30 replies to this topic

[amartin]

Moosens -great story on htr core replacement. I read the entire progression leading up to your working on it and it was great.

I have 87 gl wagon at 170k and will do same thing and had a couple questions - I figured i'll replace dash lights while the thing is partially removed - do you know where the specs for these are or am i just too lazy to find them?

Also - temp control slider got stuck with ice (yes ice) 10 years ago and the wife forced the slider to work - so for 10 years the silder know has about 1/4" of tangential play in it - any guess as to what it might be or what I should be ready for to try to fix it?

And - last question - anything else you can think of to PM in the dash while its backside is hanging out?

thanks a million for trailblazing

[edrach]

Timely write up for me; I was planning to do the dash on my son's Brat and found out recently that the heater core is bad. I spent the last three days (a couple of hours each day) pulling the heater box out of a low mileage '85 hatch at the local PAP. Heater box and new dash will go in as soon as Turbone and I find a mutually acceptable time to do the job.

[moosens]

Moosens -great story on htr core replacement. I read the entire progression leading up to your working on it and it was great.

I have 87 gl wagon at 170k and will do same thing and had a couple questions - I figured i'll replace dash lights while the thing is partially removed - do you know where the specs for these are or am i just too lazy to find them?I'm a little lazy right now too,but I'd say those tiny light specs are in the owner's manual somewhere.If you don't find them soon I'll check a service manual for you later in the week.

Also - temp control slider got stuck with ice (yes ice) 10 years ago and the wife forced the slider to work - so for 10 years the silder know has about 1/4" of tangential play in it - any guess as to what it might be or what I should be ready for to try to fix it?I'm guessing the heater cock on the end of that lever/cable is the real culprit.Try to score a cock with the core,worth it if you want another 5+ years of heat out of it.

And - last question - anything else you can think of to PM in the dash while its backside is hanging out?I think you've got the right idea changing the bulbs.Orange in the ashtray is so cool.Oh,check you fan,particularly the resistor pack.Night want a new res. pk. too....clean out the ducts,re-foam the perimeters of the flaps,etc....ok,maybe there are a couple of things you can do... Make sure the A/C unit looks good,maybe blow out the fins,or vacuum.
I did the cleaning and foam,did the resistor pack previously,but when I got it all back together the fan was suddenly shot.But,that's one item you can get to w/o the dash out.

thanks a million for trailblazing

...you're welcome,but I'm just the first(?)guy who wrote it out nicely.

The EA81's can be yanked from the driver's side w/o removing the dash,BUT you need a Dremel type tool to cut the box.Save the cut piece and glue it back on after."clantieri" did an ecxellent job of this in his,and my,former 84 4WD wagon.

[Laplacian]

Remove the gasket plate that the heater core inlet and outlet tubes pass through as they go through the firewall.Good idea to disconnect the speedometer cable from the tranny too.Give some slack towards the dash.Quick,close the hood and get in the car it's starting to snow

I realise this is old but there is some very useful info. I recently tackled this but made the mistake of starting on the inside (ie removing dash). I have everything out except the heater box is stuck. I have unscrewed the gasket plate but can't get the bloody thing off!

I have spent an entire day stuffing around with screwdrivers/multigrips trying to pull the inlet/outlet hoses off but they wont budge! I also managed to get my hand around the back of the heater box inside the car and felt the hoses that go through the firewall from the inside but I assume they should come out with the box if I can get the engine bay hoses off?

I'd appreciate any advice on how to deal with this as its the only thing keeping the heater box in! I'll probably put the dash back in soon so that I can actually use the car so next time I'll tackle the engine bay hoses FIRST...

[moosens]

Cut the hoses? I'm thinking you're better off replacing them anyways being so old now.

Good luck. Let us know how you it works out.

[robm]

My core is leaking, and now bypassed. Here is an update on the current availability of heater cores in Canada.

No Canadian aftermarket parts house carries them, neither does Rock Auto. The dealer wants $690! And may not be able to get it in the end. The wrecker wants $50, but that is if I pull it.

(And I am far away from an adequate supply of tools to get the job done. And my tools are far away from an adequate supply of Subarus in the wrecker.)