I was thinking of doing a bypass. Do I need to remove the core all together or can I just unplug it from the firewall and just cap it up and connect the hoses?

 

Why do you want to bypass it?

You can just do what you described, but if you ever want to use the heater again in the future, you'd better blow some compressed air through the core to dry it out really well, otherwise it will rust.

 

I used a piece of 1/2" Metal tubing and some screw type hose clamps. It's a bitch because one of the hoses going into the core is 5/8" and the other is 1/2". You can leave the core in if you like.

 

Well the reason I want to bypass it is because since I put in my motor and charged the air, I've noticed a slight coolant smell every once in awhile when the air is on. It aint all the time but its there every now and then. I also notice that I have to fill my radiator with a cup of water every other day or so. I have no idea why. Can't find a leak anywhere. Maybe gonna try and pressurize the system.

 

Remove the plastic under dash piece on the passenger side, remove the glove box(take out three 7mm screws at the bottom), and remove the black shroud that goes around the heater core. I think it's three or four 1/4" screws. Anyway once you remove that you can see the heater core, get a flashlight, and look around. If it's leaking you will either see coolant in the fins on the core, or dripped onto the bottom of the shroud.

 

If it is the hearter core go to auto zone they are 15.00 and it takes no longer than 20 minutes to change.. just didit last week..

 

Thanks guys..... I didn't think the heater core would be that cheap. Hey John you ever figure out your prob bud??

 

Another thing.......do I need to drain my radiator before changing out the heater core. I guess I would huh.

 

You can bypass it with no problem.

Tie the coolant lines together.

Mike

 

I was thinking of that but I figure if I gotta take it out anyway cause of a possible leak than I might as well replace it for 15 bones. I just don't get it though. I looked at it and it shows no signs of a leak. No leak under the car anywhere at anytime, and it only smells for a couple seconds every 10 minutes or so when I'm driving.

 

Yea I figured out my problem, bad radiator. Car runs nice and cool now. This car keeps eating up my mod money with repairs!

Who said something about a heater core for $15?? That must be a typo or something. I bought my heater core from autozone last week- $59.99. That was the only one they had. Not only that, if I did pay only $15 for a heater core, I'd be surprised if it didn't leak within the first five minutes of use.

 

can someone tell me how to hook it back up?

lol i have no heater and if i ever want a gf they are gonna get cold lol...

i have to hose connections on the wall behind the engine (firewall ???)that arent connected to anything,im assuming thats where its supposed to be hooked up to something to make heat come out of the vents.

 

No, you won't need to drain your radiator. But, once you get everything back together, you will need to add some coolant and bleed the air out of system.

 

Mine was the same way. It would smell here and there, once in a while. I pressure tested it but no leaks. I looked everywhere but no leaks. Then one day, It was kind of chilly in the morning so I went to go turn on the heater and thats when it really busted. Oh, the smell was ten times worse. So all in all, it did have a small leak untill I guess it just gave way.

I would just replace it. around 60 bucks. Very easy to replace.

 

Hey John good to hear but. I left a post on the other thread where the guy was asking for you. I thought you jumped off a bridge or something....haven't heard from you in awhile.

Happy for ya man. Must be a relief. Good job.