[V8] another heater core veteran

[dsaad at icehouse.net]

I generally did this:

Inside car:
- remove both console side panels and footwell ducts
- remove both 90 degree elbow ducts
- unplug vacuum connector (and make sure no wires are tangled up in it - like
from aftermarket stereo or something)


Under hood:
- drain coolant
- remove hood. People claim you can do this with the hood on but it is much
easier IMHO with it off. I did it myself simply by attaching some rope to the
garage ceiling and looping it around the opened hood. Loop it behind the hood
catches, and cinch it up - this supports the front.
Then I used a long nylon strap and attached it at the center of the hood -
between the two catches, and ran out the rear of the hood where I looped it up
over a sturdy lag bolt in a ceiling joist. By pulling on this strap I could
raise up the rear of the hood. Secure things, remove the bolts and struts, raise
the hood and tie it off. The whole process takes 15 minutes tops and the hood is
well up and out of the way.
- remove the windshield wiper assembly, and push out the plastic nut (that holds
the wipers) in the center of the car. It gets knocked out later by the air box
if you don't.
- remove the A/C hose clamp on the drivers wheel well and all nylon attachments
for the A/C hose
- un-plug heater motor and temp motor and vacuum lines
- remove the metal band that holds down the air box.
- disconnect hoses. I ended up removing the heater valve and the firewall
grommet plates (or whatever you want to call them) for the wiring harness and
heater hoses. This gave me some needed extra wiggle room.
- slide the air duct on the right side of the air box into the air box.

I have probably missed something in here somewhere but just look around
carefully before you start to pry the box out.

I had some heavy guage angle iron to use as pry bars - but use whatever works.
On the driver side I could pry against the small lip where the metal band fits.
On the right side, I ended up making a small notch just below the metal band
channel to put my pry bar in. This all will depend on what you use to pry with.
Use a block of wood on the car body to pry against.
The air box is essentially glued in so I found that applying slow steady
pressure - mostly on the driver side, eventually caused the box to break loose.
At the end, I had to pry both sides at once to break it totally free.

When you get the air box out, there are a bunch of clips to remove, and three
screws for which you will need a long #2 Phillips.
Also remove the temp flap motor and make a note of where the "E" clip goes so I
can put mine back on!
Disconnect one (blue?) vacuum line from a vacuum motor and split the box apart.

while you are in there, - take note of the single connector hanging behind the
radio for the "check engine light". If you can find both halves, connect them if
you want.

The old core is glued in with silicone. I used spray foam instead. Not sure why
- it just seemed like the right thing to do.
At re-assembly time I used chunks of dried spray foam to hold the flaps in
place. I placed the chunks so I could retrieve them when assembled. That worked
for all but one flap, and that one I guided with a screw driver and then a nail
through the hole at the last little bit. I thought this would be a hard process,
but it didn't take that long. Drink your beer AFTER this step because you WILL
need all your coordination and critical thinking skills intact. This probably
explains why I have an "E" ring left over.

HTH

Dave









Quoting "Korn, Bob" <Bob.Korn at Fike.com>:

> The parts, new core and mixer valve,  are sitting in my garage, have the
> same issue from what it sounds like, I can smell coolant sometimes, no
> major loss of fluid yet so I haven't done this yet.  I've read several
> procedures on how to do this, how much of a PIA was it to get the heater
> box loose from the firewall?  I've read where they suggest a 2x4 as a
> lever arm to pry it loose.  What was your experience?
> Thanks,
>
> Bob
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: v8-bounces at audifans.com [mailto:v8-bounces at audifans.com]
> Sent: Monday, January 10, 2005 10:22 AM
> To: v8 at audifans.com
> Subject: [V8] another heater core veteran
>
>
>
> I have joined the club!
> I thought I had a heater core leak and so finally decided to R&R it. I
> am not
> really sure if it was bad - maybe only the hose connection was loose but
> a new
> part was only $75 so I changed it out anyway. I also found that the
> blower was
> near death as well. The brushes were worn to the end of their travel.
> The motor
> bearings looked OK and I probably could have just replaced the brushes
> but a new
> Bosch blower was also $75 so I just got a new one. Overall not a hard
> job, but
> it took me most of a weekend. I had to pull the hood, and the
> replacement core
> was slightly defective in that the hose connections would not pass
> through the
> opening in the housing. I had to heat them up and turn them a bit. The
> new core
> is all brass btw. The old part - true to Audi form, was a piece of art.
> The new
> part is downright ugly but it will probably outlast the car.
> The manual was suprisingly un-helpful for this job but it was pretty
> obvious
> what had to happen.
> I used spray foam to seal the new core to the right air box half (the
> manual
> recomended silicone), and foam tape for the left.
> I also used new foam tape for the air box to firewall seal.
> The only problem I had was a left over "E" clip with a felt and metal
> washer. I
> remember taking it off - but could not find a place to put it back on.
> Everything seems to work OK however.
>
> After doing this job, I am a little puzzled about reading previous posts
> where
> people recomend breaking and cutting parts. I never came across a need
> for that.
>
> Dave
>
>
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