another *&^%$ heater core

[plantone]

i just cant believe my luck. replaced the HC right after i got my crew, and here i am 86k later and after driving around all day yesterday all i can smell is antifreeze in the cab :/



this is killing me as i just got out of the shop from a failed sending unit on the fuel pump.

while it was in the shop, i had them looking for a leak on the AC system, but they couldn't find it (neither could i) and they did do a flush to get all the barr's stop leak out that was in the system from the original heater core surprise i got when i bought it.


has this been a common issue with these? or did i just get unlucky with a POS heater core last time around?

[okaussiee]

I have a 2002 CC with 230K miles on it. Bought in brand new off the show room floor. Still have the original heater core. I did have to replace the AC compressor, orifice tube and dryer this weekend due to the compressor failed.

Don't know if you have gremlins or not..

Bill

[roadrunner]

This was the final straw why I traded mine off. Already had new tires and brakes all around and very low miles on 2nd tranny rebuild. Was told 2500.00 to replace core. Inquired of replacing evap core while in there and told it came out from the other side involving removal of hood and RH fender for an additional 1500.00. Stopped right there and traded it off as is and had em come haul it away. Only had 139000 on the clock but I just got tired of throwing money down the rat-hole. Had intended to keep driving and had around 1500.00 of parts on hand I subsequently threw away. Sad too when considering the truck only had 59000 on it when I got it and had never seen mud or gravel till I got it.

[Ezrollin]

This was the final straw why I traded mine off. Already had new tires and brakes all around and very low miles on 2nd tranny rebuild. Was told 2500.00 to replace core. Inquired of replacing evap core while in there and told it came out from the other side involving removal of hood and RH fender for an additional 1500.00. Stopped right there and traded it off as is and had em come haul it away. Only had 139000 on the clock but I just got tired of throwing money down the rat-hole. Had intended to keep driving and had around 1500.00 of parts on hand I subsequently threw away. Sad too when considering the truck only had 59000 on it when I got it and had never seen mud or gravel till I got it.

$2500 dollars to replace a heater core???

[Ezrollin]

i just cant believe my luck. replaced the HC right after i got my crew, and here i am 86k later and after driving around all day yesterday all i can smell is antifreeze in the cab :/



this is killing me as i just got out of the shop from a failed sending unit on the fuel pump.

while it was in the shop, i had them looking for a leak on the AC system, but they couldn't find it (neither could i) and they did do a flush to get all the barr's stop leak out that was in the system from the original heater core surprise i got when i bought it.


has this been a common issue with these? or did i just get unlucky with a POS heater core last time around?

I feel your pain brother, read my post,"trials and tribulations of a cc owner." I've owned many S10 trucks over the years, first gen. until my 2003 CC. They have been reliable and relatively trouble free other than normal wear and maintenance. The 2003 cc that I have now is tech. more advanced so I expect a little more upkeep. I never use anything other than antifreeze or distilled water in my cooling system, it will eat up your radiator and heater core.

[plantone]

This was the final straw why I traded mine off. Already had new tires and brakes all around and very low miles on 2nd tranny rebuild. Was told 2500.00 to replace core. Inquired of replacing evap core while in there and told it came out from the other side involving removal of hood and RH fender for an additional 1500.00. Stopped right there and traded it off as is and had em come haul it away. Only had 139000 on the clock but I just got tired of throwing money down the rat-hole. Had intended to keep driving and had around 1500.00 of parts on hand I subsequently threw away. Sad too when considering the truck only had 59000 on it when I got it and had never seen mud or gravel till I got it.

$2500 dollars to replace a heater core???

wow... ive got less than $2500 into both my heater core replacements and thats still enough to piss me off. $2500... someone was taking you for a ride.


the problem with my 2nd was i - apparently - got a defective one. the input/output elbows where the hoses attach to the core itself... both of those were LOOSE. they could wiggle about 20* back and forth and thats where the leak was. otherwise the core itself was solid. It looked like they were just crimped into place with a couple stab crimps. I thought that connection was supposed to be brazed....

[roadrunner]

I've no doubt they were hosing me but that's what ya get at the stealership. I can understand because I know the entire dash has to come out to replace the core which is still hidden in the heater assy after taking out the dash. I say I can understand as I used to do mechanic work in a Ford dealership and have had some pretty terrible experiences myself with customer vehicles. No longer having a decent shop to work in and getting older as well I wasn't willing to tie into this one. Also I was in need of another windshield on top of the heater core and the evaporator core.