First off, great forum everyone...now, i have a 1999 f-150 105k miles and the heatercore went out(a/c smells of coolant really bad and coolant dripping excessivelly out the bottom). no hoses are leaking anywhere which leaves only the heatercore..Has anyone changed it before? I am looking to do it myself but a local mechanic said hed do it for 250. what do yall think? thanks everyone..

 

Take him up on the $250. He'll be sorry, that's usually a $650+ job.

Steve

 

I agree, that sounds very cheap and a good deal. Considering the PITA that job would be, I'd take that deal anyday.

 

If a local mechanic says he will do it for $250.00, I'd jump all over it. Apparently he doesn't know what is involved or he needs the money.

 

This may aid you in deciding which way to proceed.....

https://www.f150online.com/forums/sh...ght=iron+horse

Note: In my layman's opinion, if you do not, or are unable to take all safety precautions in dealing with the airbag(s), DO NOT DO IT YOURSELF!!!!

It is critical that the airbags are de-activated before changing out the heatercore or they could deploy and injure or kill !!!!!

......although, I ensured that the airbags were properly de-activated (I think), I ALWAYS kept my HEAD and NECK AWAY from the deployment area of the airbag(s).

Good Luck!

 

I did the job myself. It was not all that hard, but it was very time consuming and detail oriented. Local rates are nearly $1000 for the job, I had no extra cash so the choice was made.

First off, disconnect the battery, that way the airbag is not an issue.

Then remove the pass airbag by unsnapping the dash cover above the airbag. Unbolt and unplug it.

You will need to lower the steering column, remove the dash cover, the sub dash, the heater controls, the wiring harness needs to be unbolted, loosen the dash brace and remove the upper heater box cover.


Sounds really easy,,,,,,,,,,

About the hardest thing I found was that there were screws located in hidden areas, searching for them took time. I marked every screw location with an arrow and color, especially the hidden ones. Some were gold screws and some were black. They are slightly different.

It took me 4 days of "work on it after work" labor.

So far so good!, BTW, my radiator went shorly thereafter.

Chris

 

well, the guy thats said he'd do it thought it was a 1995 and then said he'd be busy till next week...sooo, i started on it yesterday afternoon..got everything except for one screw that im haveing trouble getting to..hopefully this evening ill have at least the heater core in...thanks guys. ill keep yall posted.

 

let us know how many extra screws you have left over after the job!!

 

There are a number of threads in the HVAC section about the heater core replacement. Check them out.

Steve

 

Well I finished yesterday and it took me 4 evenings to complete and i see why they charge what they charge but im glad i didnt pay someone cause it wasnt that bad. Everything went smooth as it is pretty much a one person job. I tryed my best to replace all the screws i undid but for some strange reason i only have about 10 left over oh well, no sqweeks what so ever..BUT, my ac dont work ...it doesnt blow out the vents, only the top...so i will go back tomarrow and see if i undid a vaccum or left a duct off.. any other suggestions..thanks for the input!!! maybe tomarrow i will see where the other 10 screws go

 

Because I read everyone's post regarding the core I decided to have it done. Cost was $490. Didn't want to deal with it since its been raining here off and on.