Heater Core Swap

Discussion in 'Buick FAQ' started by tlivingd, Nov 27, 2002.

  1. tlivingd

    tlivingd BIG BLOCK, THE ANTI PRIUS

    I know this has been asked before but was having some trouble following what was going on so I'm posting again.

    I now realize my heater core on my 70 skylark with A/C is leaking. nice antifreze smell in the car along with fog. I'm looking at pointers at pulling this out and replacing it.

    is this a remove front fender procedure? and to remove inner fender does the outter one have to be removed? (hope this isnt a stupid question but my honda's inner liner was plastic and just had about 12 plastic fastiners holding it in.)

    can this be done w/o removing the A/C box and all done from the interior.


    I am also having trouble to get a decent amount of air to blow on the windshield with it in the defrost setting. it seems to be mixing the air and allowing it to blow out the defrost ports in the top of the dash and down at the floor. it will change fine from and blow out of the vents when necessary and out the floor only when set there.
     
  2. Truzi

    Truzi Perpetual Student

    This is probably the wrong forum, but....

    You can do it all from inside the car - except for removing the hoses to the heater core.

    You have to remove the box under the dash. Its a pain, but you can swap in a new one in a few hours. I forget the details as its been a few years.
     
  3. 462CID

    462CID Buick newbie since '89

    Truzi, I don't want to contradict you here, but to remove the heater case my '70, I had to remove the fender. The blower motor and three or four bolts on the case are all under there. I do not have A/C, however, maybe the A/C cars and the non-A/C cars have different heater cases. I would recommend replacing the blower motor and squirrel cage if you are replacing the heater core, in any case.
     
  4. tlivingd

    tlivingd BIG BLOCK, THE ANTI PRIUS

    looking to do that too

    I was thinking about changing out the blower motor too.
    I'm going to try my luck taking it a part an re oiling the bushings in it my self. I've had pretty good luck with window motors and the like by doing that. but it is defantly being considered.

    Nate
     
  5. dualqwad

    dualqwad ...just another lost soul

    Air Flow Issiue

    Your air flow issiue could be caused by a few things;

    A) The push-pull cables may not be adjusted properly and are not fully closing the diverter flaps in the 'suitcase'.

    B) On vacuum operated ones, like most AC systems have, there may be vacuum leaks in the hoses and/or diaphrams.

    C)The foam seals on the diverter flaps may have simply worn out and need replacing.

    These are the more common problems to look for while you work on it.

    I hope this helps you out. :TU:
     
  6. Truzi

    Truzi Perpetual Student

    I had a teacher in high school who would say "If you want to do something impossible, get someone who knows nothing about it." So maybe thats how I did it without taking off the fender. Then again, it maybe b/c its an A/C car. :Do No:

    I have taken off the fender (fixing a different problem). Its not too bad. Remove the bolts from the hood hing, cowl, underneath, and behind the headlight bezel. A body shop did some poor collision repair, so instead of unbolting the fender from the wheel well, I had to unbolt the wheel well from the frame. The only hard part is lining things up again when you put it back on.

    If you do end up removing the fender, that would be a good time to make sure the seams in the cowl are sealed well.
     

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