Putting a new radiator in today. Can I hook up the heater core even though nothing works w/ the heat? I will be working on it the next month(probally more) to get it going. I don't want to drain coolant after I fill it up to see if radiator job is good. Although I'll probally bring car to a shop to do heat as I can't seem to even get dash pad off to look inside. I wish they made a manual like the one I have for my motorcycle. Pictures for everything.
heater core
- Thread starter mrkidyid
- Start date
Hello Paul,
First I'd like to thank you for bringing a little life into this section.
Next Do not touch your dashpad,there is absolutely no reason for you to remove it to get the heater box out. Ok, bypassing a a questionable heater core is very easy and very very very smart to do,in fact if you don't do it you will instantly clog your new radiator with 40 years worth of crap that is currently sitting in your heater core.
.Take a short length of heater hose and run it from the hose nipple on the intake to the Hose nipple on the water pump. Now clamp securely and you're good to go for the next 100 years or 300k miles which ever comes first without heat of course.LOL Now if you wanted to get ambitious you could remove your heater box and rebuild it. This is a project you could easily handle and save yourself a ton of cash. With the right parts of course.So did you order the new heater box seal kit we talked about ? If yes I will gladly talk/help you through the rebuild. Manuals ? Did I mention that I have one of the largest classic Mustang Libraries in the world. Sounds bold I know ,But I really mean it. So that's at anybodies disposal in the classic Mustang community( I can possibly scan and email you the article on heater box rebuilding?). Speaking of libraries you said you ordered a manual? Can you please tell me what one and type it is? I can and will advise you on some must have manuals that will help you if you intend to keep and learn about your Mustang. Christmas is right around the corner,I can give you some names.
Last tidbit, sadly most service station techs these days in the N.Y. Area have never messed with an old Mustang, so there is a huge probability that if you pay them to "swap your heater core" They will break your fragile heater box and slap it back together with silicone (ridiculously common)sealer.
First I'd like to thank you for bringing a little life into this section.
Next Do not touch your dashpad,there is absolutely no reason for you to remove it to get the heater box out. Ok, bypassing a a questionable heater core is very easy and very very very smart to do,in fact if you don't do it you will instantly clog your new radiator with 40 years worth of crap that is currently sitting in your heater core.
.Take a short length of heater hose and run it from the hose nipple on the intake to the Hose nipple on the water pump. Now clamp securely and you're good to go for the next 100 years or 300k miles which ever comes first without heat of course.LOL Now if you wanted to get ambitious you could remove your heater box and rebuild it. This is a project you could easily handle and save yourself a ton of cash. With the right parts of course.So did you order the new heater box seal kit we talked about ? If yes I will gladly talk/help you through the rebuild. Manuals ? Did I mention that I have one of the largest classic Mustang Libraries in the world. Sounds bold I know ,But I really mean it. So that's at anybodies disposal in the classic Mustang community( I can possibly scan and email you the article on heater box rebuilding?). Speaking of libraries you said you ordered a manual? Can you please tell me what one and type it is? I can and will advise you on some must have manuals that will help you if you intend to keep and learn about your Mustang. Christmas is right around the corner,I can give you some names.
Last tidbit, sadly most service station techs these days in the N.Y. Area have never messed with an old Mustang, so there is a huge probability that if you pay them to "swap your heater core" They will break your fragile heater box and slap it back together with silicone (ridiculously common)sealer.
Ponyboy, I did order and receive the plenum, seal kit, heater core, end caps. I have a new hose. I left the dash in like you said. I got to the heater box. Took it out, along w,40 yrs. worth of leaves,dirt and old receipts of work done on car in past.(tranny done in 91). The heater box is all rusted out. The swinging doors(3) all gone. So with that, I def. need a new heater box. Or at least the outside box part w/ guts. Do they sell that or I would be better off just buying a whole box. I would love a walk through. I'll post to you when I'm ready. Took old radiator out today.....(yeah 4 me) 1st major auto job I did(besides motorcycles). New one coming any minute now......The book I have is Haynes Ford Mustang (v8)'64 1/2 thru 73. And the download manual I got is 1968 Cougar Fairlane Falcon Montego Mustang shop manual. 2006 Forel publishing. Thanx. rookiechanic.........
I'm a huge fan of saving money whenever I can, if your heater box isn't a total loss, You can fix it for a lot less than a new repo piece,even if it has cracks,etc. I've fixed some hideous ones over the years that you can't spot any issues once installed and most importantly they work great.Is the door frozen in place or Was it already broken off?If it's not broken off it is easily fixable. I'll walk you through any of this,when you're ready. That said can you post photos of your heater box ,specifically the broken areas?
The shop manual you downloaded is a good one as long as it is an exact copy of the original. As far as the Haynes manual I'm not a big fan of those.there are way better repair books out there,In my opinion. Take a look at the body work section,if you follow that your car will turn into a green 70's toyota.LOL ...Are they still using those pictures? It's been years since I've looked at a haynes or Chilton manual(thank god). Do you subscribe to any of the Mustang magazines? Mustang Monthly is always a good one(the old issues are better than the newer ones though) and there is a new magazine which seems like it is a good one called "Mustang Magazine" .It's $20 a year and worth it in my opinion.
The shop manual you downloaded is a good one as long as it is an exact copy of the original. As far as the Haynes manual I'm not a big fan of those.there are way better repair books out there,In my opinion. Take a look at the body work section,if you follow that your car will turn into a green 70's toyota.LOL ...Are they still using those pictures? It's been years since I've looked at a haynes or Chilton manual(thank god). Do you subscribe to any of the Mustang magazines? Mustang Monthly is always a good one(the old issues are better than the newer ones though) and there is a new magazine which seems like it is a good one called "Mustang Magazine" .It's $20 a year and worth it in my opinion.
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Awesome. I'd like to save a little $$ when I can as the piece cost over $200.00(thanx Mustangted) The air door that the passenger can see is in tact. The 3 other doors that the cables pull are all rusted or gone(disintergrated). Pics will come tomorrow if no rain here in S.I. The Haynes book has only black and white pics. I was going to subscribe to a Mustang mag. Trying to find one in a magazine shop to see which one I like better. Thanx for all the info Ponyboy. Whether you know it or not, your keeping me calm w/all the overwhelment of this car. I described it to my friend today. I wanted to jump in a 10 ft. pool, get a little more than my feet wet. Instead I jumped into a 40ft. lake. LOL What should I look to start buying to put those doors back in the heater box? How do I even tell if the heat works before I start this project?
Ok first take deep breaths.Sadly old cars are Like old: houses,people, bread, etc.LOL The harder you look the more issues you are going to find.So at some point you have to stop looking,probing,digging deeper into the project.Until you get a handle on stuff. Seriously I say this because it is ridiculously common for people to jump into the 10 foot water and drown in a bottomless sea, Yes these cars can be overwhelming like almost any project right. I'd say set a goal of getting the car running and inspected if that's really necessary at this point?I assume this is not your daily driver,correct? Then that should take a huge load off of your shoulders.
Then get the heat squared away and then start opening new cans of worms. As far as your heater box, I'd like to see photos. Then I can advise better They would help me help you.I would also say don't throw anything out yet not matter how bad it looks except for the actual heater core. Yes the repo boxes look good but I'm also under the impression That they do not contain all of the guts? Nor do I believe all of the guts are repoed yet. So we'll take a step back and see what exact parts you need. Testing your heater? First check your blower motor, Supply power to it and see if the motor turns,if you wire it directly it will only work on one speed,High.If that works you're one step closer.
Ok Mustang Books and Magazines. You can usually find the Mustang magazines at places like Barnes and Noble. As I said there are really only two at this point that might benefit you I would say Mustang monthly and Mustang Magazine. Mustang Magazine is a start up ,they have had a lot of hold ups especially in terms of delivery ,which I guess can be expected for a start up. I'v etalked with them numerous times and I am a huge supporter of the magazine. That said if you go onto their website https://mustangmagazineonline.com/ You can sign up for their Free test drive,It says a one year subscription which is a glich,but when you sign up for this you get a free issue mailed to you. They are currently doing subscriptions for $20 per year. So there you go my free shameless plug for a new magazine. For the record I'm not affiliated with them at all,Just a classic Mustang magazine geek.
Very often I 'll buy my books and magazines through places like ebay, I usually get good used items for fractions of the new cover prices.As I said before the best classic Mustang magazines and books were the ones from Mustang Monthly from the 80's and 90's,In my opinion. P.S. If you get interested in accummulating a library ,let me know? I have some extras kicking around that I've accumulated whie trying to complete my Mustang library,although I have sold and traded a ton of them off already..... Anyhow I'm going to rest my fingers now before I reply to your inspection question.....LOL
Then get the heat squared away and then start opening new cans of worms. As far as your heater box, I'd like to see photos. Then I can advise better They would help me help you.I would also say don't throw anything out yet not matter how bad it looks except for the actual heater core. Yes the repo boxes look good but I'm also under the impression That they do not contain all of the guts? Nor do I believe all of the guts are repoed yet. So we'll take a step back and see what exact parts you need. Testing your heater? First check your blower motor, Supply power to it and see if the motor turns,if you wire it directly it will only work on one speed,High.If that works you're one step closer.
Ok Mustang Books and Magazines. You can usually find the Mustang magazines at places like Barnes and Noble. As I said there are really only two at this point that might benefit you I would say Mustang monthly and Mustang Magazine. Mustang Magazine is a start up ,they have had a lot of hold ups especially in terms of delivery ,which I guess can be expected for a start up. I'v etalked with them numerous times and I am a huge supporter of the magazine. That said if you go onto their website https://mustangmagazineonline.com/ You can sign up for their Free test drive,It says a one year subscription which is a glich,but when you sign up for this you get a free issue mailed to you. They are currently doing subscriptions for $20 per year. So there you go my free shameless plug for a new magazine. For the record I'm not affiliated with them at all,Just a classic Mustang magazine geek.
Very often I 'll buy my books and magazines through places like ebay, I usually get good used items for fractions of the new cover prices.As I said before the best classic Mustang magazines and books were the ones from Mustang Monthly from the 80's and 90's,In my opinion. P.S. If you get interested in accummulating a library ,let me know? I have some extras kicking around that I've accumulated whie trying to complete my Mustang library,although I have sold and traded a ton of them off already..... Anyhow I'm going to rest my fingers now before I reply to your inspection question.....LOL
Paul,
Pictures cool. Ok, So that definately looks ugly.I've seen way better and I've seen way worse. The fiberglass portion looks realtively sound,however all of the metal portions are obviously shot.I spoke to the manufacturer of the repo boxes,they do not include,the heater core, The resistor, or the fan motor. Aside from that they are complete(suppossedly).The bummer is that they do not sell the guts seperately at this time. So you would have to find useable used guts if you want to keep that box.I probably have some pieces to sell. You said your heater is missing? That confused me? The actual heater is the core,it gets hot like a mini radiator and the fan blows the hot air into the interior. Ok, Questions you said you have a heater blower motor,you can test that but putting power to it.I.E. Touch an end to each post of a battery to see if it spins.
Looking at that heater box I have to ask,what is the rust situation on this car? Typically when I see a heater box that looks like that,the car usually has some rust (read that as big rot) issues. I hope your car is the exception.
Pictures cool. Ok, So that definately looks ugly.I've seen way better and I've seen way worse. The fiberglass portion looks realtively sound,however all of the metal portions are obviously shot.I spoke to the manufacturer of the repo boxes,they do not include,the heater core, The resistor, or the fan motor. Aside from that they are complete(suppossedly).The bummer is that they do not sell the guts seperately at this time. So you would have to find useable used guts if you want to keep that box.I probably have some pieces to sell. You said your heater is missing? That confused me? The actual heater is the core,it gets hot like a mini radiator and the fan blows the hot air into the interior. Ok, Questions you said you have a heater blower motor,you can test that but putting power to it.I.E. Touch an end to each post of a battery to see if it spins.
Looking at that heater box I have to ask,what is the rust situation on this car? Typically when I see a heater box that looks like that,the car usually has some rust (read that as big rot) issues. I hope your car is the exception.
Ponyboy,
Thanx for making the call to your repo guy. Here is what I have-
new heater core
core end caps
new plenum
new hoses
new duct hoses
seal gasket kit
What else do I need?
I'm guessing fan(rusted as per photo) or is called blower motor fan?
resistor-I saw online.
Guts for the box that you might have? (If you have everything I'll take em
otherwise I'll have to buy a new heater box which is fine too. But my box isn't cracked or anything.
Anything else I am missing?
OH The car does have a new floor pan. Little rust underneath.
Thanx for making the call to your repo guy. Here is what I have-
new heater core
core end caps
new plenum
new hoses
new duct hoses
seal gasket kit
What else do I need?
I'm guessing fan(rusted as per photo) or is called blower motor fan?
resistor-I saw online.
Guts for the box that you might have? (If you have everything I'll take em
otherwise I'll have to buy a new heater box which is fine too. But my box isn't cracked or anything.
Anything else I am missing?
OH The car does have a new floor pan. Little rust underneath.