Hey all,

I know there are hundreds of threads on heater cores and I did some searching, but what I was looking for was if there had been anyone who has cut an access panel on their fire wall to change the heater core.

I have a 00 RC Dakota, 3.9 and have owned it since new. I have changed the heater core out once, and had I thought of it sooner I would have likely cut out a panel when I had the dash out incase it had to be changed again.

I just am not looking to take out the dash, drop the stearing column and all that fun stuff again. Has anyone possibly a template they made up, or some pics of a panel they may have created?

It is summer so I am not in a rush to change it out.

Thanks,

 

there was alot of talk about it a while ago. but I dont think anyone did it. I gotta change mine again, but its goin to the dealer.... I dont wanna deal with the headache of that again.

and I dont feel like cuttin a hole in my firewall

 

I actually ran across your post questioning if anyone had done it before, unfortunatley the dealers here gave me a rough quote of $1200 CDN to replace it!!! I paid $26 for the last core at a rad shop, it was made from copper so I had hoped it would last longer than it did. The OEM part from Dodge is $130, and the 4-5 hours labour to do it seems a little much. I know years ago Ford would include a template to cut out an access to change their heater cores, I wish Dodge would do something simular in this case.

Everything else about the truck has been great, in 7 years only replaced one wheel bearing, a water pump, a new clutch fan and redid all the brakes aside from normal servicing like oil changes and plugs and so on.

Now time for some new shocks and maybe a limited slip rear end if I keep the truck.

 

Cutting a hole in the firewall still won't allow you to get it out.
It's has to come out threw the top of the box that holds it.

 

Only way I can see this being done is make it so it can come out the bottom of the box.

 

Yeah after looking at pictures of the box and thinking about how I changed the last one I would agree that cutting an panel wouldn't allow full access to change it unless there were further mods to the air box, blah blah blah,

thanks for the tips!