Second Heater Core

Do yourself a favor and buy the core from the Ford dealer because they are made much better than the ones sold by the chain auto parts stores.

The kind of Ford quality where they fail before 100k? :)

That is better than failing at 50k which is what his replacement core managed to achieve. ;)

Michael Johnson wrote in news:SO- dnQNEA4HiA0fanZ2dnUVZ snipped-for-privacy@giganews.com:

My '93's original core is still fine @ 149k - original hoses also intact. Guess I should knock on some wood...

The Grim Reaper of heater cores is heading to your garage as I type this post. ;)

Michael Johnson wrote in news:dumdnXbnxbjdM0fanZ2dnUVZ snipped-for-privacy@giganews.com:

Michael, if it springs a leak between before the end of the month, I'm going to hunt you down!

Hell, you have probably never used the heater in that car! Has the temperature knob ever been turn off of stone cold? After all you live in the Sunshine state. ;)

Michael Johnson wrote in news:7qKdnTO_k5NEmUbanZ2dnUVZ snipped-for-privacy@giganews.com:

Actually, we had it midway last Wednesday night (albeit with the a/c on). Rather cool (70 degrees) but muggy out, so we put the a/c on outside air with the temp halfway between - dial pointing straight up. Perfect environment.

Sounds like a virtual blizzard for Southern Florida. ;)

Michael Johnson wrote in news:wsKdnYtLOqmD2UbanZ2dnUVZ snipped-for-privacy@giganews.com:

This time of year the weather's pretty much perfect. 80 during the day and 67 at night. The mugginess was the unusual part. And it's _South_ Florida btw. This differentiates us from Southwest Florida (Naples/Ft. Myers).

My 97 gt had a bad core when I bought it used. The lot replaced it. That was at 107k miles. at 130k miles (less than a year later) I had to bypass it because it was leaking again. When I pull out the replaced one I'm "hoping" that its a used core they put in and not a new one...

Gumby619

Never buy a car at night when you are in a rush....

Yeah, heater cores are strange.

TFrog's failed right around 100,000 miles, I think, which is pretty damn good for a heater core. (Joe, you're living on borrowed time.) But once the first one went, it became a nightmare. Three different shops replaced the heater core within about five years, and I'm convinced that it will never be right again.

The first replacement lasted all of about 4 months, as I recall, and there was no warranty on the labor - which is the huge bulk of the cost. That was an aftermarket cheap-o special.

Of course, while they were in there, I also had them replace some dash lights that had burned out...

dwight

"dwight" wrote in news:M_adnRCpfqVeakbanZ2dnUVZ snipped-for-privacy@comcast.com:

Good advice.

In more ways than one.

dwight, you already know this - ya gets what ya pay for.

None of my dash lights have ever burned out - they all still work fine. Even the light in the AOD shifter still works, as does the glove box light. The cruise control still works as well.

dwight, here's one for you: The driver's seat electric inflatable lumbar support still works.

I asked the guy to replace with original Ford part, and replace a bulb on the dash. Should have just bypassed the core till next winter when it gets cold. ever find out what it takes to replace it in a 5.0 ? it is a mess, the plastic case was not meant to be taken apart.

Hmmm... Now you got me thinking if anything original on TFrog still works...

Maybe I should go out and test the air bag.

:()

"dwight" wrote in news:w5adnTrPaYJdjEDanZ2dnUVZ snipped-for-privacy@comcast.com:

I did have to replace the air bag module behind the radio. Got a perfectly good used one from Tim (Musttanguy) a while ago, been fine ever since.

I heard somewhere that using tap water with the coolant causes premature failure of the heater core. Anyone know anything about this? Is it true your supposed to use distilled water or the premixed coolant? I'm getting ready to change a heater core in my 89 GT.

Thanks

Byron

Minerals in hard tap water are the issue. I always use distilled to mix my coolants. Especially now with the long life 5/150 out today. Cheap insurance IMO

I have heard this both ways. One is using tap water causes deposits and using distilled water causes it to leach the metals like aluminum into the water which, in turn, cause deposits to buildup. Personally, I think the key is to do regular changes of the coolant as antifreeze contains chemicals to prevent scale buildup and corrosion.