I have an 03 Ram quad cab 4.7 litre with 90K on it and I believe my heater core just took a dump on me. How bad of a job is it to get to/replace it? Is this a common problem or is there something else (problem hose or control valve) that might be leaking all over my floor?
Thanks for any and all responses

 

Congratulations, you are the proud recipient of a blown heater core.

Depending on how technical savvy you are, or ambitious, which ever works for you, you can do it yourself. You'll need to get the AC system drained and recharged though. I went through this on my '03 4.7 about 4 months ago and it took me a good half day. The bulk of the work will be in removing and re-installing the dash, which is extremely heavy. If you want to pull the dash right out of the vehicle, you'll need 2 people or risk damaging your dash and interior. I was able to just maneuver mine so I could get at the box that contains the heater core. Once you get to that box, the swap is quick, easy, and messy. Have some rags around to catch the coolant that will come out. You'll also need a special tool to disconnect the feed and return lines going to the AC canister. One of the lines gave me some trouble so I had to unbolt the canister and do the old twist and pull to get it off.

 

Great, I was hoping it would be a rather simple job. Thanks for the response. When you say remove the dash, are you meaning, dropping the steering column, removing the speedo head and everything? How much was your core and where did you end up getting it at?
Thanks,
Rob

 

It's nice to see that the engineers made what is a very common repair on any vehicle into a massive undertaking. Having to remove the entire dash is just as bad as late 90s Ford products.

The same job took only an hour on my 92 GMC truck.

 

Removing the dash does include having to drop the steering column and removing the speedo and all that. As well as the radio, and disconnecting the controls for the fan, AC etc. My Haynes manual was my saviour for this job. I had to jump from section to section, but I'm very grateful I had it.

I couldn't find an aftermarket core so I had to go right to Dodge. It only cost me $130 Canadian though.

Remember the days when they mounted it on the other side of the firewall? I don't, I wasn't working on cars when I was 5. But I've heard stories, and they were good ones.

 

Anyone have access to a Diamlar service manual in a pdf format that I could download? Looks like my weekend is going to be fun. Thank God I just bought another car to run back and forth to work in!

 

www.hemitruckclub.com

Scroll down on the left and click on the '03 Manual link.