Where is the heater coil on a 1997 jeep Cherokee and how do you change it?

Answer 1

O.K... You've just asked the proverbial '$64,000 Dollar Question"! My initial answer to you (not intended to offend), is: If you don't know where it is and how to change it, you might want to reconsider doing it! The heater core (and the air conditioning evaporator core) is located inside of the evaporator case, which is a large, black, plastic box, located behind the dash. This case (and the heater core) can only be accessed by removing most (depending on your level of expertise) of the dash. I, personally, do not remove the steering wheel, but many techs do (have to?) and all manuals tell you to. Additionally, if you have a console running between the seats, it also must be removed. Note that removing the dash in order to access the core is only half the job, as once you actually remove the core case, it must be placed on a bench, opened and the heater core removed and replaced. This, in itself requires patience and care as not to damage the doors, etc., and care must be taken when re-assembling the core case not to damage any doors, etc., and to make sure that all doors, etc., are functional (nothing is worse than getting the entire thing back together and finding out that something isn't right and/or doesn't work!). I'm not sure how much farther to go with this without knowing your skill level and willingness. Let me say though that this is a challenging job for techs at the intermediate level and even for advanced level techs takes some time and patience in order to prevent problems. Most repair manuals/labor guides call for somewhere in the area of 7-9 labor hours of time. In real man's terms this means a good day/day-and-a-half's worth of work. I, as I'm sure many others have, gotten the repair time down considerably by knowing exactly what tools are required and where everything is (many of the connections and tools are on the engine side of the firewall as well. Two things to consider: First, replacing the heater core requires discharging the A/C system, which requires specialized equipment in order to perform this operation leglly and safely. Secondly, if you are going to replace the heater core (or even have someone else do it), it might not be a bad idea to consider replacing the A/C evaporator core at the same time. I recommend this to my customers in many cases (not to make extra money), because modern-day evaporators last about seven years and then begin to leak. It would be a shame to have to do/have someone do all this again if the A/C evapoator core began to leak months after changing the heater core! Good Luck. SDIgroup