Where is the best place to buy a heater core? I need to replace the one on my '92 gxe. Are they easy to install? Guess its under the dash?

Thanks.

 

the heatercore is behind the entire dash... you'll have to tear EVERYTHING out to get to it. but you gotta do what you gotta do...

 

bend over and get ready for the pain train.

best core to get is the one from the dealer. it's HIGHLY recommended. DaveB or courtesy can help you get the parts. yes the entire dash (if not almost the entire dash) comes out.

 

Oh where are those matt93se pics.....

 

http://blehmco.com/pics/car/interior...re/1_teardown/

Have fun..

 

only get an OE heater core, do not bother wasting your time on an aftermarket one.

 

+100000 with what Brian says. OEM cores are NOT cheap, but I'll gladly pay the difference not to have to do the job twice.

Not to mention the plastic hose inlet pieces that the aftermarket ones leave off. usually you break the factory pieces trying to get htem off the old core.

 

it's that leaving the plastic pieces is what really gets me about the aftermarket ones. you can't easily swap them over without breaking them.
yes the OE is 2x the pric eof the aftermarket last I checked, but I still won't sell it.

 

Well it cant be much harder than changing the heater core on a 4th gen corvette.

Thanks for the tip's everyone.

 

Not necessarily hard, just a time consuming pain.

 

Actually, the two jobs are virtually identical , pretty much all the same crap has to come out on the maxima/vette to access the core.

 

Yo Karl, you know where I live... let me know if you ever wanna tackle this as I've pretty much torn my whole interior AND another members interior apart and put it back together.

 

a phillips screwdriver gets you a long way in these cars lol

 

Well Ive been really anxious to tackle this heater core job guys! My core has been dead for almost 2 years, was going to replace it last year, but the tranny died a very unexpected death, So I had to deal with that. But its starting to get cool down here, and before it gets too cold, I want to have heat! So I was looking at all those pictures of the other guys when they replaced their's and I was like (****! thas alot of stuff to remove!) That looks like a job I would have to pay someone to do. But I asked around, and all the mechanics want $200 to $400 just to install it. The part alone is nearly $200 new! Anywayz, I went to the junkyard today to practice on another car. I saw this black GXE same kind as mine, and started taking out the middle panel, bottom, glove box, speedometer, and the dash screws. Pulled the whole dash panel out and started on the climate control screws, then removed the heater hoses from the engine compartment. Everything is pretty much in panels so its not difficult to remove or put back togather(just gotta keep up with the screws though) and be organized, its also good to take pictures too or video. I didnt even have to remove the large metal bar under there, I just slid the heater box under it. The whole process took me like 2.5 hours! I even took maybe 2 or 3 pictures that I will post later cuz I was proud that I finially did it. Not bad for a first timer, The core inside looked pretty good and wasnt leaking, but it looked kinda rusty too. I wonder why that little thing costs so much?? Now Im ready to tackle my own car, soon as I get a new core. All I needed was a 10mm socket, and wrench 2 long extensions, a phillips screwdriver( a long one and a short one) and a 12mm socket and wrench, and a flatheat screwdriver.

 

Once you get it down you can take it apart and put back together in around three hours. Just all a game of memory to where which screws go where.

Www.autocenter.net 92-94 Nissan Maxima heater core $159.99 + tax and shipping. No tax to some places like to me in Okc. Bought two hubs for $300.22 + 29.95 shipping thru fedex. Down side is ten business days to receive the item and have it shipped out to you. But for the price i didn't complain. Beat all competitors prices even courtesy nissan.

 

yup you are right, its all a game of memory, and I thought it was somthing I couldnt do, or was something that was too much for me to handle, I Like to challenge myself with some things on my car.

 

I was going to say "Hey I have a '92 parts car. I could sell you mine. But then everyone said how big of a pain in the a$$ it is to get out lol. For the right price maybe....

 

I was thinking of getting the one from the junkyard since it wasnt leaking, cause winters down here are not that long, and I dont plan to make this max my daily driver too much longer. Ive had her nearly 4 years, so I may just do it that way.

 

Yeah but how long did it take to put it all back together

I wouldn't wish this on Osama bin Laden

 

I didnt put it back togather because it was a junkyard car that I was experimenting with.