mingbling96

my friend's heater core is leaking. I think i read that you have to remove your whole dash or whatever. HOw much labor is it to actually replace that? If it is too hard, i'm just going to bypass it for him. How much labor would a shop charge to replace one.

2+2=5

it's a huge b_tch to do the heater core, not sure about the new accord but the old one you'll have to take apart the whole dash.

not a hard job but it just alot of little stuff to take off and snap back, at least 6 hour if you doing it for the first time

deserthonda

yo min take my advise take it to a shop ,,another advise a shop that specializes in hondas , dont go to joe blow down the road to save a buck...

Reservation-Sensation

i did it myself on my accord, a 95, and it took about 2 days...everything must be removed to access it. you must remove the dash which includes both driver and passenger side airbags, the dash, wheel, instrument cluster and all the items underneath the dash, the blower motor, ac evaporator, and then finally the box that contains the heater core...you will also need to drop down the steering column and remove the dash support beam or whatever the bar is called that runs underneath the dash...i was a very big pain in the *** but i did myself because of the astronomical prices on labor for a job of that nature...could be done with mild car experience but there are alot of things tahat need to be removed....

jweller

a friend and I did his in about 11 - 12 hours. it's not too dificult but there are a lot of connections and bolts. If you are DIY then make sure you have the Helms manual. best $70 you'll ever spend

P_Adams

You've really only two courses of action.

1) Bypass it as you first suggested (how often do you need a heater in Richardson, TX?
-or-
2) Take DesertHonda's advice and get ye to a Honda repair shop. There are WAY to many opportunities to miss or break something if you've never done it yourself.

P

Johnny Truong

Mings got it case and point. I just finished today.

hondahawk1

thanks for the information. I have 94 LX and have moisture on the windshield and steam rising from the defroster ducts so it is the core. No antifreeze on the floor however. A local shop quoted me 1200 to replace the core so I tried a stop leak sealant they recommended first. It seemed to work initially,but the following morning I was getting the fogged up windshield again. I then pulled out the shop manual to size up the job and wasn't sure that the evaporator had to be removed although the instructions do state to remove the heating duct or the evaporator.
You confirmed the removal of the evaporator.

Not looking forward to this project.

If anyone know of a way to remove the heater box without the removing the evaporator I would like to know the trick.

Thanks

holmesnmanny

Never ever use stopleak sealant.


On my 4th gen i only removed the steering wheel and i was able to pull the dash over the column without removing the column. Also i did not have to pull the evaporator. You might have to loosen the mounting nuts for it to wiggle the heater core box free as the evap rests next to it. Dont forget to pop off the cable loose at the passenger floorboard and at the heater valve when pull the hoses. You will need new hoses for the heater valve to engine and the heater to water pipe.

Its best to use a razor to cut a front to back slit in the hoses at the heater core and then you will have to pry them off hard with your hands They will be binded good due to age and heat.

accordturb96

Took me two days (not the entire day) to get mine replace.Its about a $1000 job in a shop. good luck

deanmarkley2001

This job should only take 3 hours, not including the the ac discharge and recharge. However it calls for 5.5 hours with no ac or 6.4 with ac.

Disconnect and remove battery. Wait 3 minutes.
Disable airbag, remove access panel, unplug yellow clip, plug in red clip. I don't think this is required, but it only takes 1 minute, if it deploys in your face, it could kill you.
Disconnect the 2 ac lines, 10mm and 12mm(you must have the ac system drained first)
Disconnect the cable going to the water valve.
Remove heater core bolt on firewall 12mm, any book or google search will show you which one. Those are the only two 12 mm bolts for the whole job.
Disconnect both heater hoses.


Remove center console(armrest) and piece around shifter.
Loosen dashboard, only 6, 10mm bolts.
Remove piece with hazard, fog light, cruise and defrost switch's.
Remove gauge cluster.
Remove steering column trim.
Remove radio, then pop out orange clip directly under it, disconnect that clip.
Disconnect all wiring harness clips connected to dash, except clips going to the heater control panel.
Feed wiring harness through the hole that its going through. There is a ground wire you must disconnect, make note of that wire, also make note of the hole the radio clip goes through
You do NOT have to remove glove box, air bag, steering wheel, fuse box, or the clips to heater control panel.
Disconnect cable under dash on passenger side that controls the water valve. (move your control from hot to cold, the cable that moves is the one i'm talking about)
Remove dashboard.
Remove evaporator box and any wiring in your way.
Remove black vent on floor.
Remove heater core control box and any wiring in your way or connected to it.
Do not take the box apart, disconnect metal bar over heater core, remove screw and white plastic piece over heater core. - you may have to bend your new heater core slightly to make this piece re-fit properly.
Installation is reverse of removal.

When reinstalling the heater hoses, don't put the clamp at the very end of the hose, put as close to the nipple on the pipe as you can, without putting it directly on the nipple.

These forums had me so depressed about doing this job i was considering selling my car. This job was easy and only took me 2.5 hours, (my ac was already discharged) and i took the time to run some wires for my aftermarket antenna. I have never done a heater core before this. Good luck.