Comments on: Ford F150 Heater Core Swap, Part 2

By: just me

just me — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 04:04:44 +0000

well first off its pretty aparent that you are not very mechanicaly inclined! i have been a mechanic for several years and only done one or two easy heater cores no matter vehicle brand. this is why i have a job because cars are not easy to repair! so stop cryin and dont think you know more than you do. honestly do you really think ANY vehicle has a dressed up wireing harness were its not visible? go look under dash of any car truck or van made and you will see they are all made the same way. go take a look at a 18 wheeler harness all the wires are white try to trace a wire on one.

By: L/M tech

L/M tech — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 15:38:40 +0000

Hey guys, 4 hours is about right for the professional technician. I work at a dealership and ford pays us 3.6 hours labor if we have to do it under warranty. For the do it yourselfer it is a big job that can be overwhelming, so I feel your pain.

By: Daniel Green

Daniel Green — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 05:03:24 +0000

97 Ford F150 4×4, V-8 Extended Cab. I changed mine for the first time in under 4 hours. Pretty simple had to take the whole dash out too. Just keep at it seems like a million screws, my truck has over 250,000 miles on it and is kinda showing it lol. So I left about a cup of screws out, and havn’t heard any new noises yet When i got to the Core I took a saw-zall and cut it out unclipped the lines under the hood, and was set to go. Fun Fun

By: John 1947

John 1947 — Sat, 16 May 2009 18:05:04 +0000

Danny Redman: If you have 15 to 20 hours free time and can get hold of actual Ford Service Manual instructions you should be able to do the job yourself. I had access to the Ford manual - I followed it closely and took pictures during disassembly. The dash did have to come completely out (my truck is a supercab and with help from wife we lifted it over front seat and set it temporarily onto back seat) but it isn’t that bad if you disconnect the wiring harness at the correct places (all shown in manual). Steering column did have to be disconnected also. I’m going on 4 yrs no problems and no added ground wire. I purchased a dealer part – cost was apx $40.

By: Danny Redman

Danny Redman — Mon, 11 May 2009 19:10:12 +0000

My 98 f150 just started with the antifreeze odor in the cab; this is the 3rd time since owning it. I had an independant mechanic fix it the first time; then decided to let ford do it last time figuring the Ford should know how to fix it; so $2400 later with a 1 year/12000 mile warranty I thought we finally got it fixed; well I just got a call from Ford, I am 2 months out of the warranty and need to pony up another $1600 for them to do the same exact procedure that they did last year. I love the truck, but dont want to keep paying every year to hope that it doesnt happen again. I guess its time to follow the directions and do it myself. anyone have luck with grounding the heater core to the negative terminal on battery?

By: joe

joe — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 17:23:22 +0000

how in the hell dose it only take 4 hrs to do the job there are hundreds of screws in the dash and 15 that hold the housing for the core that you can’t get to with out the dash off share the secrects please tell all

By: road rage

road rage — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 18:37:28 +0000

get your hands off me you fat woman!

By: Nick

Nick — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 04:43:17 +0000

How would I go about replacing a heating core in an ‘85 F150? Somebody told me it only takes a couple of hours and is pretty cheap. Do I need any special tools other than the standard average tool set?

By: SCOTT

SCOTT — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 18:38:56 +0000

HELP!! where do you get anti-static additive and who makes it?? ford dealerships and auto parts stores don’t know what it is!! or is it just in certain types of anti freeze??

By: SCOTT

SCOTT — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 17:05:02 +0000

HET YOU GUYS, HERS A TIP ON ELECTROLYSIS. RUN A GROUND WIRE FROM YOUR HEATER CORE TO THE NEG SIDE OF YOUR BATTERY FOR A GOOD GROUND. A MECHANIC WITH 30 YRS EXP. ON FORDS TOLD ME TO DO THIS AFTER MY NEW HEATER CORE ONLY LASTED 3 MOS. IT WORKS!! ALSO DON’T USE FORD PARTS THEY ARE JUNK!!

By: Zac

Zac — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 00:45:21 +0000

I own a 1998 F-150. I was getting a repetitive clicking sound from just under the center of my dash panel. There is a black protective plastic cover that I took off and found a white box atop of the floor vent blower. Bottom line is that this is what was clicking and no matter where i research I can not find this part and what it is. There is only 1 wire harness that leads to it in the front. Any help on this is greatly appreciated.

By: David

David — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 16:56:00 +0000

i got a quote from ford for 345.00 labor i think ill take them up on it.

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By: Adam Ruiz

Adam Ruiz — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 03:43:24 +0000

Just bought a 200 F 150 thinking a little heater core issu is no sweat. No im scared to death. I love the truck but I am in the middle of MY wife’s new room addition so time is money. if the 4 hour is possible great. The dash air bags and wiring I can handle, but I know absolutly nothing about connecting or diconnecting AC lines any tool requirements, tips, or advice would help this Marine and maybe even my marriage.

Adam in Jacksonville NC

By: Ron ask's

Ron ask's — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 00:38:28 +0000

Knock!Knock!Knock! Hey 4 hour William are you out there ! Some of the other forums say you don’t have to remove the dash to change the 97-03 F150 heater cores just pull the dash out on the passenger side without unplugging alot of electrical connectors ! Is that what makes it quicker or are you just that good ! Chuck Cage what do you know about this and how about electrolosys destroying the aluminum cores ? In some other forums the guys are talking about 8 core replacements and link it to electolosys and that might be why 4 hour William said to use anti static additive ! William any comment !

By: Mel

Mel — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 12:43:04 +0000

I had a ‘68 Ford Galaxie that I had to remove the right front fender in order to change heater hoses, so this is nothing new.

By: Larry Martel

Larry Martel — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 22:13:40 +0000

We have a dodge cummins 3500 that the fuel gage ouit working ,could it be the sending unit,or is there a relay that i’m not aware of? thanks

By: Ken

Ken — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 17:59:55 +0000

On a 99 F250 you can simply get to it by taking the glove box out so it only took a couple hours to do the whole job. However, you do need special clips from Ford to reattach the lines on the engine side of the firewall since the old ones break when you take them off. So, at least on the F250 it is a breeze. My 96 Ram 2500 is looking to be touch though…having to take the whole dash off that is.

By: william

william — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 00:24:45 +0000

It only takes 4 hours to replace the heater core guys. Stop wining and taking breaks and keep busy. It really is not that bad. f150 trucks are the best. Regular coolant service with anti static additive will ensure no problems. Good luck. 15yr ASE Cert. tech

By: Chuck Cage

Chuck Cage — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 20:23:40 +0000

k brody: Mishandling an airbag can cause serious bodily harm. Get a factory manual and follow the instructions precisely, and if you don’t understand ‘em all or feel comfortable with ‘em — let the dealer do it.

By: k brody

k brody — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 03:27:16 +0000

my apoligies i’m trying to do the heater core myself on a 2000 F150 and the airbag is proving to be a problem. Any suggestions would be welcome.

By: k brody

k brody — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 03:16:23 +0000

HELP…..2000 F150 I can’t get past the airbag. Any quick tips?

By: Old Donn

Old Donn — Sat, 14 Jul 2007 02:22:36 +0000

You guys act surprised. The only vehicle I’ve owned in the last 40 years that didn’t require a song & dance to get at the heater core is my Chevy Astro, (inside the car, passenger side foot well). Someone above opined Ford built cars around the heater core. That’s exactly what they did with my 90 Taurus. They were nice enough to outline where you had to cut the firewall to access it.

By: Temecky Jon

Temecky Jon — Thu, 15 Mar 2007 02:47:50 +0000

Just got back from the Found On Road Dead dealer with $900 less than when I started the day. This was spent to repair my heater core that seized yesterday. Called a couple of independent places and they were even more expensive which I think was more a reluctance to take on the work.

I have a 2000 Navigator with 130k miles. The service folks confirmed the story that the heater core is the first (or at least one of the first) things they hang when assembling.

After looking at the above picture, it’s no wonder some of the shops were reluctant! Good luck to you guys that have the know-how to tackle such a job!

By: Crispy

Crispy — Sun, 11 Feb 2007 03:13:45 +0000

Just cut through the firewall to it and put in a fiberglass patch afterwards.