[blwn5spd]

i am looking into buying a 69 xr7 with 351 with a/c. the owner said the heater core is shot. does anyone know how much a new one would cost and what kind of pain in the ass it iis to replace. thanks again.
john

 

[modifiedmark]

The heater core is cheap, but it is a PITA to change. You have to pull the whole heater box assembly out from under the dash. The boxes are brittle fiberglass and break easally. The dran tube that goes through the floor is also often broken so I'm not talking you out of it I just want you to know that its not a 1 hour job and could intail more than meets the eye. mm

 

[sixt9coug]

Mark is right. the heter core itself is like $30. not bad at all. BUT yeah, you have to take the AC box out and all. its not fun. ill just say this. i had never done it before until i took to it with my car... it took 7 hours to do and i think i have the drain tube in wrong as the heater box sweats when i use the AC now. not that big a deal but still not as it should be. but yes, if you are looking to save the cash its something that the average person can do. nothing terribly hard to do, just time consuming like you cant believe.

 

[C-Spot]

I agree w. all said above. No idea about what the 69's heater box is like, but for the '68, it was a good days job to get everything out of there, replaced, and back in. Half of the trouble is because of the cramped space one works in. Practice some yoga before you get started.

 

[Local Hero]

Do yourself a favor and at least remove the passenger seat first. I did mine without any interior in the car. But, taking out the seat will help immensely!

Good Luck!

Mark

 

[TheRktmn]

I have never done one with AC, but I agree with Mark - remove the passanger seat. And the dashpad on a 69 comes out fairly easily too.

 

[DroptopCougr]

If you have decent carpet, remove it , in addition to the front seats. My son's car needs it and we are waiting until we have a long break between car shows. It can be very messy. A guy in our club down here just went through this, put a new one in, and it had a leak in it so had to repeat the process. If there is any way to check the new one before installing, do so. Good Luck!!!

 

[Rattycat]

Still sound easier than the heater core change out I did on the son's 80 VW Sirroco last weekend, hat to remove the entire dash panel to remove the heater box, had to hand make all the heater/vent system seals and gaskets. So order a new gasket set for yours before starting and spent the time to repair and repaint and make everything work corectly so you have a good working unit and don't have to mess with it for a long time and replace the heater hoses at the sme time, I think they are clamped on inside the car, plug the hoses before you pull the unit and that should keep the mess down, antifreeze is bad to clean up and it will smell later also.