Heater core

penbergm

penbergm

New member
I finally decided to do my heater core after years of cold winters. Tore my dash completely apart to pull it, yes I have AC. What A pain in the @^&#%.

The big problem now is I can not find the proper size core to replace it. Autozone, Advanced, OReillys all have the same shit and none of them are the correct size. It is discontinued by the dealer.

Anyone run into this before or have any ideas?
 
Register to hide this ad
Start with vehicle year and trim package.
Typically if the vehicle had a rear heater the front core would be different.
 
Bad_Vision said:
Start with vehicle year and trim package.
Typically if the vehicle had a rear heater the front core would be different.
Click to expand...
That's what ive done. It does not have rear heat. The one for no rear heat is the right height but too wide. The one for rear heat is too short and too narrow.
 
The size that I need is about 8 1/2 x 6 x 1 1/4

The one that is close is 6 1/2 wide but the height is perfect. I might be looking for a shop to build this one if possible.

This sucks because my truck is completely torn apart.
 
Ac was installed in the US because import laws on the refrigerant used at that time by Toyota was banned by the US officials.
That being said the heater core should have been unchanged when the dealership installed the AC units.
The DLX had no special cores the only Toyotas that did have special cores was the 1984-1985 sr5 with AC and rear heater!
 
Last edited:
My bad, I clicked on the wrong one. That is the one that I got from autozone already. It is 6 1/2 wide which wont fit in the box and the pipe connections are wrong and wouldnt fit through the firewall.
 
I do appreciate the help. on Rockauto, the middle one is the closest bet. the top one i got at oreillys and is too narrow & too short. The bottom one is too wide and the rigid pipe fittings dont match with the firewall.
 
Ok then the other option is eBay searching. They typically list the dimensions on the add.
It would seem you have a dealer special item. It's around 7-800$ as a special order for the dealer. This heater core was given to dealerships that broke the factory heater core upon installing the AC system.

I have heard of people getting lucky with old stock on eBay but if that fails you will need a custom modified core by a radiator shop or fork over the dealer price of a insane 700+

Good luck if you need one built I have a buddy that makes intercoolers and radiators I could see if he would tackle that project.
 
Bad_Vision said:
Ok then the other option is eBay searching. They typically list the dimensions on the add.
It would seem you have a dealer special item. It's around 7-800$ as a special order for the dealer. This heater core was given to dealerships that broke the factory heater core upon installing the AC system.

I have heard of people getting lucky with old stock on eBay but if that fails you will need a custom modified core by a radiator shop or fork over the dealer price of a insane 700+

Good luck if you need one built I have a buddy that makes intercoolers and radiators I could see if he would tackle that project.
Click to expand...

Thanks again. Dealership was my first option & it is a discontinued part. I will let you know how it turns out.
 
penbergm said:
I finally decided to do my heater core after years of cold winters. Tore my dash completely apart to pull it, yes I have AC. What A pain in the @^&#%.

The big problem now is I can not find the proper size core to replace it. Autozone, Advanced, OReillys all have the same shit and none of them are the correct size. It is discontinued by the dealer.

Anyone run into this before or have any ideas?
Click to expand...
get one that fits as close as possible, and make up the difference with foam weather stripping. don't make this job harder than it needs to be.
 
nevada said:
get one that fits as close as possible, and make up the difference with foam weather stripping. don't make this job harder than it needs to be.
Click to expand...

I definitely thought about this but my options were very limited and if you've done this before, you know how you don't want to do it again. I've got the cluster in and the water bypassed in the engine bay, so it is driveable.
I may have a lead on a cheap rebuild if my last ditch option on a new one doesn't pan out.

I will post updates later this week.

All I want for Christmas is HEAT!
 
cruiseryard in Austin parted out two 1st gens a little while ago. You can contact him (jason at cruiseryard) to see if he has the heater core you need if you're willing to do a used one.

BTW - not sure you're interested but I have the rear heat that I pulled from mine and not going to use. You're welcome to it if you're interested. You'd just have to fab up the lines from the engine to the cab.
 
crash813 said:
BTW - not sure you're interested but I have the rear heat that I pulled from mine and not going to use. You're welcome to it if you're interested. You'd just have to fab up the lines from the engine to the cab.
Click to expand...
do you have the entire unit, or just the core?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Members online

Total: 367 (members: 3, guests: 364)

Forum statistics

Threads
278,305
Messages
3,554,042
Members
248,016
Latest member
Advally Service

Share this page

Trending content

Back
Top