about to do heater core

well i have a coolant leak inside the passenger compartment that gets worse when i turn on the heat, so i'm fairly certiain its a leaky heater core.

i just want some tips before i tackle this.

1989 4.0 with a/c

do i HAVE to discharge the a/c and remove the condensor?

do i have to remove steering wheel?

any special tools?

tips?

i have searched and read the threads but i want to know if anyone has additional info, thanks!!

It is the evaporator that has to come out with the HVAC housing to do the heater core. AC does need to be discharged for that. I'd replace the evaporator too while you are in there. Shouldn't need to remove steering wheel, but steering column probably needs to come loose. Not sure on that one.

Before I found Naxja I found a sweet pictorial on another forum. I still have it linked and would share if that was considered cool around here. Don't wanna advertise another forum though if that's lame.

Fixed my problem before I found Naxja so I don't know if there is one here or not.

here's my write up from '07. You will need to evac the a/c first. I removed my a/c so no pics of the evap core being replaced.

http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=931690&highlight=heater+core

just finished up mine tonight. I ditched the evaporator core though as I have no ac. Definitly label all screw and place in baggies with matching parts, I threw all mine in center console so I used probably every wrong screw in a wrong spot when putting it back together. Also watch how hard you yank on plastics. things break and make everything more difficult later. Replace the rubber guard from firewall to fittings with new one, chances are that is not sealing off water anymore, they are not available anymore but I used a piece of rubber from a stepping mat and it holds out water. Buy the flexible bit at harbor freight for top screws by windshield. Its a life saver.


Also have a friend and beer because it is tedious and takes a while.

so i'm getting mixed messages, i guess i will just have to see if i have to discharge a/c or not

EDIT: looks like i do

I was able to mine in my 93 XJ without discharging the A/C.

ajporter03 said:

I was able to mine in my 93 XJ without discharging the A/C.

Click to expand...

How did you get the HVAC box out enough to disassemble it with the evaporator still hooked up?

I wish I could remember better, but it has been almost 3 years since I did mine. I do remember taking the front seats, center console, and dash completely out. I was then able to open things up just enough to get the heater core out. It was a lot more work, but it was worth it to me to keep my A/C. I didn't want to have to deal with converting from r-12 to r-134a. I just didn't have the money. To this day, my A/C still works and no more leaking heater core.