Unique Repair of bad heater core December 10, 2009, 10:04:31 AM I saw this on the FourEyedForums yesterday. It got me laughing but it is unique and funny. redneck way of fixing it --------------------------------------------------------------------------------well, the heater core went out in my svo. went out a couple months ago. been dreading when the time came for me to change it as I'd not only have to pull the dash apart but take out 5 gauges. 2 in the pillar and 3 above the glove box. got to thinking the other day and decided to try it...i don't have a/c on it anymore. soooo....i ran the heater hoses over to the a/c core. started it up and let it warm up as I was checking for any leaks, both at the hoses and in the car. nope, no leaks at all. decided to go ahead and drive it to the store because it takes forever to really warm up when its a idle. be the time I was driving back to the house (store is maybe 2 1/2 mile round-trip) I had to cut the fan off and roll the windows down. man does it put out some heat now. please tell me I'm not the first that has down this. lol Quote Selected
Unique Repair of bad heater core Reply #1 – December 10, 2009, 12:04:44 PM Thats not the first time I've heard of that being done with success. Quote Selected
Unique Repair of bad heater core Reply #2 – December 10, 2009, 01:22:09 PM theres gotta be a reason for that to fail eventaully, i would imagine that the a/c core would not be able to handle the temps of a heater core. Quote Selected
Unique Repair of bad heater core Reply #3 – December 10, 2009, 01:27:23 PM I see a bad ending to this story on the horizon.... Quote Selected
Unique Repair of bad heater core Reply #4 – December 10, 2009, 02:27:52 PM I started a thread about this just a few months ago here (thanks for reminding me to post back to it):http://www.foxtbirdcougarforums.com/showthread.php?t=25574In short, I kind of think the SVO will do just fine. Evaporator Cores weren't designed to see that high of temperatures, but it seems to me that being designed for the higher pressures and corrosiveness of the refrigerant should make up the difference?Anyone who ever has had an evaporator core failure when used as a heater core, please post it!Cooter Quote Selected
Unique Repair of bad heater core Reply #5 – December 10, 2009, 02:46:28 PM I did it on a '67 Falcon back in about '79... Was cold and heater core went, so I just sawed off the fittings for the AC evap(had working AC till then), and connected the heater hoses... The heater had always been a bit weak on that car, after the change you could ride with the windows down in freezing weather and be warm...As far as failure, I doubt it... Even though they do normally handle around a 40* temperature, they are also designed to with stand probably 250lb pressure, with 13-16lb pressure it'll likely live forever... Quote Selected
Unique Repair of bad heater core Reply #6 – December 10, 2009, 05:32:08 PM This kinda has me intrigued. A friends 88 XR7 has a smoked heater core. Im really intersted in longetevity. Quote Selected
Unique Repair of bad heater core Reply #7 – December 10, 2009, 06:09:38 PM I've never done it with a heater core, but I made a transmission cooler out of a Caprice evapourator core for my first T-Bird. Even welded s onto it and tapped 'em for tapered fittings. The aluminum welding was done as part of my trade school welding stuff. Let me tell you, that cooler kept that tranny some cool! You could put your hand on the inlet and it'd be warm, the outlet would be ambient. Anyway, I'd bet that evapourator would last forever as a heater core. They're all welded aluminum (no crimp or solder joints) so they'll last a lot longer than a normal heater core... Quote Selected
Unique Repair of bad heater core Reply #8 – December 10, 2009, 06:12:02 PM i was just wondering of the corrosiveness with antifreeze thats all Quote Selected
Unique Repair of bad heater core Reply #9 – December 10, 2009, 06:46:22 PM So I wonder if I could run the heater core and AC core in parallel and have the heater core for "normal" heat and the "AC" for...say right now when its below 0 wind chill...? Quote Selected
Unique Repair of bad heater core Reply #10 – December 11, 2009, 12:18:38 AM Quote from: bhazard;302014So I wonder if I could run the heater core and AC core in parallel and have the heater core for "normal" heat and the "AC" for...say right now when its below 0 wind chill...?Thats what I was thinking. Or just use the ac core if it is better. My heat is not very good. :( Quote Selected
Unique Repair of bad heater core Reply #11 – December 11, 2009, 01:02:22 AM I may just try this for fun. Quote Selected
Unique Repair of bad heater core Reply #12 – December 11, 2009, 01:09:09 AM anyone here done it? I might be interested, lol. Quote Selected
Unique Repair of bad heater core Reply #13 – December 11, 2009, 02:27:12 PM I can't see any problems with it. Evaporator cores rarely fail under 250+ psi from A/C. As long as you keep enough antifreeze in, I'd say it would last longer than a heater core does lol. Quote Selected
Unique Repair of bad heater core Reply #14 – December 11, 2009, 04:37:26 PM Where is the orifice/expansion valve? I assumed it was somewhere in the HVAC box. Quote Selected
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