I have to remove heater core from my Wildcat (with AC) and I`m wondering - should I do this from engine side or like in modern car from inside the car? Is this real pain in..... or just two hours job? Regards from Poland Arek
It's a pain...the one I replaced in my 63 was not to bad, but still a PITA... not sure about a 65 though... do a search on the site..might have your answers there.
i removed mine about 8 years ago on my 64 cat,it came out on the inside of the car,it's an ac car to and i also replaced all of the vacuumhoses when i lived under the dash:eek2:
I have to say that is real pain in the..... I just back from garage (it`s after midnight..) I removed almost all dash - loose screws from heating core cover and still can`t reach this heating core... Maybe there are some screw from engine side? Any advice? :laugh: I have no idea - at least today... Workshop manual says that after inspection that will be obvious - hmm - I don`t think so - or I miss something... BTW - is really necessary removing all dash for removing this core?
Yes-they are a pain. I've done too many of these.-easier without a console. There are 2 screws that are high up that come out on the engine side-then the inside heater box can come out...but you need to first remove the distribution box that is screwed to the larger box-then it can come down and out under the dash. Make sure to test the 2 diaphrams (one inside and one underhood) and make sure they are working before putting back together-also the 2 springs that counter them are generally rusted/broken...replace them. This also the time to replace vacuum line...fun-fun-fun
I`ve found one screw (engine side) - near upper inlet - so two left? Main question is - should I remowe AC box and blower from engine side or not? Vacuum hoses looks fine - should I replaced any way? During all this I founded one broken line from opening heating - so I`ll change this - also no ground conected to cigarete lighter - some unconnected wires - broken park brake relase support (I can weld it) - and I can clean all this electric connections and switches... so this a good part
There aare 2 screws that hold the heater box to the firewall that come out from the engine side. One driver's side high and one near the heater core in/out-sounds like you found one-so one to go. You can leave the A/C box and only need to pull the blower box if the recirculating diaphram is bad. The old vacuum lines often crack/split at the attachment points-
You are great!! With your advice I think for a while and founded this screw at first try - two minutes later heater core is removed!! Thanks :beer I really love this forum and all of you - especially becouse I`m living far, far away from buick home country and I have no one with talk about it.... So - heater core is outside and question is - should I change for new one or fix this one... Of corse new - but the problem is that when I order new - I`ll wait about 3-4 weeks untill arrive and I can go to the shop and fix this old during 2 days - but still will have over 40 years and I`m little afraid put this back... - any advice?
If you have a good radiator guy/shop that you can trust, there's a decent chance your core can be tanked/flushed/repaired. My reliable/honest guy retired and closed the shop and the other area shops aren't so very good, so I have bought new as of late...but then I have my part in just 2 days-good luck
If it's not too cold outside, you can always bypass the heater core with rubber hose while waiting for the new one to arrive. Devon
Yes - bypassing is no problem - but I have removed all dash so I don`t want put this together and back again after 3-4 weeks... I`ll go in Monday to local radiator guru and see what can be done ray:
I had to do the 64 Cat a couple years back(with Consol and no A/C) I had the seats out and figured it was a good excuse to replace the carpets,soaked with anti freeze) and clean up the floor pans.:idea2: Killed 2 birds with one stone, GM figured if we could afford a Buick we could afford the shop $$$$. At least now I dont have any rust and new carpets and core. Good Luck Gary:beer
I did my '68 Wildcat over 20 years ago and if I recall it came out from the inside. Didn't have to remove the dash.
Dzien dobry. Jak sie masz? I'm learning Polish. I don't know how to say or write much. This is the best car forum. For, the best car; Buick. Zegnaj.
If I could get a new core, that's the route I would take. You will be patching up a 45-year-old part.
67 Wildcat comes apart from inside, and it should be fairly easy to get to. The last one I did in a non-AC car took about an hour. You don't have to take the dash out, just the glove box insert and the ashtray assembly. There should be 4 or 5 bolts holding (can't remember the number) the whole assembly to the cowl, once these are free the whole unit should just about fall on the floor. The toughest part was to get the cables apart without wrecking the ends, other than that it was a snap. The worst one I did was on a 68 Sportwagon with AC; - it took me 4 hours, and I was lucky that a previous owner had cut in an access panel to get at the heater motor, otherwise it would have meant removing the fender; - not nice at all. Not to mention there was one lousy bolt that was only accessible by lying over the engine, reaching down low with a wrench and gettting a whole 1/8 of a turn out of it. Try doing that at -40, and you'll understand the meaning of frozen hell...
Thanks for tips, i have new core from Rockauto. Do I understand right, that there is no hidden bolts? All bolts are available inside, no drilling heater box to get the one, which requires to remove fenders?
