I've seen it come up a few times on here so I thought i'd take some pictures of what goes into changing a heater core on our trucks.



First you have to strip all the panels and covers off. Remove steering column.



You have to take out all the electronics, the radio, climate control head, cluster light switches, air bags etc.



Then you remove the carrier.



Then you strip the wiring harness back and remove the support.



You have to evacuate the a/c system and disconnect the heater hoses and then you can remove the HVAC housing.



Then the heater core is easy to change.



Then you put it all back together. It's pretty involved.



It's really not that hard but I would reccomend you have instructions and just follow them step by step. You can use a a/c line tool to remove the heater hoses.

 

I got mine out without pulling the whole dash off. I just stripped the outer plastic panels and unbolted the center and right main support bolts, loosened the left side bolts and the right side of the dash pulled out enough to slide the housing out. I didn't get any pics though. Nice write up.

 

yeah i've done like 7 - 10 of these & i've never had to pull the entire dash i know for a fact that i've never pulled a steering wheel to do a heater core...nice little write up though

 

I like the way you did that one..

i usually use a ratchet strap to hold the dash back to the passenger side Oh Crap Handle and get under there and pull the box out..

Mind ya, i have a bag full of extra screws and stuff left over from my heater core, then my Evap core..

 

I usually do Fords by pulling the dash away and resting the passenger side on the front seat. I still pull the column they come out so easy it's nice to have them out of the way. It only takes 5 bolts and a few connectors to pull the column on Chevy's. It took about 3 to 3.5 hours for me to do this one. I've never pulled one on a Silverado. Just a trailblazer. There's always tricks you learn after doing a few.

 

How much work is it to remove the top dash plastic?

 

Yea like pulling the motor mounts apart on a silverado...
Im glad you came over to help at Bens, i never would have thought about that..

 

damn!! thats alot of work. nice job though

 

It's really easy. There's a lot of room up there for things like alarms etc. too.
Pull both end covers off, the bezel around the gauges all the screws under the bezel that hold the top cover. Two screws on each end under the covers. Pull both vents out on the passenger side. Reach through the vents and hit the release buttons to remove the crap handle and the two screws under the vents. Carefully work the top cover free then pull it off.

 

No reason to take the dash apart in pieces like that. It works but its a lot more work. Providing there is no full length center console I can have that dash out in an hour, maybe less, but then again I've done a few.

Never had replaced a heater core but I have put an evaporator in. It makes the day go by fast.