Heater core Removal? 996 99' C2

[jose]

I need help in removal the heater core for inspection.

Any help will be greatly appreciated.

B)

[Loren]

[1schoir]

I need help in removal the heater core for inspection.

Any help will be greatly appreciated.

B)

Jose:

For step #4, here is what two of those hose shut-off clamps look like. They are available from PepBoys:

Also, pay attention to bleeding air out of the system once you are done or your coolant tank will overflow. If you have a Uview vacuum tool, it will make it that much easier.

Take heed to carefully seal the foam cover or you may end up with leaks of outside water on your feet!

Regards, Maurice.

[jose]

Holly hints, Thanks alot. Before do it, I want to know if a coolant smell in the AC diserve to check the heater core. Do I suppose to find any leak on the front compartment? I don't want to sound unprofessional, but this the first time I suspect this.

Your help very appreciated, I'll ask more when performing the procedure.

B)

Jose

I need help in removal the heater core for inspection.

Any help will be greatly appreciated.

B)

Jose:

For step #4, here is what two of those hose shut-off clamps look like. They are available from PepBoys:

Also, pay attention to bleeding air out of the system once you are done or your coolant tank will overflow. If you have a Uview vacuum tool, it will make it that much easier.

Take heed to carefully seal the foam cover or you may end up with leaks of outside water on your feet!

Regards, Maurice.

[1schoir]

Holly hints, Thanks alot. Before do it, I want to know if a coolant smell in the AC diserve to check the heater core. Do I suppose to find any leak on the front compartment? I don't want to sound unprofessional, but this the first time I suspect this.

Your help very appreciated, I'll ask more when performing the procedure.

B)

Jose

Jose:

Coolant smell in the A/C is definitely one of the signs that your heater core (or the connections to it) may be leaking.

Sometimes you will get a couple of drops of coolant which will end up on your right foot as it sits on the gas pedal or a few drops in that general area.

Another sign is if you get an oily film on the inside of the lower part of the windshield when the blower is on.

Regards, Maurice.

[jose]

Thanks Again, I'll get those clamps and check those signs carefully before proceed.

B)

Jose

Holly hints, Thanks alot. Before do it, I want to know if a coolant smell in the AC diserve to check the heater core. Do I suppose to find any leak on the front compartment? I don't want to sound unprofessional, but this the first time I suspect this.

Your help very appreciated, I'll ask more when performing the procedure.

B)

Jose

Jose:

Coolant smell in the A/C is definitely one of the signs that your heater core (or the connections to it) may be leaking.

Sometimes you will get a couple of drops of coolant which will end up on your right foot as it sits on the gas pedal or a few drops in that general area.

Another sign is if you get an oily film on the inside of the lower part of the windshield when the blower is on.

Regards, Maurice.

[jose]

Loren,

I got an important question about removing the heater core. Do I have to remove the hole dash again? or the heatercore come out on the frontside without touching the dash?

I remember removing the dash 2 year ago working on evaporator, but I never worked on the big A/C Box.

B)

Thanks again,

Jose

[1schoir]

Loren,

I got an important question about removing the heater core. Do I have to remove the hole dash again? or the heatercore come out on the frontside without touching the dash?

I remember removing the dash 2 year ago working on evaporator, but I never worked on the big A/C Box.

B)

Thanks again,

Jose

Jose:

Definitely do not have to remove the whole dash or any part of the dash.

Removing the heater core can be done completely from outside the car.

After you carefully unseal and remove the foam cover, you will see the top cap of the heater core.

First disconnect the two heater core hoses. Then unscrew the two bolts that are indicated by the red arrows, then pull the two black plastic tabs (each in the outboard direction) indicated by the yellow arrows, while you pull the radiator core up and out. (Click on the photo to enlarge):

If you find a little puddle of coolant at the bottom, as in the following photo, that will confirm that your radiator core was leaking:

Regards, Maurice.

Edited November 8, 2010 by 1schoir

[jose]

Thanks Maurice

That's a real relief . I appreciate your help and dedication for help me. I'll let you know guys my results later.

Thanks again,

Jose

Edited November 9, 2010 by jose

[jose]

B) I'm not done with this yet. The winter is harsh here and my porsche is hibernating. I'll fix this on first day on spring, I'll let you know guys.

[jose]

As I promise my Porsche already hybernate, the winter is gone here in Michigan. I just want to follow up my thought about the coolant smell thru air conditioner and in fact was true. My heater exchanger was leaky as I check thru the proper steps. Here I include few pictures. I will order the Heater core today as I don't think Porsche have in stock, I'll try pelican parts first. As you can see in the pictures there is evidence of deposit residue and the bottom of the heater exchanger.

Well, that's all.

:thankyou: B)

B) I'm not done with this yet. The winter is harsh here and my porsche is hibernating. I'll fix this on first day on spring, I'll let you know guys.

Edited March 17, 2011 by jose

[1schoir]

As I promise my Porsche already hybernate, the winter is gone here in Michigan. I just want to follow up my thought about the coolant smell thru air conditioner and in fact was true. My heater exchanger was leaky as I check thru the proper steps. Here I include few pictures. I will order the Heater core today as I don't think Porsche have in stock, I'll try pelican parts first. As you can see in the pictures there is evidence of deposit residue and the bottom of the heater exchanger.

Well, that's all.

:thankyou: B)

Jose:

Looks like you definitely found the problem.

You might want to consider taking your heater core to a radiator shop and to have them evaluate whether it's possible to seal it. They can usually turn that around in a few hours and it's going to cost a lot less than a replacement from Porsche.

Thanks for posting your progress and the photos.

Regards, Maurice.

[jose]

Thanks, I just ordered one from Pelican parts next day shipping and they are far cheaper than the dealer. The heater core was replaced nextday sucessfully after these pictures.

:thankyou:

As I promise my Porsche already hybernate, the winter is gone here in Michigan. I just want to follow up my thought about the coolant smell thru air conditioner and in fact was true. My heater exchanger was leaky as I check thru the proper steps. Here I include few pictures. I will order the Heater core today as I don't think Porsche have in stock, I'll try pelican parts first. As you can see in the pictures there is evidence of deposit residue and the bottom of the heater exchanger.

Well, that's all.

:thankyou: B)

Jose:

Looks like you definitely found the problem.

You might want to consider taking your heater core to a radiator shop and to have them evaluate whether it's possible to seal it. They can usually turn that around in a few hours and it's going to cost a lot less than a replacement from Porsche.

Thanks for posting your progress and the photos.

Regards, Maurice.

Edited March 25, 2011 by jose

[jsoderbe]

Hi, today I removed the heater core to repair the heater flap. It was pretty straight-forward to remove it, but I got somewhat of a surprise; even though I just have replaced all the coolant with new red-ish one, the coolant in the heater core was the old green!

To me that points towards no circulation, meaning air pocket in heater core. Is there an other reason for it, that I need to adress?

Thanks,

Johan

[Loren]

Be

Hi, today I removed the heater core to repair the heater flap. It was pretty straight-forward to remove it, but I got somewhat of a surprise; even though I just have replaced all the coolant with new red-ish one, the coolant in the heater core was the old green!

To me that points towards no circulation, meaning air pocket in heater core. Is there an other reason for it, that I need to adress?

Thanks,

Johan

Best do a full system flush, vacuum refill and then test the heater core to see if it gets warm.

[xmac]

Best thing since sliced bread for about $125:

http://uview.com/ProductDetail.php?PartNumber=550000

I vacuumed out my system couple of times and sucked out almost all of the old coolant. Best of all, no air bubbles to have to burp out.

[jsoderbe]

Yes, I will buy vaculift next trip to the US in march. It is way too expensive to sent it over to me in Europe, adding shipping and duties. Looks like the Durametic has to wait too....

Thanks, Johan

[logray]

Johan,

Do make sure your heater is turned on while you are flushing/filling/bleeding.

[perryinva]

A very old post, I know, but very helpful to reassure that THAT is all there is to checking and replacing the heater core.  At least SOMETHING is far easier to do on these cars than any other car!!

 

BTW, there is absolutely no reason to turn your heat "ON" while using an Airlift tool and/or refilling the system or burping the system..  The heater core is never isolated hydraulically from the engine.  Coolant runs through the heater core any time the car is running.  Turning "on" the heat, simply arranges the airbox dampers to run the air through the heater core.  When heat is "off", the damper just blocks it so no air is run through it. Almost all modern cars are that way now.  Old cars had an actual valve on the coolant line to the heater core to regulate the heat, and this is hangover advice from that era.  Hasn't been that way for many years.

[1schoir]

That is indeed all there is to it, with no heavy lifting (literal or otherwise) involved, no need to contort your body to get under the dash, and no surprises.

 

Thanks for explaining the absence of heater core valves in modern cars.

 

Regards, Maurice.