Removing heater core 87 Firebird

[andy625]

How easy is it to remove the heater core on an 87 Firebird? I think mine has started leaking slightly.

[Trash man]

took me bout 6 hrs the first time i ever did one, thirdgen.org should have a write up, and no u DONT need to remove the entire dash to get it, just unbolt the pass side and have a friend hold it outta ur way while u unscrew the box and pull the core out

[andy625]

Thanks for the tip.

The heater has only left a couple of water marks on the mats so far. I was a bit puzzled as to why I got dampness on both floor mats, but I don't see that it can be anything other than the heater.

I'm thinking that I may as well bite the bullet, pull it out and get it fixed though. I reckon its only going to get worse.

How much time do you think it would save by just onbolting the passenger side trim as you recommend?

[Trash man]

book time according the dealer is 4hrs to replace it, and 2hrs under warrenty so it aint hard. u sure ur a/c drain isnt plugged up?

[andy625]

book time according the dealer is 4hrs to replace it, and 2hrs under warrenty so it aint hard. u sure ur a/c drain isnt plugged up?

The mats were dry Saturday, then there was a small patch of dampness appeared on the drivers mat. I had a quick look through the fuse box door, but couldn't see any dampness anywhere, I also took the lower trim panel off on the passenger side expecting to see a damp bottom to the heater box, but that looks ok too. There were a couple of literally 1 drop marks on the inside of the trim, but I still can't see where its coming from.

All the other cars I've had that have had heater problems, the heater core has been in the middle of the dash, and the water has come through the lower heater vents. I checked the vents on the Firebird, and they are dry every time.

I can't understand how the dampness is getting from the heater over to the drivers side footwell. Not next to the heater vent by the tunnel either, it seems to be landing in the middle of the width of the mat, and also on the left hand side where my left heel sits when I drive it. On the passenger side it also landed in the middle of the mat.

I'm not sure about the a/c drain, the a/c doesn't work, and I just use the heater on "heater" and "vents". Is it possible that fluid could be leaking out of the a/c unit? I have never investigated what the problem with it is. It hasn't worked since I've had the car. It is all connected up though.

The fluid landing on the mats is a dirty dark greenish colour. Its not coming off the brake pedal either, so I don't think its the brake master cylinder.

[Trash man]

color would seem to point to heater core and the heatcore is on the passenger side vent, when it leaks it will come down the pass side of the tunel. mine was red cuz who rebuilt the motor on the car used dex-cool for some stupid reason. the a.c vent would be under the car. also has it been raining? if so and if u have ttops u might get a couple drops from tat but the color seems to point to coolant

[86FireBird]

Whatever you do do not read a Haynes manual on how to do it! When mine went i read how to do it and it was telling me to take a part my ENTIRE dash,drop the steering column, and even take apart the E-brake handle! So i did some research and i found this....

http://www.thirdgen.org/heatercore

and if u want n even faster way to do it then check this link..
http://www.thirdgen.org/techboard/co...placement.html

read thread number 8 on how to do it (i didnt try it this way but it looks like it would work)

[andy625]

color would seem to point to heater core and the heatcore is on the passenger side vent, when it leaks it will come down the pass side of the tunel. mine was red cuz who rebuilt the motor on the car used dex-cool for some stupid reason. the a.c vent would be under the car. also has it been raining? if so and if u have ttops u might get a couple drops from tat but the color seems to point to coolant

Yeah, I think that it probably is the heater, although I am still baffled as to how the drivers side mat got damp. Car was parked on the level both times, not raining etc.

[andy625]

Whatever you do do not read a Haynes manual on how to do it! When mine went i read how to do it and it was telling me to take a part my ENTIRE dash,drop the steering column, and even take apart the E-brake handle! So i did some research and i found this....

http://www.thirdgen.org/heatercore

and if u want n even faster way to do it then check this link..
http://www.thirdgen.org/techboard/co...placement.html

read thread number 8 on how to do it (i didnt try it this way but it looks like it would work)

Many thanks for the links. That looks an awful lot easier than the Haynes instructions. I thought they sounded a bit over the top. Makes you wonder why they didn't just say you have to hoik the engine out to get access to undo the hose clamps!

I think I'll wait a couple of weeks to try and make sure that it is the heater (can't really think that its anything else), as it is only a very small mount of moisture coming out at the moment, and only intermittent. I'm probably looking at getting the heater re-cored as I can't just go and buya new one over here in the UK. There is a local company that I've used before to re-core a heater off of an older British car. They did a really good job on it. They normally take a few days, so at least I'll be able to get my knuckles to heal up before I have to get the thing back into the dash again!

[Trash man]

most places can ship it to u if need be, altho most stuff out there is worse then what comes out, i had to do a heater core on my buddies escort, 4 times in less then 25K we had to replace it(u must pull the dash) we tried a napa, carquest, ford, and levines, so far the levines one has held up the longest