heater core replacement

Started by typ53, December 19, 2007, 02:24:30 PM

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typ53

...so the new radiator cap pressurised the system as designed and popped the coolant reservoir.  Bit of  PITA but hey, it's an aging car.

Now...the next weakest link turned out to be the heater core.  Bugger. Bugger. Bugger. I've picked one up from Qualitat for $85 and am about to launch into it, however has anyone done one of these on a 100/200 with Climate Air?  Just wondering if there are any pitfalls to watch out for.

The Fleet:
Orange Roughy:'90 16v Corrado
'89 Carrera 4. 
'12 330d Touring
Still trying to figure out how to get 'em all to fit in a single garage....

Pushbutton_auto


def one of those pita jobs.   :(
Beating up parking wardens ain't a crime.

BB

I have pulled the heater box out of my 200 that i wreaked to try and see how hard it would be....... hard. Good luck mate ;)
The end is nigh, but the end of what is the question?

typ53

Well...two days off and on, a few scratches, multiple heater box rebuild repeats and it's all done bar the shouting.  Or at least bar the carpet cleaning.  I took the time to replace all the coolant hoses and sort out the vacuum hoses around the air con whilst I was in there.

Unlike the MK2 VW heater replacement you don't need to remove the entire dash, you only have to remove the center console.  The difficult bit comes when you have to rebuild the heater box.  The heater core is silicon sealed (no, really! The workshop manual says to reseal it in the same way) into place at the factory and removing the silicon without damaging already brittle and cracked plastic was difficult.  I had to go to town with the Araldite before I even got the new core back in.

The aftermarket heater core I bought from Qualitat was cheap enough at $85 but the heater pipe attachments were too long which necessitated cutting 3 mm or so from the ends before it would fit in the box.

And yes BB, it was a PITA to get back in place!

As an aside, Audi seems to do a very nice job of building the under dash fittings - all the electrical plugs are colour coded, the sound proofing is well made and the general construction is much more solid than that of the equivalent golf (or Corrado). 

The one curly issue left is the water drain at the back of the engine block:  when I removed the plug as per the workshop manual instructions it was bone dry.  The drain hole was completely clogged with crud that looks like mud.  I've removed a fair bit of it with a probe but can still only get the odd drip out of it, even with the system full of water.

I'm not sure if leaving the drain clogged up is a big problem or not, but I'm tempted to simply put the drain back in and quietly forget about it.   :-X
The Fleet:
Orange Roughy:'90 16v Corrado
'89 Carrera 4. 
'12 330d Touring
Still trying to figure out how to get 'em all to fit in a single garage....

BB

Come borrow my little compressor and air gun and blow it out? I have had to heat steel hoses up and then blow them out on my 200s turbo cooling hose.
The end is nigh, but the end of what is the question?

typ53

Good idea Jem, I'll take you up on that.  Cheers!
The Fleet:
Orange Roughy:'90 16v Corrado
'89 Carrera 4. 
'12 330d Touring
Still trying to figure out how to get 'em all to fit in a single garage....

BB

Always best to do it right after working so hard. ;)
The end is nigh, but the end of what is the question?

d1eng

Hiya. Just bought a Corrado and the heater core needs replacing. Any ideas where I should a) get the parts and b) who is best doing in Auckland without ripping me off??

SOFTLAD

I'm having to re-do my mk2 heater core this weekend after the plastic pipe decided to disintergrate  as it pokes through the firewall
It is not a difficult job just fiddely, best piece of advice I read was to remove the front seats and it made alot of difference.
Always good to fix stuff yourself

GTI's

I just did a heater core in my mk2 and didn't remove the dash. Just pop the clips off the fan side and unbolt in the engine bay,
all this can be done by removing just the lower dash parts. I replaced all the block off foam on the control flaps at the same time.
Nice to have heat again!

d1eng

Wouldn't fancy doing mine would ya? Wouldn't have a clue where to start as not mechanically minded unfortuntely. Don't mind getting my hands dirty but haven't got a clue!!

typ53

Unfortunately the mk2 dash is slightly different to the Corrado so it's a dash out job.  The dealership is a good place to start for the heater core, alternatively try Qualitat.
The Fleet:
Orange Roughy:'90 16v Corrado
'89 Carrera 4. 
'12 330d Touring
Still trying to figure out how to get 'em all to fit in a single garage....