Heater core

[Gippslander]

Last week i went fishing to Eildon and managed to get 30kms from the house when the heater core failed and dumped water all over the floor. Now as i was going fishing i was not going to go home so i grabbed the bypass pipe i carry with me in case of "O" ring failure of the heater (has happened before) fitted that and continued on my way. Should have stayed home no fish, so on Monday i decided to change the heater core out. I have previously changed "O" rings but this was a job, i read all the online posts regarding this job and was quite amazed at the different ways people had gone about it. I decided not to cut the frame work and instead after removing the dash i dismantled the frame at the centre piece. I then removed the grill over the wiper blade motor mechanism, then removed the wiper motor and arms this allowed me to undo the two upper mount bolts for the dash frame/drivers side. Once this was done i removed the two lower bolts and was able to swing the whole frame to the side allowing the heater core to be removed and replaced. I then reversed the procedure to reassemble the unit.All in all it took about 14 hours of which some time was lost reviewing where some wires went and replacing blown bulbs in the heater control panel.
All in all it was difficult but with patience it can be done by anyone without cutting frame work should you prefer not too.
I did not take photos i was too engrossed in getting the job done and there are plenty of photos already covering this subject on the forum.The only thing i did differently was to split the mounting frame of the dash at the right hand side and removed only that section leaving the rest of the frame behind. :)

[davidsonsm]

Interested to know the spec of the "by-pass" hose that you carry. Is it literally just some heater hose with barbs installed - requiring some hose clamps to fit to the hoses that have been cut - engine side of the firewall?

Also - where did you manage to get the new (?) heater core from?

Regards.

[discovery39]

Hi Gippslander,
Like you, I've read alot about getting the Heater Core out of a P38, but still haven't done it yet.........;) (am waiting on Heater Core to come from England)
It sounds Interesting the way you have gone about it.
Did you do it that way purely because you didn't want to cut the Frame of the dash, or was there another Incentive?
I'm still not sure which way I want to go about it...........:(


Davidsonsm,
Have a look at Rimmer Bros, or LR Series in the Motherland.
The Britpart one is the most common cheap Version.
I have a Britpart one in the Classic, and no probs so far.:)

[Gippslander]

In answer to the questions firstly i went to the local hardware shop and got two 3/4" 90 degree fittings which i then coupled together with a male male fitting, i then use two 3/4" barbed fittings which i screw into the 90 degree fittings making a u shape i then use two hose clamps to fit it to the two hoses going to the heater core. I will get a photograph when i get home so you can see the combination.
Second i didn't want to cut the frame as i believe it to be structural and i didn't want to weaken the area. It took a bit longer doing this but everything went smoothly and the end result worked. i.e I would recommend if you are going to go this way you should purchase some clips for the cover plate that goes across the front of the windscreen at the bottom so when you remove it you have spares for later. The wiper motor and arms come off easily, you will have to remove the pollen filter housing which attaches to the heater fan motor. When reinstalling you should fit the rubber cover to the heater motor frame first then feed it through the top of the panel as you fit the frame back in other wise it is difficult to push the rubber back down and over the fan housing. This might sound difficult but when you dismantle it you will see it is easy and the need to install it on the fan first.
I managed to get a heater core from a wreck i purchased some time ago for spares.Hope that helps if you need to speak to me PM me and i will be happy to call you to discuss.
Gippy:)

[Gippslander]

Here is the bypass i made up and carry all the time as you do being a P38 owner

[discovery39]

Think I'll make one of those meself too!
Nice one.:)

[davidsonsm]

Even fancier if you made a H piece and permanently installed it - with 3x valves - one normally closed on the horizontal section of the H, and two normally open on the upper sections of the rugby posts.

[rangerdanger]

Gippslander, that is useful information. I'll be attacking the same job soon, only with the Audi core conversion.
I'm just wondering, did you had to shift or remove the steering column to pull the old core?
Troy N

[Gippslander]

Steering column stayed in place just had to pull frame outward enough to clear the column. Then it was all back together as removed.:)

[FANTOM P38]

Gippslander, that is useful information. I'll be attacking the same job soon, only with the Audi core conversion.
I'm just wondering, did you had to shift or remove the steering column to pull the old core?
Troy N
I also have the Audi core & am hoping to do the swap out soon, would have loved to have done it by now as it is going to be cold weekend in the High Country without the heater as it is bypassed at the moment!
So when I do it I will try to remember to take some pics for anyone else doing the same.

[Scouse]

The steering column goes through the RH dash frame/mount & it's surprisingly easy to remove, especially with the dash already out.

[discovery39]

Gippslander, that is useful information. I'll be attacking the same job soon, only with the Audi core conversion.
I'm just wondering, did you had to shift or remove the steering column to pull the old core?
Troy N


Don't you need to hack out the Inside of the Heater box to make the Audi core fit?
I thought it was something like 10mm longer and about the same wide?

[rangerdanger]

True, there is about 10mm to be trimmed inside the heater box from the divider plate that separates the two zones. It doesn't need to be a neat cut, as I don't really care about maintaining two different temperatures.

I haven't started the job yet, but I'll be inclined to use this technique rather than cutting the structure and splicing back together. Although that may change 6 hours into the job!

[discovery39]

True, there is about 10mm to be trimmed inside the heater box from the divider plate that separates the two zones. It doesn't need to be a neat cut, as I don't really care about maintaining two different temperatures.

I haven't started the job yet, but I'll be inclined to use this technique rather than cutting the structure and splicing back together. Although that may change 6 hours into the job!

How much is the Audi core, compared to the original? Does the savings make up for the choppings??
Just so I know which way to go......

[PaulP38a]

How much is the Audi core, compared to the original? Does the savings make up for the choppings??
Just so I know which way to go......

Less than $100 I think for the Audi A6 (late 90's model) heater call if I recall correctly, when I did mine.
Documented the steps here Heater Core Replacement (http://paulp38a.com/range-rover-p38/heater-core-replacement-audi/)

Only issue I have had so far is that the Jubilee clips loosened a little and got a few drops of coolant on the carpet. A bit of gasket maker on the tubes and reattaching the hoses, then some thread-locker on the clips seems to be holding well now.