Where is the heater core located on a 1997 dodge Dakota?

Answer 1

They drop it in with a string and build the truck around it. The whole dash has to be pulled out. That's what the mechanic told me when I had mine replaced for the 2nd time. Now it's leaking again 2 years later. Can't afford to keep this truck anymore. The job at a shop will run around 750 - 800. You can always try a Chiltons manual if you want to try it yourself. Good luck!

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Update from someone who just completed the job this afternoon...

My buddy and I did the job in about 5 hours and saved $700. The actual heater core costs around $35. It's really not as bad as everyone makes it seem if you have some help. You will need ac line disconnect tool ($6 at Advance Auto Parts) to disconnect the AC accumulator and the low side line that goes into the firewall and attaches to the evaporator. It's impossible to do this job without discharging the air conditioning system.

The Chilton's manual really isn't much help. On a 1997 the dash definitely has to be removed. You have to remove the trim on the kick areas, the sill, and the trim along the upper sides of the windshield. You also have to drop the steering column to the seat. The actual dash is held on by two bolts on the sides, two center bolts on the lower center portion of the dash, and five or six screws that go across the top near the windshield. I hung the dash from a couple of ratchet straps so that I didn't have to completely take it out of the vehicle after we had disconnected every conceivable wiring harness plug and cable we could find that was holding it in.

Once you get to the heater/ac housing there are four studs that go through the firewall that actually hold the heat/ac unit in. One is hiding behind a clip that holds one of the heater hose to the firewall, one is directly underneath that one and behind the transmission dipstick. The One is near where the heater hoses pass through the firewall, and the other one is to the left of the first two. You'll have to disconnect the heater hoses and recover the refrigerant and disconnect the AC lines that go through the firewall as well. There's no way to get the housing apart without removing it from the vehicle and not damage the AC evaporator without disconnecting the AC lines. Try it if you must, but save the $100 that a new ac evaporator will cost you and don't tempt yourself.

Side Note: I'll be honest, there was a point somewhere in here when I saw my truck scattered across the garage that I wondered to myself what I had gotten myself into, and how much it would cost me to have it put back together in this state if I took it to a shop. But after lunch and a trip to the auto parts store to get the right tool to disconnect the ac lines my confidence was restored.

Once you get the heater/ac housing out of the vehicle, you have to remove the top cover, which is rather brittle, and then finally you'll get a glimpse of the heater core. Once you get to it, it slides right up and out of the housing after removing one screw that holds it in from the bottom. Now the fun part comes in trying to remember how everything goes back together.

It took us about 3 hours to disassemble everything and about an hour and a half to two hours to put everything together. The best part is that the heat actually works now. We only broke two clips and surprisingly didn't have any left over parts.

You can definitely do this job. Set aside the good part of a day and have a friend help you that's patient and mechanically inclined and you'll be back on the road with heat in no time.