r&r heater core 81 caddy tricks?

[92EcoDiesel Jetta]

Just received a Meyle heater core from Autohausaz, man it's tiny! My 81 caddy has no rust partly due to it's from NV shipped to CT 14 years ago (I have receipt for $700 fm shipper) with a pinhole in the heater core and was bypassed never driven in the winter.

Does the dash have to come out to r&r the heater core? Someone told me it could slide out to the left if the brake and clutch pedals are fully depressed. If u know of a diy with pics pls post links.

[CRSMP5]

ac or not???

both-------------
pull knee bar behind plastic dash trim.. gllove box so on..
drain coolent.. no need for you

no ac-----------------------
remove plastic cover on drivers side of heater box by pedals..
disconnect coolent hoses
depress pedals.. slide core out..

ac----------------
tons more work... i pull dash..

[theman53]

Welcome to all kinds of hell. I still would love to kick the engineer in the sack over that one. I have only replaced a few each one made me cuss a bit.

Follow his ^ advice, especially on anything MK1

[vwroadkill]

dont forget to kick the engineer in the OLE COD SACK...^^^  dam I hate that job.

[92EcoDiesel Jetta]

ac or not???

both-------------
pull knee bar behind plastic dash trim.. gllove box so on..
drain coolent.. no need for you

no ac-----------------------
remove plastic cover on drivers side of heater box by pedals..
disconnect coolent hoses
depress pedals.. slide core out..

ac----------------
tons more work... i pull dash..

No ac luckily.

kneebar - is that the metal sheet behind those plastic trim pieces?

How much time should I allow start to finish?

[theman53]

I would say at least 4 hours. Some say that they can do it in 30 minutes, but I think they are contortionist midgets that are full time mechanics...Or bold face liars

[ORCoaster]

Plan for the long time and if you get it done early sit back and enjoy the warmth.  Winter cometh and the summer goeth away.

[R.O.R-2.0]

in a mk2, wether its a/c or not, it pretty much requires dash removal..

people say you can replace the heater core in a mk2 without removing the dash, but the damn core comes out the TOP of the heater box..

ive always ended up pulling most/all of the dash to get at the core..

first time i replaced a heater core, it took me most of a day to do it.. solid 5 hours of work in between smoke/beer/food breaks..

never done a mk1 heater tho, so i cant speak for those..