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Addicted2Blue00
12-26-2008, 04:50 AM
i think it might have been because it sat for 5-6 months w/o running and 2 months bein dry. with 126k miles and goin on 9 yrs old, and the antifreeze was changed at least once every year or 2. reason im thinkin its the heater core as ive always kept catch-all mats in it and it is/was holdin antifreeze in it, i took a look around and it seems it was comin out of the floor vent on the passenger side, carpet didnt get wet which i did pull it back and check and it was dry with no coolant residue. next week imma check on a dealership price for a replacement since i do get employee price and a friend of mine that use to work there -8yrs- before goin to another dodge dealer just did one a couple weeks ago for $100 for just labor. it does still put out nice hot air like it always did.

grapejuice1998
12-26-2008, 04:20 PM
i think it might have been because it sat for 5-6 months w/o running and 2 months bein dry. with 126k miles and goin on 9 yrs old, and the antifreeze was changed at least once every year or 2. reason im thinkin its the heater core as ive always kept catch-all mats in it and it is/was holdin antifreeze in it, i took a look around and it seems it was comin out of the floor vent on the passenger side, carpet didnt get wet which i did pull it back and check and it was dry with no coolant residue. next week imma check on a dealership price for a replacement since i do get employee price and a friend of mine that use to work there -8yrs- before goin to another dodge dealer just did one a couple weeks ago for $100 for just labor. it does still put out nice hot air like it always did.

Mine went out and still blew hot air too, but it also blew steam out of the vents. It was 9 yrs old and had 105,000 on it when it went out. It just happens though, nothing you did caused it to go.

Addicted2Blue00
12-27-2008, 02:14 AM
no stem, imma clean the mat off and see how bad its actually leakin since the heater isnt gonna be replaced any time soon.

Dawson
01-20-2009, 02:01 AM
Hey guys... My heater doesn't get very hot at all... think it could be the core on its way out?? some guys from work said the core could be clogged up... any opinions??

98 RT CC 118k mi

Dawson
01-23-2009, 06:25 PM
Hey guys... My heater doesn't get very hot at all... think it could be the core on its way out?? some guys from work said the core could be clogged up... any opinions??

98 RT CC 118k mi


That's what it was... I flushed the core with the garden hose and all kinds of grit and stuff came out... heater works great!!!!

chadrt99fr
03-18-2009, 10:57 PM
yeah mine too! mine is a 99 with 101,000 and i am thinking that the core finally went out. i am blowing steam and no hot air at all! you think that backflushing would help? or am i gonna have to replace the core?

Addicted2Blue00
03-19-2009, 03:28 PM
think your gonna need to replace the core, i dont ahve the cash to get a core at the moment so i went ahead and bypassed the heater so it would stop leakin antifreeze inside, bypass the heater i mean i unhooked it from thefirewall in the engine bay and routed the hoses together. im not the only one thats done this before so it is ok to do.

chadrt99fr
03-19-2009, 09:27 PM
yeah you are definatly not the only one thats tight on cash! ha i like your idea and i will prolly end up doing that. thanks man for the idea

Rick Adams
05-19-2009, 11:48 AM
Mine went out and still blew hot air too, but it also blew steam out of the vents. It was 9 yrs old and had 105,000 on it when it went out. It just happens though, nothing you did caused it to go.[/QUOTE]

Looks like it's time for me to replace one..... Do I remember correctly that the best core is the original from the dealer?? Price?

RTZoD
09-01-2009, 10:09 PM
Bringing this topic back to life.... My heater was steaming today, Yippie yahooo. Is it as bad as my S-10 was to replace the heater core? Do I have to take out the entire fkin dash like the S10?

mtlcafan79
09-02-2009, 02:02 AM
I just replaced the evap core in my slow truck. Was exactly 8 hours start to finish. Woohoo!

RTZoD
09-02-2009, 03:27 AM
Do you have to remove the dash?

mtlcafan79
09-02-2009, 03:29 AM
Yes. Enjoy!

Intense RT
09-02-2009, 03:45 AM
I think I'd hate that job enough, because it's not a speed part, I'd have to at least get a dealer quote to make me feel better about doing it myself.:goodluck:

RTZoD
09-02-2009, 08:37 PM
Awesome..... I always love taking shit apart. I hate putting it back together. Looks like a weekend project.

chadrt99fr
09-16-2009, 06:44 PM
Do you have to remove the dash?

what a pain in the ass!!!!! i have mine pulled all apart right now! many beer breaks!!!:rtfm:

RTZoD
09-16-2009, 11:32 PM
Take pictures I wanna see what I'm in for.

mtlcafan79
09-17-2009, 12:52 AM
There's a thread on dak-durrrrr about it. It's a legit 8 hour job.

chadrt99fr
09-17-2009, 08:38 PM
my factory service manual is asying that the accumulator for the a/c has to come out. and you have to have a way to contain that refrigerant! that is where im stuck... ill take picutes and put them up later when im home:rtfm:

Intense RT
09-17-2009, 08:47 PM
my factory service manual is asying that the accumulator for the a/c has to come out. and you have to have a way to contain that refrigerant! that is where im stuck... ill take picutes and put them up later when im home:rtfm:Screw it...disconnect and let it fly!

chadrt99fr
09-17-2009, 09:56 PM
im pretty sure that ive opened a huge can of worms here and im not fishing!

sunike32
09-17-2009, 11:08 PM
im pretty sure that ive opened a huge can of worms here and im not fishing!

Oh my :jester:

:goodluck:

RTZoD
09-17-2009, 11:43 PM
Its 134a let it rip into the ozone.....

Actually "Automakers are producing new vehicles with R-134a, which does not deplete the ozone layer."

Then go buy a couple of cans to replace it. :)

chadrt99fr
09-17-2009, 11:49 PM
Its 134a let it rip into the ozone.....

Actually "Automakers are producing new vehicles with R-134a, which does not deplete the ozone layer."

Then go buy a couple of cans to replace it. :)

is the 134a in our trucks non ozone depleteing?

wyotech_cuda440
09-18-2009, 12:22 AM
is the 134a in our trucks non ozone depleteing?

Yes. 134a has not been proven to damage the ozone or the environment, however, there is still a $10,000 fine from the EPA if they catch you releasing it, and Lesser fines for even working on the system without the EPA 609 liscense. I really dont care if you release any type of refrigerant, just make sure nobody is watching, because if someone turns you in to the EPA, they can be rewarded up to $10,000 also, so alot of people will quietly watch you work, then go try to get paid for turning you in.

chadrt99fr
09-18-2009, 04:41 AM
lol! go figure right! every one has gotta make a buck somehow i guess ! putting the project on hold for right now to re-think my next step. luckily i have another car to drive!:jerkit:

RTZoD
10-20-2009, 11:47 PM
Today I embarked on this very thing. I went to the store this morning at 34 degrees outside and noticed my windshield wouldn't defrost. So I decided to bite the bullet today and just do it.

Went to O'Rileys store and picked up a replacement heater core. Which was aluminum instead of copper and brass. After I got the dash completely out of the truck I tried to get the heater box out. I decided to not take the AC stuff apart and took the top part of the heater box and cut it with my sawzall. Then I was able to remove the old one and install the new one. I reasembled the top left portion of the box and then sealed it back up with duct tape, some super strong shit I have. And its on its way to being put back together. The bolts that hold the box in place go thru the firewall and are located one near each head in the back. There are three on the passenger side. 12mm nuts and the studs come thru the firewall. Take these loose and the box should now be floating. I chose not to take the ac stuff apart. You may want to remove it to make it easier then cutting the box.

Addicted2Blue00
10-21-2009, 06:09 AM
i did some checkin around today, dealership $150-160 "my price" autozone $32 and advance/o rileys bout the same, wtf? im not worried of replacin it as soon as i can get the other dak runnin itll be the DD n blue will be down for the season.

RTZoD
10-21-2009, 06:43 AM
Its a major pain in the ass to do this. But im off work for a few days and its something to do. Took 2 hours to pull the dash out. Gonna take 3 days to ge tit back in :)

Addicted2Blue00
10-21-2009, 09:23 AM
lay some paint to it while its out lol

RTZoD
10-22-2009, 04:34 AM
I just got it all back together. Took 2 hours to put it back in. They should have made that box with a two piece lid. I made mine like that with a sawzall. I only have like 3 screws left over. Hummm Where do they go? I'll dig around tomorrow and see where they go. I must have missed something. There were like 50 or so screws by the time it was all said and done. So 3 outta 50 isn't bad.

grapejuice1998
10-22-2009, 02:20 PM
I just got it all back together. Took 2 hours to put it back in. They should have made that box with a two piece lid. I made mine like that with a sawzall. I only have like 3 screws left over. Hummm Where do they go? I'll dig around tomorrow and see where they go. I must have missed something. There were like 50 or so screws by the time it was all said and done. So 3 outta 50 isn't bad.

My buddy in the HVAC business calls those "packing screws". lol!

mtlcafan79
10-22-2009, 04:03 PM
I had two screws left over with mine. Hah. Something rattles in the dash when you start it. Oh well. It all works.

chadrt99fr
10-26-2009, 03:32 AM
I decided to not take the AC stuff apart and took the top part of the heater box and cut it with my sawzall. Then I was able to remove the old one and install the new one.



so that actually worked huh! i ended up puttin mine back together. but here in seattle you have to have that defrost on those rainy days, so that is gonna be my onlyoption cause i really dont want to mess with the a/c!
:burnout:

RTZoD
10-27-2009, 02:57 AM
Yep it worked for me. But you may want to go another route to seal it back up. I used heavy duty duct tape. You have to be very careful when cutting it open and make sure not to go thru the doors inside. In other words just barely cut thru it and be slow doing it. They really did a shitty design when they made the unit. It should have had 2 tops. But what the hell they charge 900.00 so why not make them work for it. When looking at the box you will see a plastic tit sticking up which is basically the hinge point for the vent door. And you have to cut it in just the right spot so that you dont hit anything. If I can get my camera to work I'll upload some pictures. Doing this cut probably saved me a ton of time and its still funtional and works great.

chadrt99fr
10-27-2009, 03:09 AM
yeah i totally understand horrible engineering! but that would be awesome if you had some pics!

JDreamR/T
10-27-2009, 05:13 AM
Yeaa any more pics would be much appreciated so I know what I'm getting into. Just got my new core today. I've been putting it off (had it bypassed), but cold weather is setting in and im loosing warm days. Lord knows I dont wanna be doing the job in 40 degree weather. When I do mine I'm gonna take plenty of photos and label all the screws...possibly this weekend we'll see.

chadrt99fr
10-28-2009, 02:15 AM
I've been putting it off (had it bypassed), but cold weather is setting in and im loosing warm days. Lord knows I dont wanna be doing the job in 40 degree weather.

word!

RTZoD
10-28-2009, 05:23 AM
I took pictures and then my camera went fubar I was able to recover most of the pictures. But the one I had that showed the box cutting place was screwed up as well as several family photos. My camera burns cd's and it screwed up. Anyhow I'll do my best to help with the photos I do have. And a link to more pictures and another guys post.
http://dodgeforum.com/forum/2nd-gen-dakota/184262-heater-core-replacement-project.html

Biggest pain in the ass is getting to the nuts behind the heads that hold the box in place.
There are 4 in all and they are behind the engine on the firewall.
Cutting the box really isnt an issue as long as you use good judgement on where to cut the top. And when you do cut it just barely go through the plastic top only.
Try to avoid cutting into the lower box if at all possible.
Once you get the top screws out get a flashlight and take a peek in to see where the end of the heater core is.
That should give you a better refrence point to go by.
Or you can remove the linkage to the door and open it and peek in to see the core.
Its not scientific at all just common sense. I have seen other pictures of this process minus cutting the box top into two pieces.. They have always shown the dash harness that goes to the left still hanging. I took mine completely out with the dash. It made it easier to put the dash back in.
There is a big plug in the center on the floorboard behind the two center bolts. This is the airbag controller box be careful and make sure you unhook the battery before you rip into any of it.
Also you can see a green blue and yellow set of pneumatic hoses. Don't cut them they have a connector you can take apart. Just incase you didnt know. Follow them out from the dash to the heater box you will find the connector.

Also if you just buy a autozone heatercore you have to remove the tabs inside the bottom of the box so that the new fatter HC will fit into place. Forgot to mention this before. After going to 3 parts stores I ended up with the exact same one that I bought from Autozone they were all the same.

http://www.ballisticpc.com/rt/heater/12.jpeg

http://www.ballisticpc.com/rt/heater/13.jpeg

http://www.ballisticpc.com/rt/heater/14.jpeg

JDreamR/T
10-28-2009, 03:59 PM
Daaaayyymmmn....haha thanks for those, that job does look sensational! Nice Dr. Pepper product placement BTW ;) We'll see if I can tackle this over the weekend, weather permitting (shame I don't have a garage). The core I got also says to remove the tabs as you said.

chadrt99fr
10-28-2009, 08:13 PM
nice !!! well got her all back apart again!! found the line i want to use to cut he box open! for sealing it back up i found almost the same kinda putty like material that they used from the factory to seal the lid on. well cross your fingers and pray for heat to the R/T gods!:hail:

RTZoD
10-29-2009, 11:17 AM
May the force be with you. Oh and one more thing you dont have to take out all the screws that hold the dash pad on. I took them all ouut llike a retard.

chadrt99fr
10-29-2009, 06:12 PM
made the cut and got it out i will post pics later:rockwoot:

walight01
10-31-2009, 07:27 AM
it is what 4 bolts to take the evaperator out? 15 bucks to refill the system, instead you used "duct" tape on a object that stays at 200 degress. Maybe i'm missing something but come on.
you can buy r134a at walmart or autozone, nobody is gonna check to see if you are ASE certified to work on the system, you would have a greater chance of getting caught with no cats

RTZoD
10-31-2009, 03:03 PM
You don't have to be ASE certified to buy 134a I'm just lazy and didn't want to pull all that shit apart. As far as duct tape we will see how well it holds up. I said this is the way I did it, which didn't mean anyone had to follow suit. And I also mentioned that they might want to find a better way of sealing it back up.

walight01
10-31-2009, 05:07 PM
correct you don't have to be certified to buy it just to use it, which is messed up.

RTZoD
10-31-2009, 06:45 PM
And I see nothing wrong with re-engineering something that should have been made more simple. They designed that shit so that your average Joe would be forced to take it to the dealer. I'm just cheap and prefer not to spend more money then I have to. Nothing wrong with doing it the way its "supposed" to be done but Its still functional and works like a champ. I like to think outside of the box and I guess that makes me king of the nig riggers.

walight01
10-31-2009, 07:33 PM
i just don't see tape holding for a long period of time with high temps like that. a 2 part epoxy would seem to of sealed much better for a much longer period of time.

RTZoD
10-31-2009, 08:52 PM
Its "Duct Tape" for a reason. I didn't use the grey stuff I used some stuff ehating and air contractors use. Its duct tape on steroids. And I have a 180 tstat :)

JDreamR/T
11-09-2009, 02:44 AM
:woot: Heyyoooo! Got the new heater core in this weekend. I decided to go all out and completely remove the hvac housing. Figured it was a great opportunity to clean and inspect everything, and realized it was a good thing I did. Heck, you already have everything in pieces, why not do a thorough job...your most likely not gonna be in this place again ::cough::

-One major thing that I found after removing the hvac housing was that the condensate drain tube was leaking water inside the cab! This explained why I still was getting damp carpets on the passenger side, even long after I made the heater bypass! Anyways, I will post a more detailed description of what I went through along with step-by-step pics soon.

-Jimmy

AdamT
11-09-2009, 04:10 PM
Wow....

If mine ever goes I'm buying a nice blanket! Or a Heater I can run off an ac/dc plug!

BluRT00
11-09-2009, 08:08 PM
Thank you all for the pictures, now I know what I face. The weather is getting cool now in South West FL. So that means I am yanking my dash and ditching all the HVAC/heating shit.

grapejuice1998
11-09-2009, 09:34 PM
Wow....

If mine ever goes I'm buying a nice blanket! Or a Heater I can run off an ac/dc plug!

I ran an electric heater 2 years in a row now. I think I'm gonna take the plunge and replace the heater core this time around. Not only does it control your heat, it tempers your A/C too. All I have is icy cold air, or none at all.

Rick Adams
11-11-2009, 11:04 AM
I ran an electric heater 2 years in a row now. I think I'm gonna take the plunge and replace the heater core this time around. Not only does it control your heat, it tempers your A/C too. All I have is icy cold air, or none at all.

Currently in the process of changing out the core in the Black R/T.....
Dash is out, A/C discharged, box will be out today.....

grapejuice1998
11-11-2009, 02:27 PM
Currently in the process of changing out the core in the Black R/T.....
Dash is out, A/C discharged, box will be out today.....

What you'll need next is; a short vacation to Dallas! :biggthumpup:

mtlcafan79
11-11-2009, 03:51 PM
+1 on the Alan Short Dallas vacation package! Make sure to ask for the BBQ meal plan option!

grapejuice1998
11-11-2009, 04:02 PM
+1 on the Alan Short Dallas vacation package! Make sure to ask for the BBQ meal plan option!

I'm running a special: Free BBQ-as much as you want-with installation of my heater core. :jester:

Rick Adams
11-12-2009, 12:04 PM
I'm running a special: Free BBQ-as much as you want-with installation of my heater core. :jester:

Yummy, BBQ~~~~!!
Other than the time involved, it really is not that difficult to do. I'm finished up, just have to recharge the A/C :)