And I have a Durango. Having done work on the HVAC box in my Ram, can't see how you'd get at the box in the Durango, unless you is a midget

 

if you have a question about your durango please create a thread here in the durango section, if you have a question about your RAM then that belongs in the ram section where the ram guys will help you out.

 

In the durango you have to remove the whole dash to get to the heater box to remove it...

 

Hey all, I just wanted to add a thought. If you are taking the time to remove the the heater core I would recommend also replacing the evaporator, and fan motor. To me it makes sense to replace all the items inside the box that you have to take out so hoprfully you don't have to do it again anytime soon. Personally I would pay the extra $100 or so to replace all those items when I ahve it all apart. Happy motoring.

 

I have seen many comments about removing the whole box and disconnecting the AC to change your heater core. I have a 98 with the 5.9 and just changed mine yesterday. took me about 12 hours.i was getting ready to remove the box i could not get it out on the side with the AC. I started breaking tools trying to remove part or the AC that is to big for the hole. So now i was at a road block. do i cut the firewall for a bigger hole or cut the lid. I ended up Cutting the lid about half way. now i'm not proud of this half *** decision but it was the lesser of 2 evils. If i had thought of this before I could have saved my AC.because its half the screws to take out the only problem is its a tight fit trying to get in and do things. your fighting the dash and the fire wall but it can be done. i fixed my error with a couple self taps and a lot of duct tape just to seal the edges. so there's one way to do it without removing the AC if you do not wish to and don't mind cutting and duct tape. just pay attention to where your core is and the AC evaporator.

 

I guess if that works for you. The reason you couldn't get the whole top off is there are screws you can't see hiding behind and under the bow and a few in the middle. My thought on that is 'you just spent the time pulling the dash, why not take the extra few minutes to pull the few bolts that hold it in and do it all right so you don't have leaks or need to do it all again in a few months.' To me doing it right the first time and not having to do it again because you accidently broke something is worth more than doing it quicker. My friend who is a master mechanic says he used to offer people the quick, cheaper way frequently with the understanding that there was no guarntee on the life of the fix. It was rare that they weren't back more often.

 

Wow Dirt! I feel your pain. LITERALLY! I'm in the same L4-L5 boat as you and I'm going to have to do this core replacement as well. On the bad side, if you call it that, I love working on my cars because I hate to pay someone else to do it and when I do it myself I KNOW what's been done. Right now I've got my '78 Bimmer completely torn down for the 2nd time in 6 year. I completely rebuilt the engine and last year my oil pump took a dump and spun a bearing. So I'm tearing it all down and doing some other things as well like fuel tank refreshing, new rear drums and brakes, swapping out 4-speed for a 5-speed tranny and fixing some rust below the windshield. At any rate, I feel ya man. I do this stuff and I just have to go SLOW. First thing I got with my work comp settlement was an adjustable bed and a hot tub. I also have a wife who loves working on cars with me and she's no wimp about it. That being said, I'm hoping this won't be a nightmare. I don't work due to my disablity but I do go to college full time and I'm almost 59 years old in May. Say some prayers!

When you guys mention the evaporator needing replaced, you're referring to the A/C evaporator right?
Where are you fellas ordering your parts? I often use RockAuto but I thought I'd ask whom you guys are using.

Thanks!

 

What a pain, on a scale of 1-10, this is a 15. I have a 4.7L, upon replacement, I installed the supply pipe (closest to the front of the vehicle to the bottom connector of the heater core. This really helped because the core is always full. Additional suggestions:


Use foam weather stripping to eliminate air bypass inside the box, raise the blend door ~1/4" (I used an old nut on the bottom of the blend door shaft).
I also ran a strip of weatherstrip vertically on the blend door to prevent air from bypassing the heater.


Use common sense when looking at the inside because this is the worst design I've ever seen.

 

I am about to tackle a heater core replacement on a 2002 Dodge Durango again. My Durango has a terribly strong antifreeze smell but no water or antifreeze under the carpet. I suspect the O-rings on the heater core tubes. The windshield steams up so bad you can't see out to safely drive. So do you guys think I am on the right track? This is a 2002 Dodge Durango SLT Plus with rear HVAC, 4.7 L 2 wheel drive.

 

For those of you looking to tackle this project I have a ton of pictures I took back in 2011 when I did this the first time. I had an awful time trying to find one of the bolts you needed to get to. So I stuck some colored pencils in the mounting holes and took pictures in the hopes it might help someone else.





This picture was taken after I got the dash and heater/ac control box out inside the Durango. I will try to post some pics of the engine side of the firewall next.