so my wife noticed today that there was a green wet spot on the carpet just to the left of the "middle hump" on the floor board. parked it and looked and antifreeze was building up in the lower vent and dripping. so i assume that this is the heater core leaking,dont know what else it could be. so if it is the heater core i found a murray lifetime warranty one for $55 but whats the labor like. any tips or links to a step by step?thanks for any help

97 Dodge 1500 slt 4x4 5.9 auto

 

its rather easy, i did mine in under 3 hours total. heres a link to the diy. enjoy!

 

thanks a bunch!!

 

no problem. one other thing, there are the a/c lines that run through the fire wall. they are supposed to be disconnected, however they dont have to be. i replaced my heater core without disconnecting mine. good luck with it!

 

do i have to drain the coolant to take off the two hoses connected to the core?

 

You don't need to but some will come out if you don't.

 

It's not too hard, I did mine about a month ago.

 

you have to remove the rubber hoses off the core lines. some coolant will spill but you dont have to drain the system. i already had the hoses removed because my core was leaking so bad i didnt have the time or money at the time to replace the core so i just removed the lines and connected them so it was still a continuous system.

 

got a question, i was going to replace it this afternoon but just wanted to ask something first. I cleaned the coolant pool on the lower vent and wiped it dry, then i drove it for about 50 miles without the heater on and when i got home it was still dry on the vent. so do u still think the cores leaking. i figured maybe it was just dripping and when i turned the heat on it directed the coolant to the floor vent and built up there. just wanted someone elses opinion before i tear everything apart

 

If it was leaking at one point, it is only a matter of time before it starts leaking again. And probably not a lot of time either...... Heater is a constant flow system, coolant is always flowing thru there. If the weather is reasonable, or, you have a warm place to work on it, change it at your convenience, not when you simply don't get a choice in the matter.