Possible Heater core replacement

[mopar4u]

Merry christmas to me

Wife came home in the 06 liberty limited complaining of an antifreeze smell while using the heat. I confimed.

Im gonna do a more thorough look around the car but i can assume this is a leaking heater core. The passenger floor is not wet and cant tell if the window is full of antifreeze glaze as it was raining/snowing yesterday and the windows naturally fogged.

Is there any other way to fully confirm the heater core is the issue?

Is there any videos or instructions on how to replace the heater core on my jeep?

 

[KJV]

I've looked into this, and it seems to be a big deal, just so you know ahead of time. The heater core itself is actually in the cabin. You have to literally remove the dash to get to it. This video https://youtu.be/rtaePRH2tCs shows you the location of the heater core outlets.

I have no clue if that helps or not.

 

[M38 Bob]

" cant tell if the window is full of antifreeze glaze as it was raining/snowing yesterday and the windows naturally fogged."

Don't take much AF to have that distinct taste/smell. Even if you have no prior experience, I suppose you could try being a "winder licker".:bleh:

Bob

 

[twowings]

Check for underhood leaks first....the cabin air intake is really great at picking up any smells from the engine compartment for your enjoyment...you may not need a heater core as much as you need a new radiator/hoses/waterpump, etc....

 

[jeeptorino68]

See my replies in the thread link below, just posted a couple days ago. I have the same symptoms, and I have coolant dripping out of the drain hole for the a.c. condensation...

Link--> http://www.jeepkj.com/forum/f196/heater-core-59277/

 

[Neven]

Having a heater core issue as well in my 03 KJ. Heat is coming out of the right vent, but not the middle 2 nor the left vent. The heater core hoses are the same temperature (was told by a mechanic that if both are the same temp, there shouldn't be a clog). You might have a leak somewhere, in the heater line itself - if so, obviously the whole core might not replacing.

Hope that helped :/

 

[jeeptorino68]

Any better or more thorough write ups instructions videos etc out there?

 

[teeje]

Basically what you do is turn the flux capacitor a quarter turn to the North Pole and subtract it by the degree of the equator and divide it by the mass of the sun. Lol I'm just pulling your strings here. If you get the manual from your desired auto store typically the "zone" one, the whole write up is in there with pictures. The WHOLE dash has to come out. Steering column dropped, radio, hvac, etc etc. it's a pain in the **** but I couldn't vouch for the process. Mine was already replaced and k wasn't the one that did it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[jeepguy4276]

It's a pain to replace it. It's not hard work, just a ton of nuts, screws, and bolts to take out. It's a good day job, I spread mine out aver 2 days about 4-5 hours a day. You do need to drop, not remove, the steering column. Start with removing all the trim then pull the center console. Once you start there, the rest you can figure out as you go since it all has to come out. A small power impact or screw driver really speeds things up.

 

[jeeptorino68]

great tips and info everyone, i made it through, did 2 days of it, about 5 hours each day, also took the time to clean well under the center console, and swapped the seat bases, the drivers was getting worn on the edge (leather)
anyways, i would also like to thank jeep for using 10,000 screws, at least they are all the same length and size!

pictures and more detailed instructions to follow for future users.

 

[jeepguy4276]

Glad you got it done.

 

[mopar4u]

I'm original poster. I got lucky. I found a leak where the rubber hose connects to the heater core under the hood. I'm assuming it was then dripping onto the exhaust and entering the cab through the fresh air vent. Not sure why it was leaking, I removed clamps, cleaned things up and re-installed, also added an additional screw type hose clamp in addition to the spring clamp. Now I have no leak and no smell.

Before I found this I put my coolant pressure tester on the jeep (cold engine) and the needle didn't move after 12 hours. Turned the jeep on and warmed up the engine, then the leak showed up. It's hard to tell but The picture shows the orange coolant pudding up under the hose

 

[jeeptorino68]

here is my writeup (work in progress right now (1/4/16), but some useful info)
http://www.jeepkj.com/forum/f202/how-heater-core-replacement-59360/#post676777