| Author | Message | ||
     RPG (Rpg) New Member Username: Rpg Post Number: 4 Registered: 09-2003 |
Just finished pulling the Heater core out from my 91RR. Given all the horror stories, I was prepared for the worst. I gotta say, it was pretty simple. Took about 4 hours to pull it out. I did it, without a garage (in my driveway), at night, in the rain with the temp hovering around 0c(32f). I labeled everything with one of those letter label makers, so putting it back should be pretty straigtforward. The most difficult part was removing the heater hoses from engine bay; not a lot of room back there. Followed the shop manual instructions, and the guide posted by Steve (http://www.webbspot.com/rangerover/index.html) and it came out easily. The fact that you can do 90% of it sitting in the drivers seat made it easier too  Anyways, the core is shot, and so is the heater blower motor, so I'm going to spring for the entire assembly (~$540 at DAP) and just be done with it. I've been contemplating putting in a manual or remote heater core bypass (maybe using the 95RR/DiscoI one). Anyone done something similar? Would be useful if the sucker ever leaks again, or to bypass the core during the summer... Anyways, so far so good. Hopefully putting it back in shouldn't be too bad | ||
| Geoff 93 RRC (Geoff) Member Username: Geoff Post Number: 162 Registered: 11-2002 |
Hey thanks for the post - I might be doing same soon as I am getting some coolant smells. Bypassing the core during the summer might not be a good idea. I run my heater occaisionally during the summer to circulate the coolant to hopefully retard the corrosion. | ||
| David Morin (Sporin) Member Username: Sporin Post Number: 84 Registered: 02-2003 |
Check with Rovers North on parts as well. When I was pricing Steering Boxes, they were hundreds cheaper then DAP. | ||
| Christian Kuhtz (Ckuhtz) New Member Username: Ckuhtz Post Number: 22 Registered: 06-2003 |
Anyone done this on a P38A? | ||
| Steve Cooper (Scrover) Senior Member Username: Scrover Post Number: 582 Registered: 09-2002 |
Geoff, you don't need to "run your heater" to circulate the coolant. It's constantly circulating through the core at all times. That's partly why it gets so hot in the cab. My core blew when the A/C was on, and filled the truck with coolant. Now it's bypassed for good. Of course, if I was East Coast I might be tempted to replace it SC | ||
| Geoff 93 RRC (Geoff) Member Username: Geoff Post Number: 163 Registered: 11-2002 |
Steve - No valve in there eh? On previous cars I've owned there is a valve somewhere near the intake manifold that either allows coolant through the core or bypasses it. British Pacific and DAP list a "heater control valve" and "hose to valve" etc. However this is for the 95 model with the Disco dash, so perhaps as you say the coolant is always flowing on the older models. | ||
| Steve Cooper (Scrover) Senior Member Username: Scrover Post Number: 584 Registered: 09-2002 |
Yeah, the Discos had a valve, the Classics through 94 didn't. You can see the pipes from the core coming through the firewall - nothing but hose from there on out. I always thought there was a valve too, until the skin started to peel off my right leg. SC | ||
| Kevin C. Burnett (94rover) New Member Username: 94rover Post Number: 37 Registered: 02-2003 |
I completed the task four weeks ago. Very tough job I must say, and I had help. I got started on a Friday night after a cup of coffee and the idea that "I COULD DO IT". Friday- 7:30pm-1:15am- That time was spent just taken everthing apart- Lower Dash, Center Dash, Cubby Box, Louver Dash, in other words everthing had to be removed. I put all my screws in seperate bags, and LABLED EACH SCREW AND BAG, do so if you feel that you are not going to remember where they came from. The shop manual is a pain because it directs you to several different pages in order to remove all the dash parts. I could go on and on about Friday night but I'll leave it out. Saturday morning I got started about 7:30am, and I really didn't sleep well because I was very worried about being at the point of no turning back- After getting all the dash out Friday night I really started to appreaciate what the service techs go through when they are assigned this task. Saturday morning was spent just looking at all the crap I was able to dissassemble. It was interesting to see how everything looks once its all torn apart. There are some tricky things about taking your Lower and Center Dash and console apart. Don't just start yanking on things, you will break little clips that keep things in place that you will not know about until you reassemble. Shortly after 2:30 in the afternoon on Saturday, my brother and I were stuck trying to figure out the best approach to removing the entire heater unit- The entire heater unit can be purchase for about $540.00- Something to think about if you decide to pull the unit apart and break all the filters and clips(MUST READ THE SHOP MANUAL ON HOW TO OPEN THE HEATER UNIT IN ORDER TO GET THE HEATER MATRIX (CORE) OUT). I broke one of the infamous flaps and I now experience the results of constant heat leaking in. Anyway it was about 4:30 once we got the entire heater unit out, I refused to mess with all the AC Components on the passenger side. You gotta lift a certain part of the lower dash on the passanger side high enough and really angle the heater unit in order to twist and turn to get it out- WHEW, IT WAS A PAIN. Anyrate my brother left me about 5:30 Saturday afternoon, and I was praying that he would return on Sunday. After about two cups of coffee and a bitter conversation with my wife about how I wanted to go to the Toyota dealership on Sunday, I decided to go at it alone- It was about 10:15pm Saturday when I finally figured how to twist the heater unit with the NEW HEATER CORE to get it back into position- Something you shouldn't do alone unless you are GOING CRAZY like I was. Around midnight I got the heater unit in place- I was HAPPY. I didn't sleep Saturday night into Sunday morning. I was icky and just bothered about the entire process. This is where I sort of wanted to pay someone to come and finish the job. Sunday- Up around 9:30am, body was sore, and the sun was bright...About10am Sun. my brother arrived, I was happy. He didn't know that I would keep working and finally get the heater unit back in place. We joked and laughed for about an hour (we were afraid of what was ahead, and that was our way of dealing with the fear)-I'll wrap this up here. If someone is helping you with the job, YOU WILL FUSS AND ARGUE AT THIS STAGE IF YOU ARE NOT CAREFUL. My brother and I had our little sibling competition going between us, and it was so weird. He was determined to get the job done and so was I....SUNDAY WAS THE WORST DAY. Things got out of hand because the rewiring can be a pain (PAY ATTENTION TO WHAT YOU UNHOOK) We got everthing back together about 9:00pm Sunday night. I located my box of heater hoses and started to make an attempt to reattach the wires- Bottom hose was a pain- Finished that about 11:30Sunday night- I did leave out a lot of detail, but I am so proud of the work that my brother and I accomplished- I saved about $1500.00, and have broken components to make me DIY proud. Yes there are still a few dash lights out on the heater controls, but that is a small thing- I HAVE HEAT, well almost, I gotta go in and insert my new thermostat. I went three months without heat, only because of the season....... For RRClassic owners, If you do the job yourself, Get a Shop Manual, some Coffee, have some jokes, and fun, but PAY ATTENTION........and take Monday off if you do the job over the weekend. It TOOK THE ENTIRE WEEKEND-MORING NOON AND NIGHT, And my only regret is the time I missed with my wife and two year old. It is however a Visa commercial- You know the priceless part- e-mail me for details if you need to, or leave your e-mail address here and I'll give you my contact info. | ||
| A. Ali (Alia176) Member Username: Alia176 Post Number: 123 Registered: 03-2003 |
I agree with Kevin. This job is truly a royal PITA! Two people is minimum, specially when pulling out the heater box while someone else lifts the pass side dash upward! What really sucks is that you can't purchase a blower for this biatch! So, if your blower is shot, you'll have to get creative with a replacement. I was able to find a blower from Autozone that someone suggested on the RN bbs but never did install it. I'll wait 'till next summer and deal with it. Moral of the story is: replace the blower too or at least check it out and clean it if possible when you're replacing the core! Ali |
