allanonjj

My heater core went out on me (literaly, on my feet) about 7-8 months ago,... lazy me,... I bought a new one but didnt install it because it was spring/summer time. Now its getting cold so I decided its time to stop procrastinationg.

Let me tell you first that if you've never pulled the heater core out on an Integra,.. its a bitch-n-ahalf. So anyways,.. Pulled out the dash, then the blower, ac evap, and core housing, replaced the core and then re-installed everything. When I turn the heater on,.. the blower is blowing but its not hot,.... 1st thing I think of is the valve under the hood (the one inline between the firewall and the head) isnt opening so I completely bypass it to see if thats the problem,.... no dice,... so next I tried re-routing the hoses several different ways thinking maybe I was having a poroblem with the thermostat,... still nothing. only thing I can think of is that maybe there is a flap or something that isnt allowing the air to be diverted through the core. Both lines off the heater core are hot (when engine is warm) and when I pull either off,... a lot of coolant comes out,... making me think that the core is full.
I dont know what to try next so any help is greatly appreciated.

Thanks,... JJ

allanonjj

If anyone could help me find an exploded diagram of the heater core housing, it would help a bunch.

thewrai6th

you can find various diagrams here:
http://www.acuraautomotiveparts.org/

http://www.acuraautomotivepart...ormal

allanonjj

Thanks!!

Im gonna try taking the dash BACK out and see if the air flow door is working properly.

SDHonda153

If you figure this out, please let us know what you did. I'm having the same exact problem with my EJ1, and it's starting to get cold out here

CompanyFlow

When you put the new core in, did you bleed the air out of the cooling system and top it off? Just a suggestion.

allanonjj

I did bleed the ac,... planning on re-charging it as soon as I can get the heat working again

SDHonda153

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by allanonjj &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I did bleed the ac,... planning on re-charging it as soon as I can get the heat working again
</TD></TR></TABLE>

I think he meant bleed all the air out of the engine cooling system, like take the radiator cap off (when the car is cool) and start the car with the heat on max and let it idle so it can pump the air out of the coolant lines and heater core. All in the while your pouring coolant in the radiator keeping it topped off. Doing this until the bubbles stop coming out of the radiator

thewrai6th

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by SDHonda153 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

I think he meant bleed all the air out of the engine cooling system, like take the radiator cap off (when the car is cool) and start the car with the heat on max and let it idle so it can pump the air out of the coolant lines and heater core. All in the while your pouring coolant in the radiator keeping it topped off. Doing this until the bubbles stop coming out of the radiator</TD></TR></TABLE>
If there is air in the lines, it will not blow heat.

allanonjj

that makes sense,.. no i didnt,... im gonna do it now and Ill let you know in a few
mins

allanonjj

ok,... that seems to be the issue, however,... its still not staying hot,...it is however staying warm so I think like you guys said, that the core has air in it and the circulation through it is only coming through the bottom. I let the car go through a couple of heat cycles and it got better each time. Im exhausted so Im goin to bed now but Ill update hopefully tomorrow with the final result. I think all Im gonna have to do is drive the car daily and let it work the air out on its own,.... It will right,.. I mean,... Thats part of the purpose for the radiator cap and overflow tank right?

CompanyFlow

Your welcome. BTW, the overflow tank is for exactly that: overflow. If you get a blockage somewhere or are just running really hot, the overflow tank gives you a cushion so that hoses wont start popping off/ exploding. You should turn the car on with the cap off for a good amount of time (operating temp or better) with the in cabin settings to its hottest point and fill as necessary.

allanonjj

you seem to know what your talking about,.. Can you explain why I would need to keep the heater on it's hottest setting? Just curious on the physics.

PatrickGSR94

iTrader: (1)

Damn man, I have to replace my heater core too! I busted the brass lines when screwing around with my rear mount T-bracket when I was dropping the engine back in last May.

When draining/flushing/filling the cooling system, you always need to have the heater set to full hot so that valve near the firewall is open and coolant will drain and refill the heater core, also. If you refilled your coolant with the temp slider set to cold or anywhere in the middle, then most likely the coolant didn't completely fill the heater core, thus air pockets.

Did you make sure the temp control cable was hooked up on both ends - both at the HVAC controls and at that valve box?

Now tell me about replacing the core. I have removed my dash before, so that's not a big deal to me. I am planning on taking it somewhere to get the A/C discharged and then taking it back when I'm done to get it recharged.

What's going to suck for me is that I also have to replace my rear engine mount while I have the dash and heater core and all those hoses and valves out of there, because the mount is completely torn right now.

AWD Terror

I did mine last winter. SAME EXACT ISSUES.

I took the dash out three times only to find that everything was right. Got really pissed and drove the car to get some anger out. Hit redline a few times, and wouldn't you know the heat started to work. However, everytime it went back to idle, the heat went down. I just kept running it, and now it's fine.

Since the heatercore is upside down on these cars, it's hard to get all the air out.

PatrickGSR94

iTrader: (1)

ahhhh damn, that sucks... didn't think about the inlet/outlet on the core being at the bottom and air getting trapped in there.

I guess it allows all the coolant to drain out easier when flushing the system. I've flushed my cooling system several times over the years and never noticed a problem with heat after doing that.

AWD Terror

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by PatrickGSR94 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">ahhhh damn, that sucks... didn't think about the inlet/outlet on the core being at the bottom and air getting trapped in there.

I guess it allows all the coolant to drain out easier when flushing the system. I've flushed my cooling system several times over the years and never noticed a problem with heat after doing that.</TD></TR></TABLE>

One more thing...
Take your old heater core to a rad shop to see if it can be fixed. I bought a re-man heater core from advance auto b/c of Honda's ridiculous price for a new one. The one they gave me was close but did not fit.

If you run into the same problem, take the entire housing unit for the heater core to a rad shop. The white piece that contains all the flaps for controlling the direction for the air. You'll know what part I mean when you get it apart. Cost another $10 for it to work.

PatrickGSR94

iTrader: (1)

I'm planning on just buying another Integra heater core off eBay or something like that.

I don't know about repairing the old one. I crushed the brass pipes as I was trying to get the heater hoses loose, which made coolant leak everywhere. Think a radiator shop could fix that?

Also I'm planning on doing this over the Thanksgiving holiday so I don't have to take off work because of down-time. Not sure if a radiator shop would be open on Black Friday or not.

allanonjj

everything seems to be working fine now,.. It keeps getting warmer every time I drive it. To anyone who's having the same issues,.. Just drive the car a few times after bleeding the system as best you can,.. It should get progressively better/waarmer as you drive the car.
Thanks for everyone's input!

CL93LS

My heator core just started to leak coolant in to the car this morning. So it looks like I might be replacing that this weekend.

From what I read on this post I need to pull the dash out. Is it required to unhook the AC lines? I don't have much experince with AC so I'm hoping I don't.

Do you guys know of any diagrams that show how the dash comes out? I'm sure I can figure it out but looking to save some time.

SDHonda153

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by allanonjj &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">everything seems to be working fine now,.. It keeps getting warmer every time I drive it. To anyone who's having the same issues,.. Just drive the car a few times after bleeding the system as best you can,.. It should get progressively better/waarmer as you drive the car.
Thanks for everyone's input!</TD></TR></TABLE>

Same here, every time I drive the car it seems to get a little warmer and then have to fill the rad up a little when I get home. Hoping a few more times of that and she'll be good

PatrickGSR94

iTrader: (1)

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by CL93LS &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">My heator core just started to leak coolant in to the car this morning. So it looks like I might be replacing that this weekend.

From what I read on this post I need to pull the dash out. Is it required to unhook the AC lines? I don't have much experince with AC so I'm hoping I don't.

Do you guys know of any diagrams that show how the dash comes out? I'm sure I can figure it out but looking to save some time.

</TD></TR></TABLE>

Yes you have to remove the A/C evaporator box to get the heater core out. I am planning on having a shop discharge the system before I start the work, and then charge it back up afterwards when I get it all done.

AWD Terror

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by PatrickGSR94 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I don't know about repairing the old one. I crushed the brass pipes as I was trying to get the heater hoses loose, which made coolant leak everywhere. Think a radiator shop could fix that?</TD></TR></TABLE>

Yes. They have special round pieces that are made to fix that exact thing.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by CL93LS &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">My heator core just started to leak coolant in to the car this morning. So it looks like I might be replacing that this weekend.

From what I read on this post I need to pull the dash out. Is it required to unhook the AC lines? I don't have much experince with AC so I'm hoping I don't.

Do you guys know of any diagrams that show how the dash comes out? I'm sure I can figure it out but looking to save some time.

</TD></TR></TABLE>

Save yourself the time, and buy a Honda repair book.

Off the top of my head:
-Unhook battery and drain coolant
-Take the middle consol out (shifter)
-Take out the ash tray and stereo
-Take out the front seats
-Drop the steering column and lay wheel on floor
-Unhook and unbolt passanger air bag
-Unhook all electrical conections in the way (this is where the book comes in handy)
-Take out the six bolts that hold the dash in (on in each door jam area, one behind the clock, and I'm unsure of the rest.)
-Take out the dash
-Unhook A/C lines (I discharged mine at home, just be careful with the freon)
-Unhook coolant lines to the heater core (be careful not to let them drain into the car)

The rest is pretty much self explanitory

PatrickGSR94

iTrader: (1)

You don't have to remove the passenger airbag to get the dash out. Just unplug it.

Also make sure to use the red service connector for both airbags while they are unplugged. They are located near the area where the yellow harness unplugs. This prevents the possibility of anything like a static charge or anything else from accidentally triggering the airbag.

allanonjj

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by AWD Terror &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

Yes. They have special round pieces that are made to fix that exact thing.

Save yourself the time, and buy a Honda repair book.

Off the top of my head:
-Unhook battery and drain coolant
-Take the middle consol out (shifter)
-Take out the ash tray and stereo
-Take out the front seats
-Drop the steering column and lay wheel on floor
-Unhook and unbolt passanger air bag
-Unhook all electrical conections in the way (this is where the book comes in handy)
-Take out the six bolts that hold the dash in (on in each door jam area, one behind the clock, and I'm unsure of the rest.)
-Take out the dash
-Unhook A/C lines (I discharged mine at home, just be careful with the freon)
-Unhook coolant lines to the heater core (be careful not to let them drain into the car)

The rest is pretty much self explanitory
</TD></TR></TABLE>

Just gonna add a couple things that might help.

The other bolts are behind the ash tray and there are 2 screws behind the hazard and rear defrost switches that you have to unscreww so that you can get the temperature control unit (hot to cold slider, ac button, defrost,feet,vent selector) out,... before you can pull it out though you will have to disconnect the cable that goes from the back of it to the bottom of the heater core assembly to the temperature control unit(it looks like a brake line off of a bicycle),...just look behind/under the center portion of the dash on the passenger side and you will see what Im talking about. as you disconnect all the switches (sunroof, cruise, gauge light dimmer etc..), pay attention to how the harness is routed,.... you may be able to just disconnect the harness under the dash on the drivers side near the fuse box,... I didnt,.. I just pulled the harness out of the dash,.. Thats why Im suggesting to pay attention how it is routed through your dash. Even if you dont though, you will still be able to get it bcak in there because the plugs will only plug into the switch or component that they go to (except for your glove box light and the gauge cluster light dimmer, they are the same but the wires that go to the glove box light are a lot longer than the gauge dimmer) Also,... dont forget to take off the 10mm nut that holds the heater core in (located under the hood near the inlet/outlet hoses on the core). oh,.. and you dont have to sit the steering console on the floor,.. the 2 12mm bolts that hold it up are under the column and if you take them off,... the steering wheel/column will sag enough to get the dash out. Once you get the dash out you have to take off the ac evaporator to get the core out. once you get the core out, grab your phillips head and unscrew the screws holding the core in,... from there its all in reverse. If you have any more questions,.. you can call me @ 229-236-4605 and I'll help walk you through it.
hope that helps