DangerXJ

why comment if you do not know for sure?????

squirrelnw

I did, gotta tell ya I was greatful as hell too when it was done and away I went with no issues. heater core was toast. I was there for about a half hour and he was like a surgeon goin at it. pieces flyin everywhere and dash off the firewall in about a half hour. had to go to work at that time or I would have stayed to watch. scary seein the dash come apart that fast, but he knew exactly what and where to go to remove everything..

Jace

Why bother? It has kept me in this thread, I have recieved updates as they are posted. Now I feel confident that I can make the repair myself. Oh, I will have to dump charge before making the repair.

mar111

I have a leaking heater core in my 2000 Jeep Cherokee. Does anyone know if its possible to remove the heater core from outside the car, through the engine hood? The car has a lot of miles, and the repair to remove the dash isn't in my budget right now. For now, I bypassed the heater core by running the two heating tubes together, but it will be cold here in Michigan without heat this winter!
Any advice is appreciated.

ZINGGG

Um. I'd suggest not doing that. That'd probably require removing the engine and then being able to cut into the firewall and weld in some new sheet metal once done. And that doesn't take into account all smaller issues you'd run into. And since it's not in your budget to remove the dash, I doubt it's in your budget to do all that either.

bigvig

You MUST evac the cooling system (AC evaporator is in the heater box too) and you MUST "remove" the dash. There is no other way to do a heater core, period. Label all the screws, keep a list of what came out first and youll be all set. Mine as well do the AC evaporator while youre in there for another $32 bucks. I did mine 2 summers ago cause the heater core sprung a leak. Core and evap from Rock Auto for my 99 for something like $65 bucks. Theyve been great since.

ALSO get new gaskets for around the blower fan, you WILL spring a leak once you pull that heater box if you try and reuse the old one.

The steering wheel does NOT need to be pulled, but if you have tilt youll have to disengage it. Pull the dash as far forward as possible and use a bunged cord on the passengers side to a grab bar to hold the dash back far enough to pull the box out. ALSO make sure you get all the ground screws back on tight. I didnt and had the power window working the wipers, the wipers working the radio, etc. DONT check the connections BEFORE tightening everything down, itll only cause MORE problems.

jfats100

^x2

ZINGGG

You mean you must evac the A/C system?

ol"blue

Yes. You can have a shop do that for you if you don't have the equipment. They can then recharge it for you when you're finished. They don't charge very much.

This will show you what's involved. >->http://buckeyejeeps.com/stuff/XJEvapReplacement.pdf

Jace

My replacement heater core came in yesterday. I will be doing the job this weekend. I'll probably start removing stuff like the console, glove box and passenger seat. Does anyone know if I will need any new seals for the ac or gaskets for any other part?

*I just printed the above PDF

ih8cornnuts

I did this job about 3 weeks ago on my 98, expect ALL weekend to complete it. It took me about 10 hours plus a few extra for the other things I worked on while having everything apart. Most of your time is simply spent unscrewing and screwing things back together. There is close to 5 pounds worth of fasteners used here.

THERE IS NO WAY TO DO THIS WITHOUT REMOVING THE DASH AND EVACUATING THE AC SYSTEM!

I don't know why all the posts saying you dont need to, obviously these people haven't completed the job. Or like another poster mentioned must be magicians. I've been working on cars for 16+ years at home and another 2 for BMW and there is no short cuts on this job.

Pick up some weatherstripping from Home depot. Buy a set of AC quick disconnects too. Please have your system evacuated too, I dont want future generations getting a suntan from 2 minutes worth of sun exposure after the ozone melts away. Do lots of research here and online on this before tackling it.

Jace

I work in an HVAC Lab, but it's not automotive. What quick disconnects are you talking about, the ones for the guages or for the connections to the suction and discharge lines.

Thanks in advance.

ih8cornnuts

For the in/out lines on the evaporator, the ones near the firewall.

j33pj33p

What shop in Colorado changed your heater core?

sandyfeet

Would you recommend getting the parts rom Advance Auto?