74 LeSabre heater core replacement

Discussion in 'A boatload of fun' started by Luxus, Mar 3, 2019.

  1. Luxus

    Luxus Gold Level Contributor

    So the heater core died on my LeSabre. I got the hoses disconnected and the thing unbolted. I'm looking at it and I cant see how to get the darn thing out without taking the dash off. I know the manual doesn't say the dash has to come off, but I'm not seeing how it comes out without that. Anybody got any tips/suggestions?
     
  2. CJay

    CJay Supercar owner Staff Member

    That's a real PITA no matter what car. By, "thing" you mean the heater box that contains the core? Havent done one on a 74 LeSabre, but on an A body, you have to unbolt a vent plenum from the front of the box. That gives it enough room to clear the dash and come down
     
  3. Smartin

    Smartin antiqueautomotiveservice.com Staff Member

    I would imagine a 74 is similar in construction to a 71 LeSabre...have you removed the glove box liner? I had mine totally done in about 4 hours. I remember having to remove some nuts on the firewall side of the AC box and the heater box assembly came out from under the dash.
     
  4. Luxus

    Luxus Gold Level Contributor

    No, I know they always are a pain in general. I've done a couple in my day and it sucks.

    Yes the issue is the heater box. It needs to pull back. a) it's not even budging. I think I got all the bolts but maybe not? b) I'm not sure i can pull it back far enough to get the tubes out where the hoses connect.
     
  5. Luxus

    Luxus Gold Level Contributor

    I'll look at pulling the glove box liner. That might be enough for me to see stuff that's not obvious from underneath.
     
  6. 66electrafied

    66electrafied Just tossing in my nickel's worth

    You have to pull the glovebox out, otherwise you won't get it to move.
     
  7. Luxus

    Luxus Gold Level Contributor

    Small update, I had some time at lunch today and I pulled the (cardboard) glovebox out. Not 100% convinced it's supposed to come straight the hole but I got it out with out too much damage. Good news is I saw a bolt I missed. Bad news is the heater box is still not wanting to come out. I'll give it another try when I have a lot more time to tinker with it.
     
  8. Luxus

    Luxus Gold Level Contributor

    I did get the heater box out, but I wound up taking the dash pad off first. I'm sure it can be done without taking the dash pad off, but I'm glad I did it because there are vacuum lines and a cable that needed to be disconnected and it made my life much easier.

    New problem.

    20190404_120948_resized.jpg 20190404_120954_resized.jpg

    One of the vacuum pots is cracked . I'm probably going to just glue it up but I'm wondering if I can buy this from a vendor? I haven't been able to find any out there, but maybe someone knows a source?
     

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  9. Luxus

    Luxus Gold Level Contributor

    I was not able to find a replacement. So I glued it.
     
  10. 66electrafied

    66electrafied Just tossing in my nickel's worth

    Interesting to see things haven't changed in 30 years, that's what I ended up doing when mine cracked back in the early 90s.
     

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