I would just like to say, i work on cars for a living, and i had to replace a heater core on a sunfire so I looked on here for @!#$s and grins since book is 5.6 or 6.5 hrs and says to remove the dash, and every single post on this website says to remove the dash as well, well, on my sunbird i just removed an acsess panel below the core and on this sunfire it has the same thing, i removed it and took the heater core out and put it back in.
Still not a 20 min job because some of the bolts are hard to get to (thank got for 1/4 inch air ratches with swivel socket!) but altho ive never taken a dash out of one of these im sure the acsess panel was alot easier job!
I will admit, on the front right side of the acsess panel the dash gets in the way a hair, so i cliped a little bit of it off, but it wasnt a structural piece and is not visible from the outside.
With a few mods, the factory could have made this job a 1 hour job tops. Didnt take me but a couple hours but that was mainly because i worked very carefull as to not tear those stubborn htr hoses so they didnt have to buy new ones.
Just kind of curious why NOBODY says to do it this way???? am I the only one?
89 355 s10 blazer
94 sunbird, 2.0 turbo 5spd getrag swap
Turbonetics turbo, intercooler, E85 20psi
^ good thing i have that tool, will be starting mine tomrw...how long did it take you?
I did my heater core the normal way by pulling the dash. Left the steering wheel on though.
I had mine out and new one in within 3 hours.
The right tools and knowledge is where its at.
"Oil Leak ? What oil Leak ? Oh, Thats Just The Sweat From All The HorsePower!!"
I believe imma have alot of fun with this one..lol so far everything ive done on my car has been a first time experience for me (motor mounts,head gasket,strut replacement and so on) and when my head gasket blew so did my heater core, SO here soon before it gets cold i will be tackling this job myself.
Thats the only way we learn. Repair manuals are a good thing to have as reference. Just if u have any unsure thoughts. I did the heater core on my 01 cavalier, Never done one before on these cars. It took me 5 hours. Got it done no problems.
yea i figured id just read up on here and post if i need and just take my time..
I just did a heatercore.....pretty simple, some hidden bolts, i took my steering wheel OFF....people say you need a puller tool for that, i just twisted and shook and pulled and it slowly slid off, there are 2 threaded holes you can fit bolts into if it doesnt come off easily
Only tips i can think of right now is..
Disconnect the battery so air bags dont kill you lol
Keep track of ALL wires(count them as you unplug them, count them as you plug them in)
there are 2 bolts (or 3, i forgot) in the engine bay holding the whole heatercore box assembly thing in place
other then that just get a radio and leave yourself plenty of time and it's pretty simple, it's mainly all 7mm bolts
