I went to replace my heater hoses and they dissapear threw the firewall and under the dash. Whats involved in replacing them, do i have to expose the heater core?
It is easier to remove the whole heater box, by removing the 5 nuts on the firewall, disconnect the wiring, control cables. Trim heater hose to length after you get the heater put back in the car. I hope you don't have A/C. See http://1bad6t.com/Maverick/diagrams/explheater2.gif
No A/C you have to remove the heater box and core from inside the car ... there is no other way to get to the hoses. A/C cars have the heater core connectors inside the engine compartment so much easier ...
I didn't have to remove the heater box when I changed the hoses and core on my non-AC '71. Just "split" the heater box and took off the side facing away from the firewall. And yes, the job sucked, but it didn't suck as bad as other heater cores I've done.
No need to remove the heater box. I would recommend removing the lower dash assembly to ease in reaching the hoses.
Did the same on my 72 no AC. Put the heater core in over my lunch hour at work. Just removed shelf and the front of the heater box. Its awkward but not bad compared to the new stuff.
