Foggy windows and the smell of coolant...Heater Core Replacement
 

Well I parked at my house tonight and took off 2 hours later. When i was leaving I smelled the distinct smell of coolant. I pulled over and checked the engine bay over to make sure that there wasn't something going on under the hood and the windows are all fogged up under defrost. So now it looks like i get to replace/repair my heater core. My question is what is the best way of attacking this? I've seen a few posts of peoples "best way" of getting this sucker out, but I'd like to open this up again. I'd like to get into this either today or Sunday. Ugh, this is something I'm really not looking forward to.

Thanks in advance

I'm not sure if the heater boxes changed from 97 to 99 but the 97 is a breeze. Remove the glove box and there is a access panel for the core. That's how the 97 is anyway.

Rick

"I'm not sure if the heater boxes changed from 97 to 99 but the 97 is a breeze. Remove the glove box and there is a access panel for the core. That's how the 97 is anyway."

Rick, I just did my 97 and did not find this to be true. I had to do the dash roll procedure, but I did not disconnect my A/C system. It was a pain and I will probably have to go back in to replace my A/C condenser before long just because I tried a shortcut. But, I have seen A/C systems never work right again once they are opened.
Chris

Tampering with the A/C system is one of the things i want to try to avoid during this procedure

Another thing i was considering trying is disconnecting the heater core hoses from the motor and figuring out a way to cycle some coolant and irontite through the heater core and "repairing" it that way. Got nothing to lose right?

I think you have to take the hard route. Drop the steering colum, unbolt the dash, raise it up with bungee cords, remove the ecm, and hvac screws on the firewall, unhook the a/c core and jerk out the whole hvac box out the cab, split itopen and replace heater core.

I had to replace the a/c evap core, the heater core is the same procedure. make sure the blend door gets installed back into the box properly. I didn't so I have to do it all over again.
Good Luck, the dealer wants $800-$900 to do this.

I went a different route. Took me less than an hour to roll the dash forward. From there i cut the heater core lines in an equally spaced spot and yanked it out. I'm going to have a shop repair the core tomorrow. I will either just couple the lines back together or just run 2 new heater hose lines trough the firewall and into the cab. The coupling route is probably my best bet. I'll take pictures of it tomorrow.

I agree. I've done dozens of these, and have never found or tried any short cuts. Take the dash out, remove and split the HVAC housing, and replace the core with a DODGE replacement. I tried some cheesy aftermarket unit once and the way the tubes were bent wouldn't allow the blend door linkage to do a full sweep. So, spend the big money, and you'll only cry once.

I sure hate the thought of carving up those nice Cummins hoses (that are usually good for a lifetime) and then splicing them with gearclamps or replacing them with whatever the aftermarket sells.

I left the hoses alone and just spliced the copper back together. Theres no leaks and I'm warm, cant ask for much more. Thanks a bunch guys.

-Brendan

OLD thread... i searched :) did you ever get pics of this....

also anyone else tried this ?

did you have to drop the columb ?

did you have to disconnect the AC ?

(i agree once an AC system is opened they never seem to work right)

top........

Mine does the same thing(as the original post)I find that if I leave the fan on the lowest setting there is no smell. Does this make any sense to anyone?