looking for a good post on Heater core replacement

kayakwesty · Post by **kayakwesty** » Thu Jun 07, 2007 9:41 am

looking for a good post on a Heater core replacement or website

My weekend project is to replace the heater core, rebulit the fresh air flaps and fix the odometer on my 1991 Jetta

I want heat this winter

rwest1 · Post by **rwest1** » Thu Jun 07, 2007 3:33 pm

Your going to have a busy weekend, I've done one of these and its a bear!! Here's a free download of the factory service bulletin for recall, and dealer instructions for R&R of heater core. Have fun!!

http://rapidshare.com/files/35821356/ht ... a.pdf.html

viperkepr · Post by **viperkepr** » Thu Jun 07, 2007 4:27 pm

I have done a heater core on my 95 Passat, AND my 81 Rabbit, and let me tell you, it wasn't the most fun in my life.

Just allow yourself most-- if not all of a day. There is a reason they want to charge you $750 to put in a heater core. One of the things you might consider is replacing the hoses going through the firewall if your car is a Rabbit. I had a dealer installed AC HVAC in my Rabbit, so that is a little tricky too dealing with that.
It is just a plug-away type of operation, take the steering wheel off, then the dash, then the heater/HVAC box. You know--- the remove this part(and what --a miracle happens?) always easier said than done. I took the opportunity to look over the speedo and odo, so I could figure out why the trip meter wouldn't work. A plastic piece broke off and migrated into the tripmeter area of the gears. Just don't lose the faith, and keep plugging away.
If you have any specific questions, maybe PM me----I still have it relatively fresh in my head.

kayakwesty · Post by **kayakwesty** » Thu Jun 07, 2007 4:33 pm

THANKS !

i can't get the PDF to download though

rwest1 · Post by **rwest1** » Thu Jun 07, 2007 4:59 pm

I emailed to your address on web page, it's a little over 800kb so don't know if it will make the trip!. Just downloaded file from Rapidshare with no problem, what's happening when you try?

cuitino · Post by **cuitino** » Fri Jun 08, 2007 7:58 am

I tried to download the pdf and its deleted in the site, can yous end me to my email?

Regards,

Miguel.

Brit101 · Post by **Brit101** » Mon Jun 18, 2007 8:05 pm

Read this post for some good information.

http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=3289600

TeamSpatula · Post by **TeamSpatula** » Tue Jun 19, 2007 7:54 am

viperkepr wrote:I have done a heater core on my 95 Passat, AND my 81 Rabbit, and let me tell you, it wasn't the most fun in my life.
If you have any specific questions, maybe PM me----I still have it relatively fresh in my head.

Was the 81 Rabbit that bad also? My 81 Rabbit, with AC, had the heater core cut out of the loop when I got it, so I can only assume that I'm going to need to do that before winter...
thanks,

viperkepr · Post by **viperkepr** » Tue Jun 19, 2007 8:18 am

In retrospect, the 81 Rabbit wasn't as bad as the Passat. Of course, the Rabbit was after the Passat. The Passat I had to deal with the airbags and a lot of other crap in the way. I guess the only thing that was tricky on the Rabbit was HVAC part of it. It is pretty tight in there in some places. Ratcheting box end wrenches are pretty much a life-saver on this job---especially on the Passat. The Bentley and Haynes/Chilton books were not overly helpful, but were decent guides for taking out the dash and steering wheel and the like. I replaced the hoses going thru the firewall, since they were about 20 years old, and had to peel them off of the heater core inlets/outlets.
I guess that is all of the things I can think of now, maybe you can jog my memory with other questions, let me know.

TeamSpatula · Post by **TeamSpatula** » Tue Jun 19, 2007 9:30 am

yow, so you have to pull the dash & steering wheel? I have a Bentley manual so I will take a look at how to do all that, but it definitely sounds like a weekend project...are the hoses just standard heater hoses?

bscutt · Post by **bscutt** » Tue Jun 19, 2007 11:19 am

I posted a procedure on here for the 82 Rabbit with A/C, you should be able to find it in a search. It's been a couple of years though.

bscutt · Post by **bscutt** » Thu Jun 21, 2007 2:42 pm

Just in case this was one that got deleted and anyone is interested, here's my procedure cut & pasted from Word:

Heater Core R&R 1981-1984 Rabbit with AC

1) Open Hood, remove rain tray cover
2) You may want to drain the engine coolant but it is not necessary. Empty the refrigerant lines of Freon using EPA approved recovery procedures.
3) Using screwdriver, hammer, chisel, channel locks, remove caulk around air intake plenum (under raintray)
4) Working from under the dash on the passengers side, locate & remove three Phillips head screws, two near air recirculation flap, the third is to the left of the other two and slightly farther away from the firewall.
5) The next two screws require a helper. The large screw (topside, about the middle of the heater plenum) has a nut on the under-dash side, passenger side near the heater box. It may be slightly hidden by floor covering up at the top edge of the carpeting. The nut is 11 mm, the screw is a #3 Phillips.
6) The second large plenum screw is at the driverâ€™s side of the air intake plenum, also a number three Phillips. The 11 mm nut is under the driverâ€™s side dash, near the heater box very close to an electrical connector and sensor that is mounted to the heater box.
7) Once all five screws are out, you must also disconnect the two vacuum lines on the passenger side up behind the glove box (also topside at the passenger side end of the air intake plenum). One is engine vacuum which connects to the red vacuum line on the inside, the other controls the recirculation flap and is yellow on the inside.
8) Carefully remove the air intake plenum. At this point you can see the blower motor.
9) Working from above, remove the heater blower motor. It has one Phillips head screw holding the front â€œlegâ€

82vdub · Post by **82vdub** » Thu Jun 21, 2007 3:28 pm

Never would have guessed it would have been that involved.

3Bunnys · Post by **3Bunnys** » Fri Jun 22, 2007 7:53 am

I have removed the and replaced the plenum on my 82 bunny w/AC. I did not have to remove the air intake plenum (steps 3 thru 8 mentioned above).

This job is only hard/aggravating because you have to lay on your back under the dash looking up into darkness and tight spaces.

You might want to consider removing passenger seat, (5 minutes) to give you more room to get into contorted positions!!!!

Difficult - NO
Tedious - YES
Worth the effort - ALWAYS

Richard

viperkepr · Post by **viperkepr** » Fri Jun 22, 2007 8:04 am

I agree with 3bunnys on this one---it can (and probably will) be a PITA, but worth it. I took the steering wheel off and part of my dash for ease of movement and the like. It took me a few days to weed through it. A set of ratcheting box ends and ratcheting screwdriver make life a lot easier during this job. It isn't that difficult to do, just keep plugging away. There is a reason they want $750 to do this at some shop. It just takes time.