Comments on: Ford F150 Heater Core Swap, Part 2

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.

By: Nick Carter

Nick Carter — Sat, 10 Feb 2007 17:48:55 +0000

I think it was a 2-3 hour job just to replace a burned out bulb in the dash of our 2000 Taurus Wagon. We had to replace a speedo cable and speedometer on our 95 Taurus wagon and it cost upwards of $800 due to the labor of ripping apart the dash and column.

(Why two Taurii? Because they are so sexy…)

Our 84 econoline van was a pleasure to work on, but with 300K miles it required too much work to get running anywhere near safely. I wish I could buy a modern van that was as easy to work on though. I could practically curl up and sleep in the engine compartment.

By: Chuck Cage

Chuck Cage — Sat, 10 Feb 2007 16:58:02 +0000

kythri: I wish. The dash is long gone in that photo. That’s the mix door for the HVAC — the one Harry indicated in my last post is so fragile. (Thanks, Harry; you saved me some $$!)

By: kythri

kythri — Sat, 10 Feb 2007 15:50:52 +0000

Is that an LCD in the center of the dash there, or what is that?

By: nrChris

nrChris — Sat, 10 Feb 2007 03:36:24 +0000

Wow, that looks worse than I imagined. At what point does it become worthwhile to pay to have something like that done? Obviously you’re already half pregnant, but in retrospect would you have paid to have it done professionally??

By: Harry

Harry — Fri, 09 Feb 2007 22:58:20 +0000

Just to let you know that Dodge ram heater cores are only a little less painful to do (you can angle the dash instead or removing it) and newer GM pick ups are not much easier. My work has a large mostly ford fleet and the only way we have extended heater core life is to change the coolant annually.
No manufacturer tells a person what it’s like to have to fix their product. Hell, people only think about the monthly payment and maybe the cost of insurance. Few people consider or plan maintenance costs in their car purchases.
The wiring harnesses look klike crap because they’re buried under the dash and not exposed. Ford can save pennies per unit and ounces in vehicle weight by doing this. Every little bit helps.

By: Harry

Harry — Fri, 09 Feb 2007 22:43:26 +0000

I bet that 7 hour labor charge for having a shop replace the heater core doesn’t look too expensive now?

By: Nate

Nate — Fri, 09 Feb 2007 22:14:41 +0000

Well I have an ‘86 F150 and know that up until the body change in ‘97 they were less insane & put the heater core behind the glovebox. So I guess the solution is to own older trucks? As for the Ford tape wrap wiring that has been on all the cars I have ever seen made by Ford or any other carmaker.

By: Rick

Rick — Fri, 09 Feb 2007 21:58:38 +0000

It’s not just Fords… I imagine at some point I’ll be doing it on my old bimmer. But it’s not to much a matter of being too cheap to pay someone to do it. It’s a matter of not knowing anyone who I trust to be as thorough as I in disassembly and assembly. I’ve experienced and heard of too many horror stories of mechanics taking shortcuts, and hacking where they should have used some finesse.. and done it right. But chose to do it the quick and dirty way, emphasis on dirty. At least I know I’ll take my time putting stuff back together so I don’t end up with a million squeaks that weren’t there before the job. Maybe even take some extra time, get some felt tape and address some of the squeaks that are already there.

By: Russ

Russ — Fri, 09 Feb 2007 21:51:42 +0000

Rumor is that when Ford builds a car, they start by hanging the heater core on the assembly line. They then proceed to build the remainder of the car around it. I did the same job on a 1981 T-Bird about 15 years ago. It was just as hard to do then as it is now. It took me over 16 hrs to complete the job. A friend had the same repair done by a garage about a year later and it cost him over $600.00.
I have also heard that on some Fords you can use a cutoff wheel to cut the firewall around the heater core and then remove it from the engine compartment. When installing the new one you just weld the panel back in. Never tried this so I can’t it will work. However if your F-150 is anything like my 97 Expedition, there is no easy way to cut out the firewall.
I know that sooner or later I will be doing the same job on my Expedition and cursing the fact that I was too cheap to pay someone to do it for me.