Heater core??

[The Beav]

I've been noticing a sweet, antifreeze-like smell when I first start up in the morning. It goes away pretty quickly (just a little longer than my '01 5.3 piston slap!). On another board, there was a post that said this was a heater core gone bad. Correct? Where is it, and what am I looking at for replace/repair?

[MountaineerTom]

Not sure of the price, but it should be up under, and inside, the lower part of the dash. If you look in your engine compartment, you'll see two heater hoses running into the firewall on the passenger side. Those heater hoses go to the heater core, so it would be on the other side of the firewall from where those hose go to.

 

Is your carpet wet inside near the dash? A lot of times when the heater core goes bad, it leaks and gets the carpet wet, plus you get that sweet antifreeze smell inside the cab.

 

I've heard it can be a pain to change the heater core on the newer body style trucks, but don't have any first hand experience with it.

[ctoliver]

book says 5.0 hours to replace, this is all data instructions

 

 

 

 

 

Notes

 

 

Service and Repair

 

REMOVAL PROCEDURE

 

 

 

 

 

 

Drain the engine coolant. Refer to Draining and Filling Cooling System in Cooling System.

Recover the refrigerant. Refer to Refrigerant Recovery and Recharging.

Remove the heater/vent module.

Remove the heater core cover screws.

Remove the heater core cover.

 

 

 

 

 

Remove the heater core.

INSTALLATION PROCEDURE

 

 

 

 

 

 

Install the heater core.

 

 

ct