You DO NOT need to remove the windshield to change the heater core.

[MikeOD]

Don't ask me how I broke my heater core...I couldn't tell you...it's a 3 year old car with 60K on it, but somehow I did.

I was dreading replacing it as everyone says you have to remove the windshield to get the dash tie bar out...so I'm here to tell you (if you care), that you don't need to.

I took the console out, took the steering wheel/airbag out, pulled the dash pad off, pulled the steering column out, and then I was at the 2 stupid bolts that hold the dash tie bar to the car, that hit the windshield as you unscrew them.

Step 1, get a Dremel and a cutoff wheel for it.
Step 2, go right in where the steering column was and cut as much of the bottom of the drivers side bolt off as you can, it's not doing anything after it screws into the tie bar anyways. Cut cleanly and it'll unscrew easily and screw right back in later easily as well.
Step 3, unscrew the passenger side bolt as far as you can.
Step 4, wrap the end of a pry bar with a rag so you don't scratch things.
Step 5, have your helper pry the tie bar downward on the passenger side while you continue to unscrew the bolt until it's out of the tie bar.
Step 6, keep the pry bar present until you pull the tie bar back from the firewall...if not, you'll stuff the bolt upward and probably break the windshield.

Installation is opposite of removal...be careful and make sure the pry bar is there, and it can be done.

That said...it's still an entire weekend worth of work (Saturday was disassembly and Sunday was a little more of that before assembly)...there's just a LOT of stuff to disassemble and reassemble, but my car still has the original windshield in it, using the original adhesive to hold it in place. You still can't completely remove the bolts (even the one you cut on the drivers side), but you can hold them up and R&R the tie bar to get the HVAC unit out.

[3rdgen3]

Originally Posted by MikeOD

Don't ask me how I broke my heater core...I couldn't tell you...it's a 3 year old car with 60K on it, but somehow I did.

I was dreading replacing it as everyone says you have to remove the windshield to get the dash tie bar out...so I'm here to tell you (if you care), that you don't need to.

I took the console out, took the steering wheel/airbag out, pulled the dash pad off, pulled the steering column out, and then I was at the 2 stupid bolts that hold the dash tie bar to the car, that hit the windshield as you unscrew them.

Step 1, get a Dremel and a cutoff wheel for it.
Step 2, go right in where the steering column was and cut as much of the bottom of the drivers side bolt off as you can, it's not doing anything after it screws into the tie bar anyways. Cut cleanly and it'll unscrew easily and screw right back in later easily as well.
Step 3, unscrew the passenger side bolt as far as you can.
Step 4, wrap the end of a pry bar with a rag so you don't scratch things.
Step 5, have your helper pry the tie bar downward on the passenger side while you continue to unscrew the bolt until it's out of the tie bar.
Step 6, keep the pry bar present until you pull the tie bar back from the firewall...if not, you'll stuff the bolt upward and probably break the windshield.

Installation is opposite of removal...be careful and make sure the pry bar is there, and it can be done.

That said...it's still an entire weekend worth of work (Saturday was disassembly and Sunday was a little more of that before assembly)...there's just a LOT of stuff to disassemble and reassemble, but my car still has the original windshield in it, using the original adhesive to hold it in place. You still can't completely remove the bolts (even the one you cut on the drivers side), but you can hold them up and R&R the tie bar to get the HVAC unit out.

Good to know for future reference! Someone should sticky this in the 'HOW TO/DIY' section!

BTW im curious, how did YOU break the heatercore? Were you taking one of the heatercore lines off and crack it? Or did it just take a dump and spill coolant all over your interior?

I wouldve made GM replace that sucker...no way a 3 year old heater-core should take a dump..especially with only 60k on it?

[MikeOD]

I honestly don't know...I did Katech heater hoses almost 2 years ago now...maybe I cracked it then? For a while I was losing coolant and I didn't really know where. When we put the new core in, I had my buddy sit in the car and prevent me from putting any stress on the heater core while I was pushing the hoses onto it.

I don't want a dealer doing any work on my car...it's out of warranty anyways (3/36 bumper to bumper is gone at 60K, and the 5/100 powertrain is gone from the heads/cam/intake/headers/clutch/slicks and so on lol), and I didn't want to get the car back as a rattle trap from a dealer tech not caring about all the dashboard fasteners.

I will say, it didn't make too much of a mess in the interior...the AC evaporator and heater core live in the same box, and share a drain that dumps on top of the transmission...AC makes water, and this is why it's never in your car making the carpet soggy...a little coolant got out, but not much. About 5 minutes with the carpet shampoo cleaned up the minor amount that was a problem. I also had to spend some time cleaning the inside of some plastic parts, including taking the heater/AC box all apart and hosing it all out before reassembly.

I kinda figured nobody would really care what I posted, I just hope maybe some day in the future if someone searches about it, what I did might save them some heartache over the windshield R&R part of the repair.

[litle88]

Daaamn Mike I'd rather pulled some heads or a cam or both lol.

That's a lot of work. Kudos to ya, thanks for the heads up lol

[motorhead]

That sounds like a major pain in the you know what. That would have drove me crazy.

[MikeOD]

It totally sucked...I'm not going to lie...I almost pulled the engine and cut the firewall out instead...might have been easier to do that, change the heater core, and weld the car back together LOL.

[Retro69]

Originally Posted by 3rdgen3

BTW im curious, how did YOU break the heatercore? Were you taking one of the heatercore lines off and crack it? Or did it just take a dump and spill coolant all over your interior?

I don't know if they still make heater cores the same way they did years ago but, if so, they are just copper/brass soldered together. Just like radiators before they started making the tanks out of plastic. The solder is vulnerable to cracking just like in radiators. Could have been started by changing out the hoses and failed due to vibration over time.

[cybergrayls3]

Good info man thanks for sharing

[MikeOD]

Originally Posted by Retro69

I don't know if they still make heater cores the same way they did years ago but, if so, they are just copper/brass soldered together. Just like radiators before they started making the tanks out of plastic. The solder is vulnerable to cracking just like in radiators. Could have been started by changing out the hoses and failed due to vibration over time.

They're all aluminum now...have been for some time. The hoses connect pretty far away from the actual core, but I'm pretty sure I overstressed things putting the heater hoses on.

Note to everyone...if you're changing heater hoses, remove the glove box from the car and have a helper reach up under the dash and support the metal tubes while you're under the hood dealing with the hoses...that way you don't go through what I went through.

[bannonm]

Nice to know for any future issues. They used to say the same thing about the replacing the headliner, that the glass had to come out. I managed to get it out and replaced in minutes. Of course the pulling of seats and the console are what take time, but slipping the liner in took five minutes.

[vroomapunk]

That sucks to do all that work, and just end up with a new heater core haha. That much work/time isnt too far off from installing heads or a cam lol

[MikeOD]

Originally Posted by vroomapunk

That sucks to do all that work, and just end up with a new heater core haha. That much work/time isnt too far off from installing heads or a cam lol

It took me less time/effort to do heads/cam/oil pump/timing chain on my car...and my back hurt less when I was done.

[StlRomAniaN]

Is there a DIY thread on this anywhere?

[OUTATIME]

I couldn't find any of this info (screws hitting the windshield as they loosen) in the HUD DIY threads. It seems there are lots of pictures of the dash coming apart ... are you sure this is necessary?