Heater Core removal

[habu]

Is it difficult to remove the heater core ? I have a 69 CS with Factory AC and the PO has the two heater hoses going into the firewall.. I am in the process of swapping the motor out and I want to replace the hoses but the connections are in/under the dash somewhere. My initial guess is that I'll have to take the AC in the cab out to get to the heater core to replace the hose.

Does this seem right ? Does anyone have a pic of what it should look like from the engine side of the firewall ? Got a feeling something isn't set up correctly and I'd rather get it done right while everything is apart.

[tbone6]

Not sure it will help, but here is my 72, no a/c. The connections to the core are at the firewall in the engine bay on mine, just remove the two clamps and pull the hoses. The core connections go through the firewall into the engine compartment. Red line would be hot water, blue is return to the pump. That is a tee below the heater control valve for bypass.

(edit) Can't speak to ease of pulling your core, mine was pretty easy with no A/C.



Hope this helps.
t6

[Mach428]

You are right. A picture from the firewall side will do you no good since the hoses simply disappear behind the firewall on factory AC equipped trucks. The hose connection to the core is back behind the AC unit and I don't know of anyway to get at them than to loosen the unit from the dash and wiggle your fingers back there.

I would suggest reading in the repair manual of how Ford recommends the removal / replacement. They may have a few tips.

[sargentrs]

Can't speak from experience with a/c but standard heater box is easy to remove. From looking at this, does the front of the case come off? http://www.fordification.com/tech/image ... -incab.jpg

[habu]

Thanks for the quick responses.

But I think I'm in for more work than expected.

The black piece against the firewall in the pic above that looks like the hoses attach to or the heater core goes through, I don't have that. Pics to be posted later. On mine the hoses disappear into the firewall with no hose clamp on the engine side of the firewall. So who knows if I even have a heater core....

[habu]

speaking of which, in a separate but related subject....

the nipple on the intake for the hot water... anyone know what side that is. Need to buy one for the new intake manifold. Found one that is straight up, but I think a 90 degree one would work better.

[Mach428]

NPD has them

[habu]

Here are the pics....




Ugly and only getting uglier...

WTH does this do ?


Same here.

[habu]

NPD has them

Cool. will check it out.

[fireguywtc]

Getting the heater core out of the factory AC box is a pain, but it is mostly time consuming. You obviously have to pull the box out which is the hardest part. After that, it is fairly easy to disassemble the box, but you have to take it all the way apart to get the heater core out. Its also a great opportunity to address other issues with the AC box. I cleaned and painted mine.

As for you heater hoses, someone did a hack job of putting them back through the firewall, that is not the factory location. The metal tube hanging on the firewall there is for the AC drain. It look like again, someone did a hack job of running a heater hose down through the cab mount for a new drain. Good luck trying to get yours fixed up.

The site has some info on servicing the AC: http://www.fordification.com/tech/ACservice.htm