Heater Core-ectomy

[mwoodland at Valicor.com]

Greetings Folks, 
They said it couldn't be done... but I'm here to tell you that I did it last
weekend. 
After torturing back and forth over how much money I'll continue to throw at
Max, an '87 5KTQ with 280K on the clock.. I was looking at ditching the car
over a blown heater core.

This, after dropping the car on H&Rs, installing Bilsteins, gray sport
interior, new belts all around, new skins on 16" BBS Pininfarina wheels,
etc, etc.. and watching the widening pool of Pentosin under the car from the
(recently) leaking rack.

The labor to swap out the heater core would probably come close to the rack
job, and with winter around the corner, it was looking bad for Max.

Inquiries to the list led me to believe that it couldn't be done, but the
thought of driving without heat can be a strong motivator.

When the window of opportunity opened on two free hours, I grabbed the saw,
and opened the hood. 
The secret here is the saw, a Japanese keyhole saw that cuts on the pull
stroke. I had already taken a saw to the heater box to do the blower job, so
it only took a few minutes to expose that and pull it out. This gave me
access to the air flaps, and a glimpse of the heater core. About 30-40
minutes of precision sawing had the heater core out of the car, and the case
ready for cleanup.. soaking up the plastic dust and antifreeze. I had a new
core, recently pulled from a donor, which installed in a minute, and the
whole works was back together within a half hour. The only additional
hardware that required removal was the windshield wiper assembly, but that
came out with 3 screws, and allowed me to upgrade to newer arms.. the ones
that hinge up with the hood closed.

All in all, less than two hours well spent. 
If anyone wants the gory details, i.e. where to cut, drop me a line. I made
a few cuts that helped me visualize the rest of the job, and didn't
contribute to the removal, so the actual process will go faster.

Now I can drop the bucks on a rack job with a clear conscience, and whack
another 100K on Max.. mebbe even spring for new paint.