I was changing the heater hoses and found this. I bought it in summer and didn't think about the heater. I'm thinking I shouldn't even hook it up until I replace it. Could it have failed with under 40,000 miles? I know it's old but it seemed so well maintained. I see that it's not very hard or expensive to replace. What do y'all think?

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@cobra_ranch_garage

I wouldn't trust it. I can't imagine someone would've bypassed it for no reason. Take the cover off the heater core inside the cab and have a look at it. If the core had been leaking, there should still be evidence.

[This message has been edited by Patrick (edited 06-23-2022).]

easy test - pull the heater core.

Fill it with water.

Stand it somewhere, watch, and wait

quote Originally posted by ArthurPeale: easy test - pull the heater core. Fill it with water.Stand it somewhere, watch, and wait

Needs pressure to make pinhole leaks obvious.

A better test is to use an old bicycle inner tube. Cut it in half, clamp each end to the inlet/outlet of the heater core, immerse in water, pressurize with air... look for bubbles.

[This message has been edited by Patrick (edited 06-23-2022).]

quote Originally posted by Patrick: Needs pressure to make pinhole leaks obvious. A better test is to use an old bicycle inner tube. Cut it in half, clamp each end to the inlet/outlet of the heater core, immerse in water, pressurize with air... look for bubbles.

Perhaps mine was just very far gone. I filled it with water, and it proceeded to drip...drip....drip....

It's pretty easy to get out:

https://www.fiero.nl/forum/Forum9/HTML/000009.html

You should know that all heater cores are now about 1/4 inch shorter than the original cores. There are two points where the core is held in place. The metal band that you can see on the left of Patrick's picture and there are a couple of spring fingers in the cover that hold the other end. Probably getting it secured with the band is the best option.

The other problem with them being too short is that they don't completely seal the hot air from the cold air. One of the manufacturer customer service people told me to get some aerosol foam insulation and fill the void. They weren't interested in correcting the problem with their manufacturing process. That was probably a good 8 or 9 years ago and they still haven't corrected it.

Here's a short thread on the heater core. It was 10 years ago. http://www.gafiero.org/bbs/...27.msg21150#msg21150

[This message has been edited by fierofool (edited 06-23-2022).]

Thanks Guys, I appreciate it.