Help-heater core 1993 Mustang 4cyl

Yep. You have to remove the instrument panel and HVAC box to replace the core. I usually remove the front seats for added working room. You WILL need a shop manual. (Not Chilton or Haynes, the Ford manual).

If the car a/c is still r12, call around to see if any local shop will evacuate it for free... or they might even give you a 134 conversion kit in exchange.

it's around 500.00 at a shop... OUCH

"sanpablo" wrote

Make sure to ask around before just yanking it apart.

T-Birds and Cougars with the "Fox" chassis (83-88) supposedly have to disconnect and remove the entire dash too. Wrong wrong wrong.

On those, it's been proven that we just have to remove the 7 bolts/nuts holding the dash to the firewall, then pull the right side back a foot or so, leaving enough room to drop the plastic AC box those few precious inches so the top cover can be removed and the core replaced. No disconnecting anything (except heater hoses) required. Those who have done it a couple of times have Ford's "official" 8-hour + recharge job down to about 3 hours.

"MasterBlaster" bolts/nuts holding the dash to the firewall, then pull the right side

Yeah but you still have to, at least, disconnect the accumulator from the evaporator nipple.

MB, you are absolutely correct, BUT..... I would only recommend doing it this way to someone who has already done it the "official" way on a similar vehicle. The possibility of broken parts, air leaks, squeaks/rattles, damaged wiring, etc. goes up exponentially when using this "shortcut" if the person doing it is unfamiliar with what's up there in the deep dark recesses of the instrument panel. For a DIYer it can take longer and be much more frustrating than the "official" way. When I worked Flat Rate, I did many the way you suggest. On my personal vehicles, I do it the "official" way. It's only a few more steps and is IMHO better than trying to wrestle the HVAC box out through the passenger footwell. It also makes it easier to spot and rectify other concerns as well.