Heater core replacement
Heater core replacement
I'm going to tackle replacing the heater core on my friend's 2003 Vibe GT probably on Monday. I couldn't find any relevant posts here, so I'm wondering if anyone has any tips or advice.Thanks!-JT
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star_deceiver
- Posts: 5802
- Joined: Fri Jun 05, 2009 1:49 pm
- Location: Airdrie, AB
Re: Heater core replacement (jtnovibe)
Good luck..... You'll most likely be removing a large chunk of the dash. It's messy, cramped and your knuckles will bleed at some point... Oh, make sure that you put the hoses back the right way on the new heatercore or it can trap air!!!Take lots of pics though!!!
2021 Ram 1500 4x4 CCSB
2019 Ram 3500 4x4 CCSB srw 8HP75 (traded in - 04/15/21)
2016 Ram 3500 4x4 RCLB Dually w/stick (traded in - 05/10/19)
2012 Chevy Silverado 1500 Cheyenne 4x4 (Traded in - 03/30/16)
2009 Vibe. (Traded in - 12/12/12)
2019 Ram 3500 4x4 CCSB srw 8HP75 (traded in - 04/15/21)
2016 Ram 3500 4x4 RCLB Dually w/stick (traded in - 05/10/19)
2012 Chevy Silverado 1500 Cheyenne 4x4 (Traded in - 03/30/16)
2009 Vibe. (Traded in - 12/12/12)
Re: Heater core replacement (star_deceiver)
Well after about 8 hours of disassembling everything from the firewall back, I could barely glimpse the side of the heater core. As far as I can tell, the A/C evaporator has to be removed to get to it. Even if I wanted to do that, which I don't, I couldn't even see a way to disconnect it.Until this, I always thought I could do anything. This has to be the worse car to work on that I've ever seen. I'm going to tell my friend that if she wants heat she should set the car on fire.-JT
Re: Heater core replacement (jtnovibe)
Yes, the A/C evaporator has to be removed. She found a friend of a friend to do it for $300 labor. He didn't refill the freon, so that's probably another $100, and fixing some of the problems he caused took me a couple of days. I still think she should have set the car on fire. By the way, there's a Spectrum Premium core for something like $57 that DOES NOT FIT! Get the OEM part if you're stupid enough to try this on your own.-JT
Re: Heater core replacement (jtnovibe)
Reading these kinds of posts makes me think I did the right thing by selling my 2003 2 years ago and jumping on a bargain basement priced 2009.
2009 Vibe 1.8L Carbon Gray AT Power Pkg 1/12/092003 Vibe 1.8L Neptune AT Mono Power Pkg 1/27/03 [sold 2/2/09]2007 T&C SWB 7/31/07 "Broke people stay broke by living like they're rich. Rich people stay rich by living like they're broke."