My heater core is leaking on my 87 IROC. How big a job is this to remove? Thanks

 

That depends...approach it expecting a MAJOR pita and you will be fine. Make sure you pull off your dash....and do it carefully. Dont crack it. It comes out in about an hour. Upside down and neck craned backwards. Install is about the same....its not complicated at all, just very uncomfortable, upside down, legs over the doors kind of stuff. If you can get away with bypassing the heater, I suggest you do so.

 

It is a PITA, but I think the key is getting your self the best access you can. I would estimate the entire job to take 3+ hours. It was the first thing I had to do to start my resto process. Its a shame so many of them leak and they are in such a tough location.

 

Where is the radiator drain on the IROC. Can't see it underneath?

 

depends on the radiator. some are on the bottom facing down, some are on the sides. its going to be on the side tanks. if someone put a cheap rad in the car, it may not even have a drain

 

Lower radiator hose always works well as a drain, if the radiator doesn't have one.
If this is a summer only car, I'd bypass the heater core if it were mine.

 

Amen to that. I replaced it on my restoration 89 about 3 months ago. I ran it several times and it worked great. I'm buttoning up the car as it's sold and what do i see when i slide the temp lever to warm?? Why a wee drip. I bypassed it for now and will be replacing the core again when i return from biz trip

I love quality parts so much

 

Replaced one on a 1990RS several years ago, first time doing one and took me 5hrs. It was a pain.

 

When I drained mine I just used a piece of plastic tubing took a suck on it and syphoned out enough to get below the heater core I didn't think I needed to drain it all out, saved time and mesh.

 

i replaced mine WITHOUT removing anything except the core cover ,i was done in 1.5 hours however i done mine with the help of a factory manual i ordered from HELM inc i must say its worth its weight in gold.but stay away from haynes and chilton manuals as they are vague to the point of hilarity.also dont get the aluminum core replacement as somehow they seem to deliver much less heat than the brass one did