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heater core on VS

P

practicality

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aa23 said:
To skeg1967, I don't need to replace my heater core yet, but thank you very much for putting those photos up. Looks like it will be much easier that way, if I ever need to do it.
Very much appreciated. :hit:

I have a VR Commodore Executive Series II. My Heater stopped working. My fan control switch only works on No3 setting. Could this be the cause? NRMA Help Site suggests it could be a malfunctioning valve that controls air or coolant flow or a sticking thermostat? I have had the Thermostat replaced and still no go. Any ideas?? Many thanks ALF. :ranting:
 
P

practicality

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Thanks for your tip mate. Sounds good. Will try it. Besides the two heater hoses are there any bolts & nuts holding down the heater core unit. And are there any other hoses besides the heater hoses that need to be disconnected, such as Air Con??
 

skeg1967

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Hey Practicality, If you are gunna cut the heater pipes to pull out the heater core there is only one plastic retaining clamp held in with one philips head screw and a couple of vacuum lines which can be easly pushed out the way and a heater duct. See photo below. skeg1967.
 

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Holden4fun

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skeg1967 said:
Hi All, I just found this site a couple of weeks ago and it is full of interesting info. My VS V8 was leaking a little amount of coolant out into the heater box and draining under the car. I brought a new heater core from Natrad for $140 and was thinking of doing the job myself by ripping out the dash board and heater box.I spoke to a couple of mechnics who advised against pulling out the whole dash board and recommended cutting the existing heater pipes to get the heater core out and was quoted around $320 for supply of the core and labour. I went away scratching my head, then i found this site which gave me the info to do it myself. First drain the coolant. The hardest part of the job was cutting the first pipe with a mini hacksaw due to total lack of room, the second pipe was alot easier. After cutting the two pipes it slid out quite easy, i placed the two cores together and projected the cut line on to the new core than cut the excess pipe off, i slid the new core into the heater box to check clearances between the pipes and everything was ok appox 1/16''. I removed the core again to clean up the cuts with a file and cut two pieces of 5/8'' heater hose appox 5'' long, I used liquid hand soap to lube up the inside of the hose and the out side of the pipes and pushed the hose onto the pipes coming out of the firewall and slid the new core with four hose clamps back into the heater box and lined up the pipes. The hose took a bit of effort to get down over the lower pipes but I finially got there and done up the four hose clamps.It was a matter of filling the radiator with water and testing it, it passed with no leaks, just have to put the console back together. The whole job took 3 hours and 3 beers and save me $180 in labour which i can spend on beer.I hope this post wiil help other with the same problem and no special tools needed. Regards Skeg1967.
Thanks for the info. I have a VR Calais and today noticed a small amount of green coolant coming from A/C drain above transmission. Ran engine and heater and noticed a drip of coolant inside the car in the black plastic near the heater radiator. I suspect a heater leak. How did you remove the console bits to get at the heater box? Just where are the hidden bolts?? Thanks for the help.
 

skeg1967

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Hi Holden4fun, Welcome to the board. To remove the console you need to remove the glovebox door and the fuse panel door by using a screwdriver to lever out a plastic retaining pin on each. Remove ashtray and auto surround(disconnect lighter and light to the lighter)turn at 90dec to get over the T bar.Disconnect heater and fan switch electrics and vacuum operated controler by removing the plug at the back of this switch. Don't pull apart the switch like I did. You will find 3 phillips head screws on each side and around 5 - 6 in the centre, undo all of them and the console should come loose, stereo stays in. It takes a little bit of force to get the console out, you don't need to remove the console around the auto T bar. There is a metal bracket where the fuse door fits near the heater core remove that and the foot heater duct behind that, it gives you a liitle more room to work. Now you should be able to start cutting your pipes after draining your coolant. Check out all the photos in this thread. Good luck mate. Regards skeg1967.
 

Holden4fun

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skeg1967,
Thanks for the welcome and I really appreciate the information (and the photos). This looks like a great board for sharing information. good forward thinking to have the camera ready when doing the work. Thanks again.
 

RSO

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i've done a core and never again.... i would have rather torched it......, but i keep on fixin whatever breaks... must be love hey ?
 

ule_1

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thanks skeg...huge help mate...
im in a shithole and the cheapest quote i could get to change the heatercore was $700...
that will make it heaps easier... ;)
 

stockvp

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can get from a wreckers for 25 or should i get a new one dont really wont to chop a new one
 

skeg1967

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Hi Stockvp,
I would put a new one in because I hate doing jobs twice. You can get the 2nd hand 1 and test it for leaks but it is probably 10 years old and its life span is near its end and it will let you down when you don't want it to.
Regards Skeg 1967.
 
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