it went.......how tough of a job is it to do yourself, i don't wanna take it anywhere due to how much they're gonna want for labor... i know its a pretty tough job. about how long would it take and if anyone had any tips or suggestions i'd appreciate it. thanks

 

Heaters cores in general are a pain. Check this link out http://www.sethirdgen.org/heater.htm

 

I hate the heater cores in 3rd gen. F-bodies....ugh....

The heater core in my '84 Camaro went TWICE!!

What a headache and waiste of money...After i replaced it the first time, 8 months later when i saw the wet spot under the passenger side mat, i just about lost it!!

If you're up for the job, go ahead and do it yourself, labour normally is alot for this job (it was for me both times).... but they are a pain in the @ss...

 

People exaggerate way to much about this, or just don't know what they're doing. It took me 2 hours my first and only time. That includes draining and filling. I've heard of people taking out the console, and the dash! Crazy!

All I had to do was drain the coolant, remove the hoses at the firewall. Remove the pass side hush panel, remove the ECM - for clearance, remove the shroud cover, and the shroud and core came out fairly easy. Only a couple of screws were difficult getting to. I used an assortment of extensions and a wobble. Install was easy too. Line up the tubes with the firewall, a little tap and they popped right through. Put back together, and refill.

 

Uhhhhh...not really....

 

Hey Marc...I'll be sure and give you a call when mine needs changing so you can show me what a 'hush' panel is.

 

I did mine on my 86 T/A in 45 minutes.
I helped my friend with his 86 Iroc and took about 2 hours.
On the Iroc, we had to loosen some dash screws to get access to one of the bolts on the top cover of the heater core box.
on my Bird, there wasn't a screw there so I was able to do the entire removal and install from under the pass side hush panel.

Oh, and we left that top bolt off of the heater box in my friends Iroc since that took way too much work to get that one bolt out.

 

It's the panel under the dash, driver or passenger. And yes, it is the correct terminology. I don't make up $hit here.

And I bet I could do it again in my car in under an hour. Like Zepher said, there are only a couple of screws that change the job from being a piece of cake to just plain easy.