How do you replace the heater core in a 2003 dodge ram?

Answer 1

2003 Dodge ram diesel 2500 hd ~ 80k miles. I am in the middle of this right now. The cabin air control box sits under/behind the dashboard. This box contains several air diverter doors which are controlled by electric servos, the blower fan, and the heater core and a/c evaporator core. As stated above the entire dashboard has to come out, dropping the steering column, draining the radiator and a/c, and massive amounts of dismantling inside and under the hood. So far I have ~ 30 hours of time in it to get it apart. A trained tech could obviously do it a lot faster but still a major job--I'm guessing 1.5-2k$ at the dealer. Dodge seriously underengineered some of the parts of the air control box. Specifically the air doors (there are 5 in my truck) inside the box which divert air from heat/air cond., dash, floor, and defrost. Two of these doors broke along the shaft around which they rotate (cheap plastic cannot take the loads and duty cycles). These are parts that should NEVER, EVER break in the entire life of the vehicle! They have issued a TSB on this but NO recall. The replacement parts have NOT been improved. I CAN'T STAND POOR ENGINEERING! I have figured a way to reinforce these parts on the cheap but the entire dismantling job still has to be done. The fix involves getting some 1/2" copper tubing which can be cut to size and will sleeve over the plastic shaft of the door at its base (where the white coupler slides into it) and where there are high loads. This sleeve is bonded into place with epoxy. If there is not enough clearance around the housing for the sleeve to fit in, then a little grinding/sanding may be in order to create clearance. The heater core replacement is straightforward once the air box is out. I STRONGLY RECOMMEND reinforcing these doors or replacing them when you do your heater core. Good luck is right.