Compared to what? Why is this such an issue for me? RUclips suggested I put 11 ad breaks in this video. I manually cut it down to 3, which seems pretty reasonable for a 39 minute long video. Yet every video someone is bitching. I spent more time editing this video than I did replacing the heater core. I suggest moving on to another channel.
@@WatchWesWork Or pay for you tube premium and watch them all ad free (like me) according to the you tube blurb you still get some revenue from what I pay them. Thanks for your content.
Ads...I can mentally turn them off. Great shout-out to Wes for taking the time to edit & post these great videos. Keep up the great work, Wes, you're the best!!!
Watch Wes Work how dare you make a minimal amount of money showing people the “joys” of working working on different projects. Where do you get the nerve to show people neat little tricks, tools, and tips on your own dime to spam your own videos with the least amount of ads RUclips will allow you? If it isn’t painfully obvious about me being sarcastic, well I’m being sarcastic. Seriously as compared to many other RUclipsrs Wes does his best to keep his content subject related and as ad minimum as possible. I highly doubt he’s making a killing either. Your comment is exactly why people like Wes quit RUclips.
Covering the seats and actually going the extra mile to protect the interior speaks volumes. I always schedule my oil changes first thing in the morning because I know the tech will be clean. Great job brother
Its the worst thing to do.. Here in Portugal the worst is the Renault espace.. Even the Doors have to come out... A cheap part with a looooot of man hour and pacience... Good to make money.. Something add to be good...
Easiest heater core swap I think was an '89 Beretta and whatever was the 4-door GM version of that car. 30 minute amateur swap. 12, 7mm bolts under the dash. Worse part is laying upside-down in the floor board. That car also had the easiest water pump swap. Top of the engine. Pull the serpentine, and like 6 bolts.
the problem with those was plastic end tanks and tubes that were just press-fit on. the tubes would shrink and split where they pressed onto the core's hose barbs.
I am NOT a mechanic but my heart went out to you when you started advising us of what you reqyuired to do to gain access to the heater core! OMG you really do need to have a cool head (and a good memory) to tacdkle tasks like this. I was amazed you calmly reinflated your wife's tyre in the middle of it all. I would have told her it would have to wait - or something even worse!! Another clear instruction film for any up and coming car mechanic to have nightmares with!! Once again many thanks for your clear logical method of carrying our vehicle repairs. Stay safe and well !! Cheers from Scotland
There was a time when I was a big mopar fan, that ended long ago.....I know but why in the world would they build plastic cars now....I ownwd an 88 chevy p8ckup once, had to replace the heater core in, it was a 20-25 minute job. Took longer to grab the tools than it did to replace the core.....Ivstill want me another one of those old chevy...
@@jamesmoore3346 as opposed to me that spent a full day doing heater core on a Grand Cherokee just to have it start leaking again 2 months later. That was a Mopar core too.
@@Kilolocks I have an '00 Grand Cherokee. AC evaporator (or is it the condenser?) is leaking. I'm only going to drive it in the winter. *I'm not pulling the dash to replace it!*
15 minutes in to video, MY back, knees, and arms hurt, and I have a migraine from trying focus with my head upside down under the dash. If it were my Dodge, and there will never be a "my dodge" I would lose it in a deep lake or engine fire. Engineers should have to service the trap they design. You've much more patience than I do , Wes. Great video!
Heater cores have been the bane of every mechanic since someone came up with the idea. The last "easy" one I ever did was on an early 60's Ford P/U. There were as many a 5 heater cores on a school bus. First day of school EVERY fall; some little rube would jab a pencil through the core in the back of the bus. Anti-freeze all up and down the entire aisle, under the seats, side windows all fogged up. Yes, I remember heater cores.
@@neilmurphy845 There is a cover. But, give a 12 year old a 15 minute ride to somewhere he's rather not be; and the pencil will find a way into the heater. Believe me. It will!
Are you still a bus mechanic? That’s what I do for a living in Arizona. You’re right about the buses. We do bumper to bumper inspections on our own and highway patrol does their own inspections every summer. Miraculously on the first day of school we have a big ass pile of service requests for things that don’t work. That’s on top of all the upholstery write-ups we get because some kid sliced the seat cover.
I was empathising with you all the way through that. I had to do the same job on my G200 Daihatsu Charade (stop laughing!) The heater core leaked all over the ECU which stopped the car in peak hour traffic. Had to take the whole interior out just like the Dodge, except with fewer electrical connections. I was daunted but it all worked and went back together. One of the most challenging and satisfying car repairs I have ever done. Another great video. Cheers
As always top notch Wes. Thanks for sharing your knowledge. I've been a field mechanic in one capacity or another for over 20 years and I am learning every day thanks to great minds like yours. I appreciate that you share a few family moments from time to time as well, it totally bolsters your street cred as a certified bad ass. Kudos Mr Wes!
This is MINDBLOWING that the entire car has to come apart to do the heater core. They like to complain about the Cadillac Northstar having the starter under the intake, but it only needs replacing every 100K miles, if that, as it is protected from the weather, heat and corrosion. Plus you get the opportunity to replace/restore intake gaskets, injector seals, deep clean the throttle body, check vacuum hoses, etc as PM. I have a 2009 Liberty with zero heat. I can not believe I need to disassemble the entire dashboard to do this plus depressurize the AC. Why not design it to be accessed through the firewall? This is worse than having to drop the gas tank to change the fuel pump instead of having a hatch in the trunk or floor. Thank you for this detailed how to instruction it is terrific. At 70 I can see me doing this in pieces lol. As a kid I replace a few Cadillac heater cores, the job always left me sore in the midsection and neck. thank you for your time and expertise
Another excellent vignette from your working life. I’m always stunned by people not using a vehicle’s park brake. Apart from that use, its other use is “emergency brake”. A rather handy thing to have in an area that rusts out vehicle components (like brake lines) so readily. I’ve come to the conclusion that many Americans are rather cavalier with their own and other’s safety.
At 24:00 when you were taking the heater box apart on the floor made my 50 year old knees ache. Put that stuff up on a bench and save your future 50 year old knees!! Excellent video. Excellent attention to detail. Keep up the great work!!!
Heater cores and blend doors, the bane of all me-can-an-ics. I would always turn down those jobs. Chainsaw 2000 is the way to get to cores. Andrew had the right idea. Thanks for sharing.
I have this year Nitro, and I too am a tech, my heater core is gunked up and puts out half it's heating capacity, but as long as it isn't leaking, it'll stay exactly where it is. Good work!
I have a Nitro as well whose heat stopped working. The heater core was not leaking so I took it to a shop (way to cold to try to do a flush outside). They flushed the heater core each way 3 times and left a flush additive sitting in it over night after the second flush. Heat works great now and did not have to have the dash removed.
If I were afraid to tackle any job on any vehicle I would refrain from calling myself a tech. I refer to those guys as hackers or butchers. At least the guy in the video wasn’t afraid to try. As a Chrysler tech I can honestly say he did unhook more than was necessary but since he never did one it’s understandable.
You have no idea how much I appreciate a clean mechanic! It's the little things that matter! I literally cover my semi with paper towels and old sheets just to prevent grease everywhere inside...same with my car but audi does a decent job to begin with about being clean. I spend hours cleaning my cars and you can eat off the floor in my truck so I don't want grease everywhere haha
Wow: I changed heater cores in old time cars, and now I see how easy they were compared to the one you just did. That is ridicules to have to strip down a car that far to change the core. Great video and many thanks.
I was involved in a manufacturing company employing up to around 120 people at one point. Our products had very few parts and involved components injection moulded, pressed, laser cut, heat treated etc- very simple operation- but the amount of issues we had to overcome kept us plenty busy. When I look at a car it astounds me how many components and how much engineering, design, prototyping, global market compliance, tool up, and manufacturing challenges they would constantly face. Then there is the likes of Tesla who manage to produce new tech cars and giga factories in incredibly short time- truly awe inspiring.
When I hear people going out and buying any kind of Chrysler product i always think about these kind of videos. Why on earth people buy Chrysler is one of the great mysteries of life.
Carbon Stampede had several Ram trucks over the past 20 years along with a couple Chargers & a Challenger. Only problems were a wheel speed sensor on 1 of the trucks and a sunroof seal whistling on one of the Chargers. Only “major” issue I had was replacing transmission (before it failed) after roughly doubling hp/torque on my ‘01 Dodge Ram Cummins. That was @around 120,000 miles with it being tuned to some extent for around 100,000 of those miles. Not saying they don’t have problems, all vehicles have their own issues, but I believe it mostly depends on how well the vehicle has been treated & maintained.
My coworker who has his head in the sand and won’t admit to fiat owning Chrysler. The other part owning a new Pacifica that had one of the two fuel pumps go out before 10000 miles in one of the two fuel tanks.
Wow. What a job to have to do. I would have never attempted that. Cheers for getting it done. Glad to see the wife with the bike and a quick shot of the dog as a tension breaker. Great video, sorry it cost you a camera. I give this video a fantastic thumbs up.
Wes, my hat off to you sir. Been a equipment mechanic for 15yrs and 5yrs at a auto shop prior to that. I’ll do damn near anything on my own stuff, but this is when I gladly give someone my money to do it for me.
A car dealership mechanic's pay structure varies and can include hourly pay or commission based on labor performed. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median annual pay for an automobile mechanic was $39,550 in May 2017; half of mechanics were paid below that, and half were paid more.
I've never had a problem working on my Chrysler products. Then again, my last one was a 2005 Dodge Ram with no problems yet when I gave it to my daughter and son in-law in 2020 with 60,000 miles on the clock. Before that my only problems were with a '70 Duster 340 and the big problem with it was a Highway Patrolman about 50 yards back. Had that problem a lot. The most problem vehicles I had were my fathers Chevrolet trucks. jack
I don’t envy you! My wife had a Jeep Liberty that needed a heater core and the procedure you were doing in this video was close to what I was going to do. However my wife finally decided to get rid of it so I never had the pleasure of dealing with it.
2000 Dodge Dakota, 198,722 on the clock original motor, trans, water pump. alternator, power steering pump and what not. I've replaced the cooling fan and wheel bearings and that's about it.
Mechanic is a word that doesn’t describe you Wes. High Tech Technician sounds better but even this doesn’t justify you. Plus your tool inventory is a thing most of us can only dream about. Thanks Wes.
When the heater core blew on my 99 dodge ram the local shop said it is an 8 hour job and 1200 dollars. Some of that cost is for an upgraded heater box. That was probably almost as much as it's worth so I plumbed the heater lines into the evaporator since the AC compressor died a long time ago. Still working 5 years later only downside is you have heat even if you don't want it. If i did it again I would put in some sort of heater bypass valve
@@georgeadams5390 I always wanted something a little less manual than yanking hoses apart when I didn't want heat. I thought about installing a couple of shut off valves between inlet and exit sides of the evap core with a bypass valve plumbed between the two coolant lines. Alas the truck actually died a month ago on my way to work. 3rd gear blew out so I decided to cut my losses and move on. I got my money's worth out of it
I just bought a dodge nitro, got it for a good deal because it needed this replaced. I got the whole dashboard out thanks to this video! Man this is quite a job.. its taken me 2 days so far, but I am not a trained mechanic. I'm hoping to put everything back together today. Thanks I learned something new. 👍
Same here. Wish me luck. Just bought a 2010 Nitro for a song because of it's bad heater core. Figured if I take my time, even if it takes a couple of days, it'll be doable and worth it. I'm an artist, not a mechanic, but have found (some electronic and computer issues aside) most repairs are like tackling big metal/plastic puzzles. I have succeeded at performing repairs I would never have dreamed possible once upon a time. Will purchase an OEM core though... No interest in repeating repairs if it's avoidable.
Oh dear God, if I saw you doing that to my car, I'll flip I will lose it, that is a lot being done in there, dear God is that what i have to do for my issue looks like fun 🤨 I can help to leave so many messages it's just incredible how you just tearing that car apart wow
Well Done! I did my wife's 1983 Subaru wagon heater core back in the 90s a mate dropped over and said, when I was 1/2 through it will never go again! Basically the heater core is the first thing they put on the inside firewall during manufacture! The wife drove it to work the next day no problems and for many years!
I love this type of work, Unfortunatly fighting to DEFEAT lung cancer took the wind out of my sail, lol. About 3 mon5hs ago it to9k me three days to pull the 318 'kegger' style intake to ffix the lower plenum leaking gasket issue.....
I appreciate you showing your core leak test setup. All too often I’ve seen younger folk look for a special - and pricey - tool for each task. I learned on a farm where you improvise. Looking at this job, for me, it is a take it somewhere v. DIY just too much work. Great job as usual
If you don't like ads get the preemo or deal with them. Wes already does a lot of work with his daily job. Video filming editing and final cut plus time to upload are very intense. I feel its fair to have ads, so Wes can keep up the amazing content. Thanks for the inside view of your work Wes, its a pleasure
I hope the customer didn't pay a lot for that car given the issues at hand, but I am smiling to see how much care and thought you put in to doing this job to the point of making it easier on yourself like the parking brake. Smart. But definitely a job.
I find it so pathetic that they make anyone go threw that much work just for something so simple to make an acceptable hatch that I cut into mine. Not user or dealer repair friendly. Great job
What a Saturday morning treat - getting to watch my friend Wes use his excellent mechanic skills and entertain me at the same time!!! Great job as usual Wes!!! I always learn something when watching you work
im doing a evap on isuzu D max on tuesday , at work they normally get me to do them as it takes me around 3 hours to remove dash as you can remove the whole assembly with steering column and glovebox and all wiring ,so hardly any stripping and swap evap and reinstall ,awesome design and well thought out when designed
@@WatchWesWorkGoing to ground? That would be your common Mole right there, just love to get underneath everything and wreak havoc. I specialise more in getting up inside places I'm not supposed to be and generally making a mess
@@CSkwirl are you the skwirl that made a lunch out of my fuel injector wiring harness pigtail?. Left me stranded about 65-70 miles from the house, lol.....
did my wifes in the fall .tried to put it off, but up here in calgary ab canada kinda need heat.lol .just wanted to say thanks this was the best video .took about 8hrs cause im all thumbs.really appreciated the knowledge u passed on.u rock
I'd be afraid of going to bed after disassembling that little lot - I'd never remember the next day where it all was all meant to go back! Well done Wes - another great video.
What a nightmare of a job. If engineers were made to "do the job" things would be designed with access a design priority. Of course this will NEVER happen.
Advanced Level Auto Lexus LS460 Dash Removal: link you provided, OMG my head hurts. Flood vehicles like that are almost always written off as a total loss! Amazing video Wes.
the magnetic charging pad for the Astro light is awesome as well. you have the option of magnetically mounting it or fixed mount, It charges 2 lights magnetically, And also has a USB output for phone charging etc. I was a die hard Streamlight Switchblade fan for 7 years until I tried the Astro 52SLC
thats why i love old vehicles, last week i did buy a 95 f350 that had set for 4 years in a logging camp on an island off the west coast of BC, the entire wiring harness for the rear of the vehicle has been removed, so far i have hot wired the fuel pump and have it running, today i hope to take it for a spin around the yard, we are lucky here, the cab has zero rust, and i found a stock long box that was removed in 97 and is rust free.
"I dont know how any audio installer stays in business" well from the looks of it, cheap barely trained labour, garbage components, shoddy installations?
I changed the heater core in my 1972 Cadillac sedan deville one time in one hour all from under the hood. No ac discharge. I split the heater core cover with a die grinder blade and removed the old core replaced it and glued the fiberglass cover back together with black urethane 2k bumper repair material. The seam was invisible perfect job. They just don't make them like they used to.
Great advice about removing old plastic interiors. The dash on my 2007 GMC Sierra is cracked in two places after getting worked on. I was so irritated. Now I know why lol. Thanks for showing a heater core replacement. I wanted to attempt the job on my mom's 1997 Ford F150 after watching a few vids but I'm a novice and we decided against it. Thanks for sharing your struggles with it. Glad I didn't try it lol. Maybe in the future. Thanks again!!
To everyone complaining about doing this job, I’d just like to reassure you it’s absolutely not that hard. Provided you have a warm enough space to work on it. Also I would suggest that you loosen the pedal bracket from under the hood which is two bolts to the left of the brake booster. This allows you to remove the dash without it being caught on anything inside the car.
I watched as far as getting the radio out and checked again to make sure you were after the heater core. I realized at that point you were circumventing the manufacturer's plan. You are suppose to just junk the vehicle. You didn't, good man.
Old trick I was taught back in my Coast Guard Aviation Machinist Mate days was to have various sizes zip lock bags handy. Each component removed we'd put screws, nuts, bolts and other items in one then tape that bag to the component they held in. Especially handy when tearing apart the cockpit instruments dash when tweets had to come in and do wiring work and such. They'd scatter them otherwise. Same when tearing into the fuel or landing gear and the (aka metal monkeys) officially known as Aviation Structural mechanics got their hands on things. Now days my old rate and that one (ASM) have been combined but still us my old winged prop rating (AD) insignia. After my enlistment was up I've continued using that method on cars, trucks, motorcycles, pinball and arcade games, Jukeboxes, Pool Tables and anything else you can put a quarter in and get fun outta. Pretty much everything I fix myself. I don't let anyone work on anything that I need fixed. Tomorrow, it's my fridge that on the fritz. Then Tuesday my AC.
Wes don't ever sweat the naysayers and the complainers. I stumbled onto your channel by complete accident a long time ago. So long infact idk remember when. That being said I watch damn near every video. They're always very informative, have great humor, and are very well thought out. Also like that you reply to so many comments (even many of my own) and take the time to interact with your community. Keep doing what you're doing. It's like a 1% that have an issue with things here. The other 99% of us love what you do!
Many people don't know, or realize- that your HVAC system performs even in the Winter. Heating, Ventilation (direction) And Conditioning (usually dehumidifying). Even on my '89 Buick- When HOT defrost is commanded, the AC compressor runs, but the normally cold system is instead used to first dry the cabin air, so your moist breath doesn't frost the inside of the freezing windshield. Run your defroster on hot- see what I'm talking about. A trick for better fuel mileage in Winter- is to keep the _inside_ of your windows clean, free of moisture attracting dirt, so you don't have to run the defroster so much- because of it running the AC compressor. RainX makes a great "anti fog" product.
I don’t recall seeing your Swiss Army Pocket knife on your list of required tools 🤠 That was a nice addition by the way. I remember pulling out a heater core way back in my youth. I pestered the dealer over and over to fix a problem while the car was under warranty. They poo pooed me saying there was no problem every time I asked about it. The floor was always hot. Eventually after the care ran out of warranty I demolished the interior and found the heater tap did not seal when it is off. I also found out why they didn’t want to do it. I replaced the tap for a few bucks and it was so nice not to have hot feet any more. ;)
Oh yeah...heater core and fans directly mounted to them...the nightmare within...even on mid-70s cars where I done this it was heaps of work...not better these days with all the electronics and snap-off plastics... Great job, thx for showing us! :-D
most people watching this probably know what your body is going through to do that job, but the average schmo would pull a muscle right at the start, simply amazing resilience you have sir, my brain boggles at how you keep track of the screws/bolts? Big table with tape and sharpie??
You said why all the crazy wires. Well Chrysler never expected it to last long enough to require this type of repair . Part of the 5 year plan . Thanks for the video saved me some some time
I have changed a 96 Jeep Grand Cherokee heater core before and a 1998 Blazer heater core as well. And I ALWAYS change the AC Evap unit at the same time so I never have to go into to those units ever again... A little more cost, but well worth the money to not fool with removing the dashes in any of them. Once is one time to many for me to tear into their dashes..
To say this was not for the faint of heart quite the understatement. I would not tackle this for all the Tea in China. YOU ARE THE MAN with the Patience of Job.
I was thinking that the coolant went bad from not being charged and that was why the heater core went . I think probably poor maintenance . People need to understand that coolant doesn't last forever. It needs to be changed once in awhile just like your oil and filter just not as often. The radiator is at risk too . I think you did a great job. You seem to be very careful .
Here's hoping that you check out new comments on older videos. I'm very interested in how you keep track of what fasteners go where when you're putting something like this back together?
Thanks for making this detailed video. I have been flushing my 2010 nitro heater core for 2 yrs now and it is gotten worse. It barely heats at all .it is plugged with something that looks like rust or scale i believe what it is . Guess i have no choice but to replace.
BIC PEN tubes.. are great for helping align mid to late 90s Dodge truck heater box studs since they all tend to not be perfectly aligned.. it allows you to stick the tubes thru the holes in the firewall and over the studs.. so you can just pick up the heater box on the inside and shove it forward. the BIC PEN tubes do the aligning with the holes and prevent the threads from dragging..
I don't know about dropping the braun lights ,but when you run them over with a Peterbilt that's a serious stress test...I have 5 of them. 2 at work 2 in home shop and 1 in the house..3 are wrapped w/ electrical tape and look like goose necks,1 is wrapped in strategic spots for general protection and house model is almost pristine but all of them still function and all were purchased w/SUPER COUPON ...I love them things ..........
I bought a set of Blackhawk sockets back in 1991, and the ratchet has never let me down yet. I've broken a craftsman, and smaller 1/4" drives, but not that one.
When Honda replaced the HVAC case in my Odyssey, under warranty, they removed the glovebox door, and cut the frame of the glovebox to get access, instead of removing the dash. I didn’t notice for a couple of years, while I was changing the cabin filter.
Trick I've learned depending on what your doing. In the winter if the cars been sitting outside, let it run for a bit with the heat on full blast. It'll get the inside warm and the plastics warmed up so they're less likely to crack and break 😎👍
Son, I have never cringed watching one of your videos till today. All that plastic creaking and groaning. You are one badass, brave cat....I went through 2 cocktails and half a pack of smokes watching this one...
Too many ads.
Compared to what? Why is this such an issue for me? RUclips suggested I put 11 ad breaks in this video. I manually cut it down to 3, which seems pretty reasonable for a 39 minute long video. Yet every video someone is bitching. I spent more time editing this video than I did replacing the heater core. I suggest moving on to another channel.
@@WatchWesWork Or pay for you tube premium and watch them all ad free (like me) according to the you tube blurb you still get some revenue from what I pay them.
Thanks for your content.
Well said!
Ads...I can mentally turn them off. Great shout-out to Wes for taking the time to edit & post these great videos. Keep up the great work, Wes, you're the best!!!
Watch Wes Work how dare you make a minimal amount of money showing people the “joys” of working working on different projects. Where do you get the nerve to show people neat little tricks, tools, and tips on your own dime to spam your own videos with the least amount of ads RUclips will allow you?
If it isn’t painfully obvious about me being sarcastic, well I’m being sarcastic. Seriously as compared to many other RUclipsrs Wes does his best to keep his content subject related and as ad minimum as possible. I highly doubt he’s making a killing either. Your comment is exactly why people like Wes quit RUclips.
This is one of the best mechanical channels on RUclips. Don't change a thing.
Covering the seats and actually going the extra mile to protect the interior speaks volumes. I always schedule my oil changes first thing in the morning because I know the tech will be clean. Great job brother
My eye started twitching when you said "heater core". One of the worst jobs ever.
Someone has to do it!
Its the worst thing to do..
Here in Portugal the worst is the Renault espace.. Even the Doors have to come out... A cheap part with a looooot of man hour and pacience... Good to make money.. Something add to be good...
I twitched when he said Nitro..one of the worst vehicles ever...😎
Easiest heater core swap I think was an '89 Beretta and whatever was the 4-door GM version of that car. 30 minute amateur swap. 12, 7mm bolts under the dash. Worse part is laying upside-down in the floor board. That car also had the easiest water pump swap. Top of the engine. Pull the serpentine, and like 6 bolts.
the problem with those was plastic end tanks and tubes that were just press-fit on. the tubes would shrink and split where they pressed onto the core's hose barbs.
I am NOT a mechanic but my heart went out to you when you started advising us of what you reqyuired to do to gain access to the heater core! OMG you really do need to have a cool head (and a good memory) to tacdkle tasks like this. I was amazed you calmly reinflated your wife's tyre in the middle of it all. I would have told her it would have to wait - or something even worse!! Another clear instruction film for any up and coming car mechanic to have nightmares with!! Once again many thanks for your clear logical method of carrying our vehicle repairs. Stay safe and well !! Cheers from Scotland
No need to hold off on the jabs about Chrysler. Everybody already knows.
There was a time when I was a big mopar fan, that ended long ago.....I know but why in the world would they build plastic cars now....I ownwd an 88 chevy p8ckup once, had to replace the heater core in, it was a 20-25 minute job. Took longer to grab the tools than it did to replace the core.....Ivstill want me another one of those old chevy...
@@jamesmoore3346 as opposed to me that spent a full day doing heater core on a Grand Cherokee just to have it start leaking again 2 months later. That was a Mopar core too.
@@Kilolocks I have an '00 Grand Cherokee. AC evaporator (or is it the condenser?) is leaking. I'm only going to drive it in the winter. *I'm not pulling the dash to replace it!*
@@dans_Learning_Curve I have a 99. It wasn't hard, but just like this video it is time consuming.
@@Kilolocks I bought it to drive in the snow. Only have less than $1000 into it. That includes the $500 purchase price.
15 minutes in to video, MY back, knees, and arms hurt, and I have a migraine from trying focus with my head upside down under the dash. If it were my Dodge, and there will never be a "my dodge" I would lose it in a deep lake or engine fire. Engineers should have to service the trap they design. You've much more patience than I do , Wes. Great video!
If it were an F-150, you can also look forward to removing the front seats.
Heater cores have been the bane of every mechanic since someone came up with the idea. The last "easy" one I ever did was on an early 60's Ford P/U. There were as many a 5 heater cores on a school bus. First day of school EVERY fall; some little rube would jab a pencil through the core in the back of the bus. Anti-freeze all up and down the entire aisle, under the seats, side windows all fogged up. Yes, I remember heater cores.
LOL. I remember riding the bus and getting the funky seat next to the rear heater core.
What a silly design why isn't there a cover whit a heater dukt
@@neilmurphy845 There is a cover. But, give a 12 year old a 15 minute ride to somewhere he's rather not be; and the pencil will find a way into the heater. Believe me. It will!
@@stephenbridges2791 wow why doesn't it just use the heater core at the front whit a separate pipe coming off it
Are you still a bus mechanic? That’s what I do for a living in Arizona. You’re right about the buses. We do bumper to bumper inspections on our own and highway patrol does their own inspections every summer. Miraculously on the first day of school we have a big ass pile of service requests for things that don’t work. That’s on top of all the upholstery write-ups we get because some kid sliced the seat cover.
"Hey, what are those things sticking out of my dash?"
"Grease fittings - trust me, you're gonna need'em"
I was empathising with you all the way through that. I had to do the same job on my G200 Daihatsu Charade (stop laughing!) The heater core leaked all over the ECU which stopped the car in peak hour traffic. Had to take the whole interior out just like the Dodge, except with fewer electrical connections. I was daunted but it all worked and went back together. One of the most challenging and satisfying car repairs I have ever done. Another great video. Cheers
As always top notch Wes. Thanks for sharing your knowledge. I've been a field mechanic in one capacity or another for over 20 years and I am learning every day thanks to great minds like yours. I appreciate that you share a few family moments from time to time as well, it totally bolsters your street cred as a certified bad ass. Kudos Mr Wes!
Well thanks!
The stereo guys were in there before. It's got a kenwood.
This is MINDBLOWING that the entire car has to come apart to do the heater core. They like to complain about the Cadillac Northstar having the starter under the intake, but it only needs replacing every 100K miles, if that, as it is protected from the weather, heat and corrosion. Plus you get the opportunity to replace/restore intake gaskets, injector seals, deep clean the throttle body, check vacuum hoses, etc as PM.
I have a 2009 Liberty with zero heat. I can not believe I need to disassemble the entire dashboard to do this plus depressurize the AC. Why not design it to be accessed through the firewall? This is worse than having to drop the gas tank to change the fuel pump instead of having a hatch in the trunk or floor.
Thank you for this detailed how to instruction it is terrific. At 70 I can see me doing this in pieces lol. As a kid I replace a few Cadillac heater cores, the job always left me sore in the midsection and neck. thank you for your time and expertise
"Just like riding a bike." That gave me a good chuckle.
Another excellent vignette from your working life. I’m always stunned by people not using a vehicle’s park brake. Apart from that use, its other use is “emergency brake”. A rather handy thing to have in an area that rusts out vehicle components (like brake lines) so readily. I’ve come to the conclusion that many Americans are rather cavalier with their own and other’s safety.
Cavalier pretty much sums it up. Our country is built around the idea of winging it.
Hey, now that the gauge cluster is out, you can _take care_ of that check engine light!
At 24:00 when you were taking the heater box apart on the floor made my 50 year old knees ache. Put that stuff up on a bench and save your future 50 year old knees!! Excellent video. Excellent attention to detail. Keep up the great work!!!
Heater cores and blend doors, the bane of all me-can-an-ics. I would always turn down those jobs.
Chainsaw 2000 is the way to get to cores. Andrew had the right idea.
Thanks for sharing.
After watching that dismantling of the interior / dash, never has a name been more apt than "heater CORE" Great work. Thanks for the video.
I have this year Nitro, and I too am a tech, my heater core is gunked up and puts out half it's heating capacity, but as long as it isn't leaking, it'll stay exactly where it is. Good work!
It seems like everything is unbelievably over-engineered when you have to take out the steering column to change the heater core.
I have 08 dodge nitro SLT, when I turn on heater my coolant goes low, what's causing this
I have a Nitro as well whose heat stopped working. The heater core was not leaking so I took it to a shop (way to cold to try to do a flush outside). They flushed the heater core each way 3 times and left a flush additive sitting in it over night after the second flush. Heat works great now and did not have to have the dash removed.
If I were afraid to tackle any job on any vehicle I would refrain from calling myself a tech. I refer to those guys as hackers or butchers. At least the guy in the video wasn’t afraid to try. As a Chrysler tech I can honestly say he did unhook more than was necessary but since he never did one it’s understandable.
You have no idea how much I appreciate a clean mechanic! It's the little things that matter! I literally cover my semi with paper towels and old sheets just to prevent grease everywhere inside...same with my car but audi does a decent job to begin with about being clean. I spend hours cleaning my cars and you can eat off the floor in my truck so I don't want grease everywhere haha
That's the hardest thing to learn!
Wow: I changed heater cores in old time cars, and now I see how easy they were compared to the one you just did. That is ridicules to have to strip down a car that far to change the core. Great video and many thanks.
My f350 u drop glove box, 4-5 screws ur done
small cars- small workplaces
I was involved in a manufacturing company employing up to around 120 people at one point. Our products had very few parts and involved components injection moulded, pressed, laser cut, heat treated etc- very simple operation- but the amount of issues we had to overcome kept us plenty busy. When I look at a car it astounds me how many components and how much engineering, design, prototyping, global market compliance, tool up, and manufacturing challenges they would constantly face. Then there is the likes of Tesla who manage to produce new tech cars and giga factories in incredibly short time- truly awe inspiring.
When I hear people going out and buying any kind of Chrysler product i always think about these kind of videos. Why on earth people buy Chrysler is one of the great mysteries of life.
Carbon Stampede had several Ram trucks over the past 20 years along with a couple Chargers & a Challenger. Only problems were a wheel speed sensor on 1 of the trucks and a sunroof seal whistling on one of the Chargers. Only “major” issue I had was replacing transmission (before it failed) after roughly doubling hp/torque on my ‘01 Dodge Ram Cummins. That was @around 120,000 miles with it being tuned to some extent for around 100,000 of those miles. Not saying they don’t have problems, all vehicles have their own issues, but I believe it mostly depends on how well the vehicle has been treated & maintained.
@@jeffs2809 there's people out there that smoke two pack of cigarettes a day and live until 90, but I'm not going to pick up smoking anytime soon
Yep thats why my neighbor has his hemi out of his truck due to lifter failure and cam destruction
Thay just don't know. Too busy earning a living to watch videos like this.
My coworker who has his head in the sand and won’t admit to fiat owning Chrysler. The other part owning a new Pacifica that had one of the two fuel pumps go out before 10000 miles in one of the two fuel tanks.
I'm amazed you can remember how everything goes back together. It boggles my mind. Great job Wes!
there are always diagrams when memory fails
Wow. What a job to have to do. I would have never attempted that. Cheers for getting it done. Glad to see the wife with the bike and a quick shot of the dog as a tension breaker. Great video, sorry it cost you a camera. I give this video a fantastic thumbs up.
Wes, my hat off to you sir. Been a equipment mechanic for 15yrs and 5yrs at a auto shop prior to that. I’ll do damn near anything on my own stuff, but this is when I gladly give someone my money to do it for me.
That's how I feel about painting. If I even smell paint I get anxious...
Silicon spray (and your pliers of course) works a charm when removing old plastic and it helps with the following noise
Yes, I put the silicone grease on all plastic parts when assembling. Makes it much quieter.
A car dealership mechanic's pay structure varies and can include hourly pay or commission based on labor performed. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median annual pay for an automobile mechanic was $39,550 in May 2017; half of mechanics were paid below that, and half were paid more.
Tell Mrs Wes her saddle is too low.
I love how you set out all your tools for the job, but still have to grab your Swiss Army Knife. 😀
+1 on saddle height
Mrs. Wes "Saddle" is Just right!
I've never had a problem working on my Chrysler products. Then again, my last one was a 2005 Dodge Ram with no problems yet when I gave it to my daughter and son in-law in 2020 with 60,000 miles on the clock. Before that my only problems were with a '70 Duster 340 and the big problem with it was a Highway Patrolman about 50 yards back. Had that problem a lot.
The most problem vehicles I had were my fathers Chevrolet trucks.
jack
This reminds me of replacing a broken blend door. Real good time.
I don’t envy you! My wife had a Jeep Liberty that needed a heater core and the procedure you were doing in this video was close to what I was going to do. However my wife finally decided to get rid of it so I never had the pleasure of dealing with it.
My gosh, I believe I would have traded this car instead of paying for this replacement.
Just about any car, no newer car is easy to get to some of the stupidest items
I would have bought a couple of those 12V electric heaters and made do!
Please just sell it for $200. 😁
I don't want this one, but someone does.
@bohhica1 That's what my sister did with her '08 Jeep Liberty! They quoted her $1500, so she traded it in for a new Jeep :P
@Dave Iaucco nobody in this world "needs" a brand new vehicle.
2000 Dodge Dakota, 198,722 on the clock original motor, trans, water pump. alternator, power steering pump and what not. I've replaced the cooling fan and wheel bearings and that's about it.
"you always come three days too late" - WHAT A STUD WES!
Mechanic is a word that doesn’t describe you Wes. High Tech Technician sounds better but even this doesn’t justify you. Plus your tool inventory is a thing most of us can only dream about. Thanks Wes.
When the heater core blew on my 99 dodge ram the local shop said it is an 8 hour job and 1200 dollars. Some of that cost is for an upgraded heater box. That was probably almost as much as it's worth so I plumbed the heater lines into the evaporator since the AC compressor died a long time ago. Still working 5 years later only downside is you have heat even if you don't want it. If i did it again I would put in some sort of heater bypass valve
Hey boss, just run a barbed connector between them and it just loops the coolant back to the engine
@@georgeadams5390 I always wanted something a little less manual than yanking hoses apart when I didn't want heat. I thought about installing a couple of shut off valves between inlet and exit sides of the evap core with a bypass valve plumbed between the two coolant lines.
Alas the truck actually died a month ago on my way to work. 3rd gear blew out so I decided to cut my losses and move on. I got my money's worth out of it
...are you the same guy that made the chainsaw dash video?
I just bought a dodge nitro, got it for a good deal because it needed this replaced. I got the whole dashboard out thanks to this video! Man this is quite a job.. its taken me 2 days so far, but I am not a trained mechanic. I'm hoping to put everything back together today. Thanks I learned something new. 👍
good going
Same here. Wish me luck. Just bought a 2010 Nitro for a song because of it's bad heater core. Figured if I take my time, even if it takes a couple of days, it'll be doable and worth it. I'm an artist, not a mechanic, but have found (some electronic and computer issues aside) most repairs are like tackling big metal/plastic puzzles. I have succeeded at performing repairs I would never have dreamed possible once upon a time. Will purchase an OEM core though... No interest in repeating repairs if it's avoidable.
Oh dear God, if I saw you doing that to my car, I'll flip I will lose it, that is a lot being done in there, dear God is that what i have to do for my issue looks like fun 🤨 I can help to leave so many messages it's just incredible how you just tearing that car apart wow
Well Done! I did my wife's 1983 Subaru wagon heater core back in the 90s a mate dropped over and said, when I was 1/2 through it will never go again!
Basically the heater core is the first thing they put on the inside firewall during manufacture!
The wife drove it to work the next day no problems and for many years!
Watching Wes work makes me want to work sadly I am perpetually lazy
I hear that!
I love this type of work, Unfortunatly fighting to DEFEAT lung cancer took the wind out of my sail, lol. About 3 mon5hs ago it to9k me three days to pull the 318 'kegger' style intake to ffix the lower plenum leaking gasket issue.....
My body aches just watching you work on the dash. Dash work was difficult when I was a teenager, now it's a nightmare at 59 years old.
"Unless there's a T Rex close by, I think this car has got a bit of a misfire.." hahaha awesome!
Thats old school engine idle insight!
I appreciate you showing your core leak test setup. All too often I’ve seen younger folk look for a special - and pricey - tool for each task. I learned on a farm where you improvise. Looking at this job, for me, it is a take it somewhere v. DIY just too much work. Great job as usual
On the next episode of Watch Wes Work:
We build a Dodge Nitro. From the ground up
If you don't like ads get the preemo or deal with them. Wes already does a lot of work with his daily job. Video filming editing and final cut plus time to upload are very intense. I feel its fair to have ads, so Wes can keep up the amazing content. Thanks for the inside view of your work Wes, its a pleasure
Thanks for that!
*watches wife ride away on bike*
"Just like riding a bike"
Made me laugh lol
I hope the customer didn't pay a lot for that car given the issues at hand, but I am smiling to see how much care and thought you put in to doing this job to the point of making it easier on yourself like the parking brake. Smart. But definitely a job.
I find it so pathetic that they make anyone go threw that much work just for something so simple to make an acceptable hatch that I cut into mine. Not user or dealer repair friendly. Great job
You'll never get this one out with a hatch.
@@WatchWesWork it's so dumb you put a lot of work to get that out
What a Saturday morning treat - getting to watch my friend Wes use his excellent mechanic skills and entertain me at the same time!!! Great job as usual Wes!!! I always learn something when watching you work
Glad you enjoyed it!
These days you would have to pay me at least triple your hourly rate to even consider thinking about doing that job.
im doing a evap on isuzu D max on tuesday , at work they normally get me to do them as it takes me around 3 hours to remove dash as you can remove the whole assembly with steering column and glovebox and all wiring ,so hardly any stripping and swap evap and reinstall ,awesome design and well thought out when designed
Hey I'm still here to haunt you, with enough caffeine even a dead squirrel can do anything
So it was you that routed that ground wire under the carpet!
@@WatchWesWorkGoing to ground? That would be your common Mole right there, just love to get underneath everything and wreak havoc. I specialise more in getting up inside places I'm not supposed to be and generally making a mess
@@CSkwirl are you the skwirl that made a lunch out of my fuel injector wiring harness pigtail?. Left me stranded about 65-70 miles from the house, lol.....
@@jamesmoore3346 Mmm, delicious bacon
65 Ford Galaxie 2 to 3 min complete change . Your amazing, 30 + years, I did not like heater core jobs.
There is one of those in the parking of my building here. It's a diesel one, I wonder why nobody wanted them... other than being painful to look at.
did my wifes in the fall .tried to put it off, but up here in calgary ab canada kinda need heat.lol .just wanted to say thanks this was the best video .took about 8hrs cause im all thumbs.really appreciated the knowledge u passed on.u rock
Ok. Not five minutes in at "tools needed". Conclusion: Don't even think about it - take it to a mechanic!
I'd be afraid of going to bed after disassembling that little lot - I'd never remember the next day where it all was all meant to go back! Well done Wes - another great video.
I did the core on my 86 mustang. If it fails again theres going to be a new hole in the fire wall!!
My kind of thinking. I made one of those to replace a sensor on my old Cherokee. LOL.
Now I understand why it cost me so much to have this changed on my Nitro!! WOW! A lot of work!
What a nightmare of a job. If engineers were made to "do the job" things would be designed with access a design priority. Of course this will NEVER happen.
Honestly as a mechanic this was a pretty easy dash removal.
Advanced Level Auto Lexus LS460 Dash Removal: link you provided, OMG my head hurts. Flood vehicles like that are almost always written off as a total loss! Amazing video Wes.
5:04 ah, good old Andrew Camarata :D
Another favorite channel
the magnetic charging pad for the Astro light is awesome as well. you have the option of magnetically mounting it or fixed mount, It charges 2 lights magnetically, And also has a USB output for phone charging etc. I was a die hard Streamlight Switchblade fan for 7 years until I tried the Astro 52SLC
Tool of the day: The Swiss Army Knife.
Swisstool. I've been using it every day for twelve years or more and every time I use it I think about how painful work was without it.
thats why i love old vehicles, last week i did buy a 95 f350 that had set for 4 years in a logging camp on an island off the west coast of BC, the entire wiring harness for the rear of the vehicle has been removed, so far i have hot wired the fuel pump and have it running, today i hope to take it for a spin around the yard, we are lucky here, the cab has zero rust, and i found a stock long box that was removed in 97 and is rust free.
"I dont know how any audio installer stays in business" well from the looks of it, cheap barely trained labour, garbage components, shoddy installations?
I changed the heater core in my 1972 Cadillac sedan deville one time in one hour all from under the hood. No ac discharge. I split the heater core cover with a die grinder blade and removed the old core replaced it and glued the fiberglass cover back together with black urethane 2k bumper repair material. The seam was invisible perfect job. They just don't make them like they used to.
There’s an easier way to replace that heater core.
Replace the car
Great advice about removing old plastic interiors. The dash on my 2007 GMC Sierra is cracked in two places after getting worked on. I was so irritated. Now I know why lol. Thanks for showing a heater core replacement. I wanted to attempt the job on my mom's 1997 Ford F150 after watching a few vids but I'm a novice and we decided against it. Thanks for sharing your struggles with it. Glad I didn't try it lol. Maybe in the future. Thanks again!!
To everyone complaining about doing this job, I’d just like to reassure you it’s absolutely not that hard. Provided you have a warm enough space to work on it. Also I would suggest that you loosen the pedal bracket from under the hood which is two bolts to the left of the brake booster. This allows you to remove the dash without it being caught on anything inside the car.
What a nightmare job! Wes' customers must like his work they always bring their equipment back for him to fix it. Good video!
I watched as far as getting the radio out and checked again to make sure you were after the heater core. I realized at that point you were circumventing the manufacturer's plan. You are suppose to just junk the vehicle. You didn't, good man.
Love the reference to Andrew’s video. Chainsaw works well for any Chrysler product.
I believe those flashlights have a 90 day warranty, still not long enough for you. Love the line wrench set, very nice gift.
Old trick I was taught back in my Coast Guard Aviation Machinist Mate days was to have various sizes zip lock bags handy.
Each component removed we'd put screws, nuts, bolts and other items in one then tape that bag to the component they held in.
Especially handy when tearing apart the cockpit instruments dash when tweets had to come in and do wiring work and such.
They'd scatter them otherwise.
Same when tearing into the fuel or landing gear and the (aka metal monkeys) officially known as Aviation Structural mechanics got their hands on things.
Now days my old rate and that one (ASM) have been combined but still us my old winged prop rating (AD) insignia.
After my enlistment was up I've continued using that method on cars, trucks, motorcycles, pinball and arcade games, Jukeboxes, Pool Tables and anything else you can put a quarter in and get fun outta.
Pretty much everything I fix myself.
I don't let anyone work on anything that I need fixed.
Tomorrow, it's my fridge that on the fritz.
Then Tuesday my AC.
Wes don't ever sweat the naysayers and the complainers. I stumbled onto your channel by complete accident a long time ago. So long infact idk remember when. That being said I watch damn near every video. They're always very informative, have great humor, and are very well thought out. Also like that you reply to so many comments (even many of my own) and take the time to interact with your community. Keep doing what you're doing. It's like a 1% that have an issue with things here. The other 99% of us love what you do!
Well thanks!
Nice video. It has: thrills, chills, comedy, romance, and inspiring speech. Thanks for creating content to watch while I drink my coffee.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Many people don't know, or realize- that your HVAC system performs
even in the Winter. Heating, Ventilation (direction) And Conditioning
(usually dehumidifying).
Even on my '89 Buick-
When HOT defrost is commanded, the AC compressor runs, but the
normally cold system is instead used to first dry the cabin air, so your
moist breath doesn't frost the inside of the freezing windshield.
Run your defroster on hot- see what I'm talking about.
A trick for better fuel mileage in Winter- is to keep the _inside_
of your windows clean, free of moisture attracting dirt, so
you don't have to run the defroster so much- because of it
running the AC compressor. RainX makes a great "anti fog" product.
I don’t recall seeing your Swiss Army Pocket knife on your list of required tools 🤠
That was a nice addition by the way.
I remember pulling out a heater core way back in my youth.
I pestered the dealer over and over to fix a problem while the car was under warranty. They poo pooed me saying there was no problem every time I asked about it. The floor was always hot. Eventually after the care ran out of warranty I demolished the interior and found the heater tap did not seal when it is off. I also found out why they didn’t want to do it. I replaced the tap for a few bucks and it was so nice not to have hot feet any more. ;)
Unbelievably complex job for such a necessary accessory on a automobile! Nice job Wes! 😊
Totally agree!
Oh yeah...heater core and fans directly mounted to them...the nightmare within...even on mid-70s cars where I done this it was heaps of work...not better these days with all the electronics and snap-off plastics...
Great job, thx for showing us!
:-D
The crash safety stuff has really made it a chore.
most people watching this probably know what your body is going through to do that job, but the average schmo would pull a muscle right at the start, simply amazing resilience you have sir, my brain boggles at how you keep track of the screws/bolts? Big table with tape and sharpie??
You said why all the crazy wires. Well Chrysler never expected it to last long enough to require this type of repair . Part of the 5 year plan . Thanks for the video saved me some some time
I have had more Chrysler vehicles last longer than my Toyota
I have changed a 96 Jeep Grand Cherokee heater core before and a 1998 Blazer heater core as well. And I ALWAYS change the AC Evap unit at the same time so I never have to go into to those units ever again... A little more cost, but well worth the money to not fool with removing the dashes in any of them. Once is one time to many for me to tear into their dashes..
To say this was not for the faint of heart quite the understatement. I would not tackle this for all the Tea in China. YOU ARE THE MAN with the Patience of Job.
Hats off to you man for doing that job. There’s no way I would even tempt that.
I was thinking that the coolant went bad from not being charged and that was why the heater core went . I think probably poor maintenance . People need to understand that coolant doesn't last forever. It needs to be changed once in awhile just like your oil and filter just not as often. The radiator is at risk too .
I think you did a great job. You seem to be very careful .
JB weld that light big fella!!! My whole life is held together with JB weld!
Thanks for showing the tools you use before doing the job, really helps to understand what your doing
I should do that for every job, but usually there are piles of tools everywhere!
Good on you for the minimal plastic breakage. Every time I touched the daughter's 2002 Beetle, something broke.
VWs are the worst for broken plastic.
Here's hoping that you check out new comments on older videos. I'm very interested in how you keep track of what fasteners go where when you're putting something like this back together?
Thanks for making this detailed video. I have been flushing my 2010 nitro heater core for 2 yrs now and it is gotten worse. It barely heats at all .it is plugged with something that looks like rust or scale i believe what it is . Guess i have no choice but to replace.
BIC PEN tubes.. are great for helping align mid to late 90s Dodge truck heater box studs since they all tend to not be perfectly aligned.. it allows you to stick the tubes thru the holes in the firewall and over the studs.. so you can just pick up the heater box on the inside and shove it forward. the BIC PEN tubes do the aligning with the holes and prevent the threads from dragging..
I don't know about dropping the braun lights ,but when you run them over with a Peterbilt that's a serious stress test...I have 5 of them. 2 at work 2 in home shop and 1 in the house..3 are wrapped w/ electrical tape and look like goose necks,1 is wrapped in strategic spots for general protection and house model is almost pristine but all of them still function and all were purchased w/SUPER COUPON ...I love them things ..........
I bought a set of Blackhawk sockets back in 1991, and the ratchet has never let me down yet. I've broken a craftsman, and smaller 1/4" drives, but not that one.
When Honda replaced the HVAC case in my Odyssey, under warranty, they removed the glovebox door, and cut the frame of the glovebox to get access, instead of removing the dash. I didn’t notice for a couple of years, while I was changing the cabin filter.
Trick I've learned depending on what your doing. In the winter if the cars been sitting outside, let it run for a bit with the heat on full blast. It'll get the inside warm and the plastics warmed up so they're less likely to crack and break 😎👍
Hello?no heater!
Son, I have never cringed watching one of your videos till today. All that plastic creaking and groaning. You are one badass, brave cat....I went through 2 cocktails and half a pack of smokes watching this one...
Wow, you're a trooper! Thanks for sticking it out!