98 Grand Marquis Heater Core Problem

I need to have my heater core replaced in my 98 Gran Marquis. It is leaking. Anyone know how many hours labor it should take? Looks like the dash needs to come out.

Reply to
finiteguy
Loading thread data ...

The published labor time is 6.3 hours.

Reply to
aarcuda69062

Wow, $500 for Labor, about $50 - $100 for the part. The car has

190,000 miles on it. Lately this car has costed me money with other things going wrong. I'm wondering if it's worth fixing? One thing after another. I'm tempted to bypass the heater but in the Boston area, it gets cold soon.
Reply to
finiteguy

Gee, that's $1000 for a down payment on another car.

I would have a mechanic look at the condition of the other parts (brakes, tires, etc.) and see what repairs are likely to be needed in the future. Base your decision on that.

Jeff

Reply to
dr_jeff

I have seen pics of the dash out to install a heater core, but I think it can be done with out removing the dash. If there are screws on the bottom of the heater box.

Reply to
Airport Shuttle

Get a tube of "knights aluminum sealer" and throw it in. It'll cost you about 4 bucks and I've had good luck with it over the years. Or one "stop leak cube". Both, if used as directed, will not plug anything but the leak. The worst that can happen is you end up with no heater and you scrap the car.

Reply to
clare

I may just bypass the heater core and get an electric heater that connects to the battery

Reply to
finiteguy

I've got to say that this is the worst car I have ever owned. Something always going wrong and expensive repairs. No more of these cars for me. I have better luck with other brands.

Reply to
finiteguy

EXTREMELY in-efficient and ineffective. The average automotive heater can pump out something in the neighbourhood of 12000 BTU/hour - which is equivalent to something approxemately 4000 watts. A 12 volt heater to produce that much heat would draw roughly 360 amps.

3000 BTUs will barely keep the windsheild clear in Beantown, and MOST electric heaters are limited to about 450 watts to run off the cig. lighter.
Reply to
clare

4000 W is about 5 HP. That's a pretty big hit to the performance of the engine and fuel efficiency, too. Not to mention, a pretty big wiring job.

Jeff

Reply to
dr_jeff

Back in the day, I drove a '68 VW Beetle. Until I scored a junkyard gas heater for it, that thing had no heat... I mean zero. They were designed to draw air from the rear engine compartment, blow it across the exhaust manifolds, channel it up front and then blow it into the car... literally a gas chamber on 4 wheels. Can you imagine such a design getting certified today? My exhaust system was far from tight so I had to quickly disconnect the trunking to avoid a slow death from CO poisoning.

Anyway, as I suffered through my first winter of ownership of that car, I tried everything to keep warm. I can conclusively say that any 12v electric heater that you can find will NOT heat your car, believe me. What got me through that winter was an electric heating strip that I stuck to the windshield in front of the steering wheel - it did nothing to keep me or my passengers warm, but it kept a small crescent of frost free glass clear so I could see out in front (no visibility to the sides or out the back - I had to ensure I always had passengers with extra ice scrappers). I shudder when I think of the trips I made in that death trap... I should have been arrested.

All that to say that unless you plan to strap a generator to the roof of your car, you absolutely cannot heat a car with an electric heater. Fix the heater core or park it for the winter.

Reply to
Wes

And that's not the worst of it. The alternator on the '98 Grand Marquis is only something like 50% efficient, at best - making it a TEN HP hit. The newer alternators can hit 62% efficiency - the old delcotrons and other early '70's units could be as poor as 42%.

Reply to
clare

Thanks for all of this info. I guess that I have about one month before I need to junk the car or fix the heater.

Reply to
finiteguy

MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.