasts.

 

[Robrote]

I have done a few myself its not bad like you said however I learnt my lesson. The last one I changed the heater core and not evaporator and 3 months later it had a leak from corrosion had to pull dash again its worth the money to change both hopefully yours lasts.

Oh, I know I should have done both. I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

 

[GTyankee]

OH, i thought your heater core was plugged & you were not getting heat inside the cab,
I had not thought about a leak in the core

 

[Robrote]

OH, i thought your heater core was plugged & you were not getting heat inside the cab,
I had not thought about a leak in the core

I had about 1/3 heat. I have read that a leaking core will not put out the proper heat and they were right. I would get ok heat on the passenger side and virtually none on the drivers side. I had the smell of coolant in the cab. Once I changed it out, it's all good. Loads of heat and no smell.

 

[juancache]

I going to replace my heater core, it is leaking really bad. I need to take it to a shop to have the refrigerant removed from the AC system. I've temporarily bypassed the heater core using a 3/4 pex 90 degree elbow to connect the two hoses so I can move in the driveway as needed without leaking more coolant into the cab. I'm about a mile from a shop that can remove the refrigerant from the vehicle. Can I have this in place long enough to drive to the shop and back to have my refrigerant removed, without damaging the engine?

 

[turkeybird56]

Stuff not going into the heater core not hurt as long as U have a continual path between Motor, Rad and Water Pump. My wife had a 1990 Lumina with the V6 and transverse mounted engine. We had the hoses rerouted so it looped back to the water pump. I did the heater core on that motor, what a ROYAL PITA. I had to break loose the motor mounts, loosen transmission mount and use a come a long to pull the motor forward to give me enough room to take care of connections on firewall. NEVA again on a Front Wheel drive vehicle. LOL. I am not a mechanic, so if U not sure, check with someone U trust. BUT if you pull both hoses off of heater core and just connect, U R still having a coolant path just without the core in the middle, no issues. U might wanna get fixed before it gets cold up there considering where U R.

 

[turkeybird56]

I had about 1/3 heat. I have read that a leaking core will not put out the proper heat and they were right. I would get ok heat on the passenger side and virtually none on the drivers side. I had the smell of coolant in the cab. Once I changed it out, it's all good. Loads of heat and no smell.

Nothing like the sweet smell of "success" coming inside the cab from leaking coolant, LOL. Been there and done it with a Chevy Lumina and 2001 Ford F150. I paid someone to do the Ford, LOL.

 

[Jeepwalker]

Thanks for the good info...

 

[juancache]

Solved. I'm replacing the heater core and evap core on a 2013 Ram Express. I hit a roadblock. I cannot find the last fastener bolt on the firewall holding the unit in place. Any tips?

There is one nut behind the wire harness plate.
Follow the two rubber hoses that connect to the heater core to a bend on the lower right side of the wire harness plate. The hoses are attached to a connector that hides the second nut. I will add a picture of where the two nuts are.

 

[jawzs2]

I'm replacing the heater core and evap core on a 2013 Ram Express. I hit a roadblock. I cannot find the last fastener bolt on the firewall holding the unit in place. Any tips?

Mine was behind the ECU, had to pull it off to get to it, the other was right below the hoses

Edit: actually, I believe that's the PCM

 

[BadHemi2014]

It took me a few days to change my heater core solo, haha. I was working outside in the middle of January.
I also didn't change the evap core despite reading lots of advice that you should. Well it failed and this time I paid a stupid amount of $ to have it done. Hopefully you won't have that same luck.