C34 Heater Core Replacement

[Captain Wow]

Hey guys.

So the heater core decided to shit itself in the Stag the other day so I've spent the morning pulling the dash etc out. Now I'm at the stage of looking at the heater unit but I've got no idea how to get into it to get the core out. From what I can see, it's going to be a absolute mission to pull out the entire unit. Is there a simple way of doing this or do I keep pulling apart till I get to the core.

Cheers,

- Lance

[zoomzoom]

Out of interest, what symptoms did you notice? Any coolant smell in the vents?

[Jezboosted]

I wonder if it is similar to skyline or same ?

http://www.skylinesaustralia.com/forums/topic/280174-removal-replacement-of-heater-core-skyline-the-right-way-without-removing-the-dash-at-all/

[Captain Wow]

zoomzoom: My electric fan stopped the other day when the mrs was driving and the car overheated a bit (nothing catastrophic thankfully). Since then I've had a coolant smell from the vents and my windscreen has been fogging up so it was pretty obvious what it was (so I hoped haha) After pulling everything apart today it was the heater core which obviously couldn't handle the extra heat caused with the over heating. I would imagine it was only a matter of time before it crapped itself.

Jezboosted: Cheers mate! That looks very similar to the Stag and makes it look A LOT easier than what I was about to do haha. I'll look into it when I get a chance and see if it works.

- Lance

[Captain Wow]

To anyone who is interested, it is the same as the Skyline method mentioned above. Save yourself a massive ball ache and follow those instructions. Cheers Jezboosted as it saved me pulling apart the entire heater unit to get to the core haha.

Now to have a sh*t at the $400 odd price tag of a new core.

- Lance

[Jezboosted]

You're welcome !

Great that you have now confirmed for the community that it is the same.

In some of the posts they mentioned Natrad etc for a new core

"I got one from Natrad recently. Their Product Number was IHC1013A. There was heaps in stock in Canberra so took overnight to ship it down to Melb. Note, I reused my existing plastic pipe connections. You can see if Nissan has spare rubber o-rings for between the pipes and core, if not you could look at using a gasket goo suitable for water/coolant. " <- From Fry_33 on 31 May 2012

"try Natrad, they should be able to get you the right one - about $150-$200 brand new " <- From BstewyR33 30 May 2012

hopefully prices haven't risen that much since then

[KiwiRS4T]

I paid about $80 for a new one from Natrad about 5 years ago (for a previous Stagea). Will price one up in the next few days.

[zoomzoom]

Hmm, definitely watching this closely. I may as well ask here - I do sometimes get a brief coolant smell from the vents. Ive only noticed it for the first time in the past few weeks. I only get the smell for a second or so when I turn on the heater, other than that, there are no symptoms I can see, no leaking or anything in the passenger well.

[Captain Wow]

I knew mine was leaking due to the condensation on the windscreen after having the car running (and during) but there was no obvious water in the footwell so that's not always 100%. You can probably get your hand in under the dash and have a feel of the bottom of the core and see if its wet. I wasn't loosing any water out of the resivour that I could notice either. I guess a pressure test of the cooling system would be a way to check. Any other suggestions for zoomzoom?

Cheers KiwiRS4T, I've dropped them an email too and see what they come back with.

- Lance

Edited June 5, 2013 by Captain Wow