It's heater core time on my GSP!!! It's not that bad when you've done a hundred of them but still nothing to look forward to

 

Ah yes my 4 days of hell, still have a few nuts and bolts left over from that job.

 

so what's the best one to use? any particular brand? obviously stay away from cheap junk and guessing OEM, but, just asking anyway. lol, it would be cool if there was a tough "stacked plate" design that could fit in there...

 

If you want practice before you finish, you are more than welcome to try on my car.

 

I sinceerly doubt the man needs or wants more practice lol

Have fun Paul

 

oh god, im having nightmares right now. i need a hug! i did the first one on my 86gt. i paid for someone to do it n my 92. as kelly clarkson sings "Never Again" haha, i just dont fit in tight places. bt it prob helps when the interior is completely out!

 

It was only about 4 hours start to finish and that included rebuilding the underdash wiring harness thanks to a previous owner that had no business touching anything electrical!

Here is a lesson to never forget....this previous owner installed a parts store core....NEVER...and I mean NEVER EVER buy a parts store heater core. The quality isn't there and the most I have ever seen one last is 1 year and have seen them fail as soon as 3 months. Here is a picture of the core that came out....the leak started due to a poorly soldered joint at the tube(see it pulled out in the 2nd pic).

ALWAYS buy a FORD heater core!!!!! People complain it's $30 more....well, is that $30 savings worth it when you have to go in and replace it again?!? I always tell people this and only a few listen....that is when I love saying "I told you so" when I hear it is leaking only a short time later.

 

I've been lucky so far, I installed mine in October or November of '05 and its still leak free. Do dealerships still sell fox heater cores? I never recalled seeing a new Ford unit for sale, LRS has what they call "the good ones" but they don't mention Ford for sure.

 

oh no'es not again...i hope i never ever have to do another heater core but doing it when it was 20* out didnt help..( i wanted heat for the next day lol)

 

Yes, Ford does still sell them....Ford Part number E9LY-18476-A. The ones labeled "good ones" are the exact same ones sold by the auto parts store. It's all marketing hype to get the sale.

 

I installed one in my '85 along with a new evaporator from the Zone. Still working good. Install date February 1997! I think the biggest thing is QCing the 'cheap' parts before installing them. I grab the tubes on the heater core in the parts store and try to twist them out and look for poor solder adherance. kennyg

 

That's a good practice but you are among the minority. Usage also plays a part....and often the factory restrictor is missing from the hose to the heater core and spirited driving can cause a core to experience high bursts of pressure which will find the weak spot. If the car doesn't get driven that often or never experiences a lot of spirited driving then the core is likely to last longer.

 

So I would be wise to make/buy a restrictor and pop it in the inlet hose going to the core?

 

Oh my, yes Ive done 4 and the one in my 87 is going again, the tail signs of vapor on the windshield, so I bypassed it and flushed it out, put a little sealent just in the core and flushed it our and so far so good. I have sveral pieces of wood in my tool box just for the heater core!!!

 

Yes, the 87-93 5.0 Mustangs had them originally. The other thing I have done on 2 of my cars was install a 7lb radiator cap which lowers the pressure in the system and helps save an older core.....

 

the way everyone is talking about replacing heater cores, I have a feeling I will be facing the same task in the future, hopefully later than sooner...