How do you change a heater core in a 1996 Pontiac Firebird V6?

Answer 1

Heater Core When your heater core goes, you definitely know it. I started to smell antifreeze (which isn't good to begin with), then all of a sudden, my windows fogged up beyond belief. It also started to leak antifreeze inside on the passenger side of the car. I knew right away what it was. Don't try driving the car the windows will be so oily that you wont be able to clean the windows easily and you wont be able to see any of the pretty girls. I started by taking apart the glove compartment which wasn't too bad. Six or eight screws and it was out. The heater core is located in the heating unit which is bolted to the firewall. At first, all I saw was four screws holding this in, so I removed them. Once this is opened up, you can get at the bolts that hold the heating unit on from the engine compartment. You can now also get at both hoses that feed the heater core. I removed the erg value on the manafold to allow me better access to disconnect the heater hose clamps from the engine side. Once all of this is disconnected, you can try to remove the heating unit from inside the car. As you notice, I said "try". It separates from the firewall fairly easy once you remove that small screw from the back located near the engine side. Its that small screw that holds the heater core in place ..you will see it when you look at the firewall from the engine side. Also mounted to the bottoom of the unit is the cables that run the heater. These are of course connected to the heater controls in the dashboard. Now the manual says to disconnect all of the wires, but I found it easier to disconnect only enough to be able and slide the unit out somewhat and then rotate it so that I was able to get at the heater core. The were only a couple of screws that held in the heater core to the main heating unit. Once I got those out, I was able to remove the old core and place the new one in its place. Then it was just a matter of putting everything back in its right place in the reverse order that I took everything apart. This project took me about 1 hour to complete. It was easy , it saved me a lot of money. The garage wanted about $690 to do this job. I bought the parts myself for about $60. Now I can go and pick ups some girls and give them a good ride on my bird.