Topic: My heater core died

[Tsd]

Last week I was driving home when I started to smell coolant, then i saw vapor coming out from the vents and my all my windows started to get foggy. I pulled over and checked everything and notices a big puddle of coolant on my passenger side carpet. After searching the internet it was clear that my heater core was gone so I called the stealership, they wanted to charge me 650 dollars for a new heater core. Since the original part was so expensive I had it custom made by a local shop for 90$. My new all copper heater core should be ready on Monday so I took everything apart, it was a PITA.

Here´s my Jeep´s current state:



hopefully I'll get it running again this week  .

[Jeffy]

Heater cores are always interesting on late model vehicles.

[Sine Deviance]

I'm always glad I have a YJ when I see pictures like the one you posted. YJ's are just simpler.

[sharpxmen]

I'm always glad I have a YJ when I see pictures like the one you posted. YJ's are just simpler.

never took the heater core off but i think you have to go thru the same ordeal for removing it on a YJ

[Jeffy]

Yup, the whole dash has to come out but it's still a little easier.

[aka-justin]

Yikes , I would be cold for while if mine ever goes out.   

[Tsd]

Yikes , I would be cold for while if mine ever goes out.   

It's not only the cold you have to live with, you would also have to live with the coolant smell, foggy windows and having to put coolant on the radiator everyday




 

[aka-justin]

Nah, that's what a 1/2" sprinker fitting and some pipe clamps would fix until my lazy butt would deal with it.  Had to patch heater hoses on the road before, so I always keep some with me.

It happened in my 1979 RV on the way to go camping 10 miles from anywhere, I used some left over 1/2" pipe I used to fix a water leak, and I was good to go.

[aw12345]

It actually looks worse than it is the whole dash comes out fairly easy. Still takes a fair amount of time to change that silly little radiator. Gone are the days where you took out the glove box and snaked the heater core out in a jiff

[FourbangerYJ]

It's not only the cold you have to live with, you would also have to live with the coolant smell, foggy windows and having to put coolant on the radiator everyd

That's right you guy's are in the colder months now. I always forget. How cold does it get where you are?

I hope you get it all put back together soon.

[Tsd]

That's right you guy's are in the colder months now. I always forget. How cold does it get where you are?

I hope you get it all put back together soon.

It's not that cold. This are our averages according to The World Meteorological Organization.

 It's not very humid down here so the cold feels like refrigerator cold, and it feels a lot colder than it really is, but nothing too extreme.

I put everything together and now i have some electrical gremlins... my electrical system died while I was driving home, I think I will have to disassemble everything to find out what went wrong. 

[jfrabat]

TSD,

No te envidio!  But before you go tearing everything apart, check the fuses; it may just turn out to be something simple!  I have to check why MY heater core keeps sending hot air when I open the vents on my YJ, and that's something I've been putting off for a while now (it wont happen for the next 3 months, as the Heep will stay in Panama until then, though).

Felipe

[Tsd]

TSD,

No te envidio!  But before you go tearing everything apart, check the fuses; it may just turn out to be something simple!  I have to check why MY heater core keeps sending hot air when I open the vents on my YJ, and that's something I've been putting off for a while now (it wont happen for the next 3 months, as the Heep will stay in Panama until then, though).

Felipe

Felipe,

I followed your advice and checked for simple things first. Turns out my battery was toast and the terminals had to be changed, thanks for saving me a lot of time!

I plan to update my alternator in the next months but before that I need to buy new battery, considering I have four 55w auxiliary lights, an 8000lb winch, gps, cell phone charger and future power inverter, how big of a battery should i get?

Thanks in advance for the advice!

[aw12345]

Alternator size is more important than battery size so the charging system can keep up with your electrical power demands

[jfrabat]

Alternator size is more important than battery size so the charging system can keep up with your electrical power demands

X2!  But if you need a new battery, might as well go with an Optima.  They are not cheap, but they are well worth the $$.  The advantage is that they can take being discharged completely without dying (something the rest cannot do; now charging them back up is a bit of a pain, as you need another battery, but the battery will recover!), and they can put a lot of current in a little time (good for starting and winching).  AS for the alternator, check the FAQ for options; there are some junkyard options you can use to save some dough...