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Removal & Replacement Of Heater Core Skyline - The Right Way, Without Removing The Dash At All

Jason82

By Jason82,
in Tutorials / DIY / FAQ

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kel*bel Rookie

kel*bel

Posted
Posted

ok so did the bypass on the weekend which worked a treat until we can afford to do the full job...except now whenever i drive it once i turn the car off heaps of coolant comes out of the overflow bit in the coolant bottle. is this related to the bypass in any way? or do you know why it would be happening? everything else seems to be fine...

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Jason82
Jason82

Hi All, Well I am sure all of us have experienced the wet coolant leak appearing on the passenger side floor? If you haven't yet, well I am sure you will soon enough as these heater cores have a tend

Reedo
Reedo

is it weird that i love you more than anything or anyone right now? when my heater core went this afternoon i called a mate who is a mechanic and he laughed at me and told me id have to take my dash

Lenno1
Lenno1

I just completed this job and it was pretty easy. My old heater core slid out nicely which was a aftermarket heater core. I ordered a new heater core from eBay and when I got it I noticed it was about

Posted Images

BstewyR33 Community Regular

BstewyR33

Posted
Posted

^ at a guess - the principle is the same. you'd just need to make sure the insides are the same as the write up i guess, have a look behind your glove box to see if it matches the OP's tutorial

kel*bel - could be, just keep an eye on your coolant levels to make sure your not loosing any, if it runs fine i wouldnt stress about it too much

pipster11 Grand Master

pipster11

Posted
Posted

looks like im gonna be trying this out on the gf's 31 soon, its been going for a while and finally started leaving big pools in the footwell

i've had a look and it looks pretty similar to what you described, will report back with the findings

Lwood Collaborator

Lwood

Posted
Posted

Hay mate just did the today using you tutorial saved me so much time! Anyway i would like to know what did all you guys do to get all the coolant out of your carpet and car? did you get it detailed or pull the carpet up and clean it? was just curious as to how everyone went about it?

BstewyR33 Community Regular

BstewyR33

Posted
Posted

you could get it detailed - might as well get your whole car done as well to make it worth while. or hire a wet/dry vac and do it yourself

dont know how well those these work but you could try moisture packs (you know the powder stuff in a container that is meant to suck up the moisture from carpets if you leave the lid off). once again, prob not good enough to completely get rid of it all but worth a shot i guess

daxter Enthusiast

daxter

Posted
Posted

Thanks Jason, you just saved me alot of money. Changed the heater core on my R34 25GT, all up it only cost me $200 - $50 for heater core and $150 for de-gas/re-gas and service the air con.

I phoned Nissan and they wanted $500+ for a new heater core - crazy. Much cheaper buying 2nd hand lol

Hope this heater core last I really dont want to have to do this again :D

  • 5 months later...
brat81 Proficient

brat81

Posted
Posted

Awesome guide took me about 2 and 1/2 hours (that's not including a re-gas) the hardest part was those dickie screws on the plastic pipes.

I got quoted about $700-800 + parts for the job to be done (dash removal way) so about $980ish

This job has costed me so far

$180 for brand new heater core

$40 for De-gas

$130 for Re-Gas (when done)

Total - $350

DRFT-31 Apprentice

DRFT-31

Posted
Posted

I'm very interested to know if anyone has achieved this on an r32. I've got a 4 door gtst which the heater core needs replacing and I'd really not spend the $1000 in labour to remove the entire dashboard. I find it hard to believe the dash has to be entirely removed in order to access the heating core.

  • 2 months later...
ZaLaZaNe Contributor

ZaLaZaNe

Posted
Posted

Thanks to your guide i saved atleast $500..did it myself and you just feel good after fixin it knowing that you did it in one day not like the mechanics..they freakin take time so they can charge more..i got quoted $800 for it :ermm:'

$280 for the heater core..brand new

$40 for the regas

$100 for the regas

Thanks mate top job!

  • 2 weeks later...
shaunzo101 Enthusiast

shaunzo101

Posted
Posted

<quote>

Step eight: So now that you have the upper and lower plastic pipes removed from your firewall, you will now be able to remove the heater core element from the heater box. BUT FIRST...There is a plastic clip running across the element holding the element it in place, you can do one of two things here: snap it off in frustration or take your time and try prying it off slowly. I cracked the shits and just snapped it off – you don't need it anyway, all it does is hold the element in place during manufacture, that's what I think anyway! The aluminium heater core element will happily slide out of the heater box and you will be holding it in your hands.

</quote>

There is actually one small screw on this plastic bit holding it in place. Its on the top side of the plastic bit on the right hand side.

  • 3 weeks later...
GTS25S Rookie

GTS25S

Posted
Posted

Wow what a time and cost saver. I read the instructions about ten times thinking that it couldn't be that easy...... But it was.! Took me about an hour and a half Thankyou very much!

  • 4 weeks later...
KrazyKong Proficient

KrazyKong

Posted
Posted
Awesome guide took me about 2 and 1/2 hours (that's not including a re-gas) the hardest part was those dickie screws on the plastic pipes.

I got quoted about $700-800 + parts for the job to be done (dash removal way) so about $980ish

This job has costed me so far

$180 for brand new heater core

$40 for De-gas

$130 for Re-Gas (when done)

Total - $350

Rob where did you purchase a new heater core from? I'm after a R33 S2 one myself.

KrazyKong Proficient

KrazyKong

Posted
Posted

Yeah I'm dealing with it as well, though I'm taking a slightly different approach. I've still have the AC connected, and have managed to get the heater core out. It took more work obviously, but since I have more time than $$ at the moment, it was worth it for me. I had to gut the inside of the car to get the carpet out anyway, so have taken the whole dash apart and took the heater box out. I see on the heather core where there is some white corrosion stuff, or calcification, so I imagine that's where it was leaking. Not sure if it can be fixed, or if it's even worth fixing $$ wise.

Still hoping brat81/rob will reply back as to where he got his new core for $180 from.

  • 6 months later...
skizza r34gtt Explorer

skizza r34gtt

Posted
Posted (edited)

Great write up. I've got a problem with water bubbling sounds in the dash, but there are no leaks.The bubbling sound comes on when taking off from being stationary and goes away after a few secs, my mechanic said its most likely the heater core. Would this procedure fix the problem?

ETA The car is a r34 gt-t sedan

Edited by skizza r34gtt
  • 2 weeks later...
THRLLR Community Regular

THRLLR

Posted
Posted

This method is the absolute bomb. :worship:

It took me less than 2 hours to do this job. The most inconvenient part is taking the car to get degassed and then regassed.

Saved bucket loads of cash that are better spent on say a bigger turbo or a power fc. lol

Trickiest part was definitely screwing the plastic pipes back on the heater core while upside down under the dash LOL Those little screws are a pain. :rant: Highly recommend a strong magnetised screwdriver for that job. :-D

  • 2 months later...
Aleckr33 Rising Star

Aleckr33

Posted
Posted

I think my heater core is gone... I get the smell of hot coolant when i turn my heater on and constantly getting steam coming up on the inside of my windshield.

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