[urq] Heater core replacement

[urq]

IME it is going to depend on whether your car has A/C or not ... no A/C it
is a pretty simple job.  My car has A/C, I may have gone overboard, but I
ended up removing the console ... which involved removing the heater blower
.... which comes out from under the hood.  Be sure to replace the heater
hoses now ... I had one of the hoses go while the heater core was intact ...
rather than dig inside the car and under the hood I spliced the hose with a
fitting from a "flush 'n' fill" kit ... which worked and served another
purpose I suppose.  I just think that if you will be changing the heater
core, the related components might well be considered as well ... have you
replaced the heater valve lately?  The one other thing I've started doing is
replacing that little stub of a hose that goes from the thermostat housing
to the metal line that runs along the block and back to the heater ... 

Steve Buchholz

-----Original Message-----
From: Louis-Alain Richard

Can't say for sure, but I think the heater core is on its way out. I had a
very small puff of steam on the passenger side, but no smell in the cabin.
Anyway, time to replace it since it's still nice outside, and this is the
last bit of the cooling system to replace. I'd rather do it now than just
before the first ice lapping day in January.

 

I bought a heater core from my usual place. 90$CDN is expensive, but when I
said that I saw some 14$ heater core from a VW website, they answered "well,
this unit is made by Behr, the OEM on your Audi, and it is not a cheap
Chinese copy". "OK" I said, since the first one lasted 27 years, I can spend
90$ to get another quarter century of leakproof heating. But when I did open
the box here at home, that beautiful Behr heater core (plastic end tanks and
aluminum core) is stamped "Made in China". Oh well. 

Is the one on the car made of brass or is it like the replacement unit ?

 

And how big is this job ? Is it a 2-beer job or more like a weekend project,
with skinned knuckles, mostly damped carpet and back ache for the next week
?

 

Thanks in advance,

 

Louis-Alain