How to: 1st Gen Explorer Heater Core Replacement Diary

[EurekaExplorer]

Thanks for this thread. Another piece of excellent assistance this forum provides for Explorer owners. This one is exceedingly grateful to the membership here for saving me from paying thousands of dollars to overpriced mechanics.

ABakaEE

 

[yellowcat]

this makes me want to find an aerostar forum

man the ford aerostar with there quick connects and there special heater lines. I totally outsmarter ford on that one. the heater cores at autozone were a very poor quility, I went to a radiator shop and paid twice the price for a very nice made in america core. Also that metal tape can work good for little leaks. My heater core on the aerostar was flopping around a little, but it never caused a problem. Glad to see something on the explorer is easy to fix

 

[MikeP]

How does one remove the outer cover which is attached with two fasteners? Glacier991's 2nd photo shows the fastener hole (reddish color in photo). The two fasteners do not appear to be screws or bolts. I was thinking of merely cutting them off but there must be some reasonable method of removing these two fasteners (hold the outer cover to the metal on the dash). I am going to replace the heater core in my 1991 Ford Ex 4x4 with about 250,000 miles. My last heater core was installed in 2005 and that replaced the original heater core.

 

[markojay]

hello...I noticed this threat is basically for 91-94 Explorers. I have 1995 Eddie Bauer, and am still searching for set-by-step heater core replacement instructions. I am told that I must remove the whole dash, but am looking for similarities with the earlier models. Will I need to remove the whole dashboard, and do u have the step-by-step instructions for that? If so, what is the url?

thank you

 

[blueovalhawkfan]

Is this just as easy in a 93 Ranger?

 

[RangerX]

Yes!
At least, my 93 is the same.

 

[blueovalhawkfan]

Thanks Ranger X.Need to fix mine ASAP as it's very cold here

 

[lecadou]

nice forums , i was soo scary about giving money to a mechanic with this difficult time .

Now I will shop around to buy the component I need then after i will come to you guys from result
thank

 

[edenine]

Just what I needed!

Thanks SO much for this post. The ex took all my repair guides prior to the divorce...I suppose some of y'all know how that goes. Anyway, this article and the accompanied photos were just the ticket! edenine, Memphis TN

 

[pooney]

First of all Thanks!

Thank you for all the good info on this site!
I have replaced two heater cores in 1 year on a 93 Explorer. There was talk on here about electrolisis and a new wire from the negative post to the motor block. Do you think that would help stop the continual core replacement? Thanks to you guys it is easy and cheap but I'm tired of changing them. Thanks

 

[Oskie_78]

Please help ASAP

GREAT INFO!!! I finely found out why I was get anti freeze is on my floor mat.

I took off the black case that goes over the heat core and I notice the heat core was in bad shape (leaking).

I have a some questions...

Does the heat core affect the A/C from cooling?

I'm in Texas, so if the heat core ONLY heats I can by pass it, correct? :scratch:

my A/C only blows hot air right now and I want to know if the heat core is effecting it.

thanks in advanced. :wavey:

 

[Oskie_78]

bump.... can someone help me please

I want to try to fix this today

 

[lecadou]

Thank you ,
I did mine too , I saved lot of money .
thank you again .

 

[lgreen]

Thanks! Just finished replacing mine. The replacement heater core was about $25 at Napa. You just saved me a lot of money!!

 

[Corik]

Fixed heater core problem

I had my heater core replaced last year (not by me) and it still gave me problems coolant kept disappearing and I could still smell coolant through the AC. Also it never really blew cold air, only if the engine was cold like in the morning.

I've been reading a lot on these forums and decided to take matters into my own hands and now I fixed a lot of stuff with my car already BTW this is my first post.

My point is I looked at my heater core today expecting to find a crack and a leak but there wasn't. The hoses looked like they were on good, but I read about people having problems sealing it well.

So I cut off the end of the hoses and bought new clamps and OMG it worked! so making sure its sealed well is a must!! The new clamps were like $2 FIXED!


And sorry for the lengthy post, I have to... since its my first!

 

[gooter87]

twenty minute job! Thanks for the write up, i thought i was in peril after doing this on my '99 F250... talk about a job!! Thanks!

 

[Rick]

Explorer Forum sure is a great resource

Just used this thread today and it was extremely helpful. It's great when you don't even have to guess at the socket you'll need

 

[Maniak]

Replacing the heater core is the easy part but what I can't figure out us how do u no which hose goes where on the heater core.

That is because it doesn't matter.. fluid goes in, fluid goes out...

If you have a heater control bypass valve you need to make sure the fluid is flowing the right way through the valve, but once it gets to the heater core, it doesn't matter.

~Mark

 

[catdaddy]

That is because it doesn't matter.. fluid goes in, fluid goes out...

If you have a heater control bypass valve you need to make sure the fluid is flowing the right way through the valve, but once it gets to the heater core, it doesn't matter.

~Mark

ok, just put the valve on and was wondering about which hose goes to the water pump.

 

[Auminer]

Love this thread! See it hasn't seen any action since 2016, but great for those of us that still drive them.
Question: What happen to the photo's? They are all the same, can this be corrected?
Thanks