Spectra Heater Core

(This review was collected as part of a promotion.) had one installed last winter and has failed this winter

We need heat in car for winter

Fit my 2002 Dodge 2500 Cummins. Dash pulled out & fit right in.

It's been 2 weeks and 1,000 kms since the repair/ replacement, and no leak in heater core. 3 months ago, I used Rislone Liquid Aluminum, and was surprised and happy that it instantly fixed the heater core steaming issue, but as it turns out, that was only a temporary fix in this instance. At least it gave me time to get a replacement heater core, so I had that on hand. Also, doing this repair in warmer weather probably helped to prevent damaging plastic interior components that needed to be removed. Total time of repair: 19 hours, spread over 2 days (I think the shop would have quoted 6.5 hours) Tools I didn't have, but really wish I had: Hose Clamp Pliers (https://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/oemtools-hose-clamp-plier-set-2-pc-0251073p.html or https://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/oemtools-hose-clamp-pliers-0251208p.html) Hose Puller Tool (https://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/oemtools-hose-puller-tool-0251152p.html) Hose Grip Pliers (https://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/mastercraft-hose-grip-pliers-set-3-pc-0581661p.html) Tools I had, that made the job easier: HSS Japanese Saw/ Dozuki, purchased at woodworking store that used to be at Morningside and 401 Cordless Impact Driver (https://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/dewalt-dck283d2-20v-max-xr-brushless-compact-drill-impact-driver-combo-2-0ah-0542345p.html) Impact Screwdriver Bit Set (https://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/maximum-impact-ready-screwdriver-bit-access-set-31-pc-0540533p.html) Round and 1/2-Round rasps/ files Essential tools: 1/4" and 3/8" socket set screwdriver set large drain pan Trim Removal Tool Set (https://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/dorman-multi-use-removal-tool-set-0245649p.html) Tools that got the job done but were less than ideal: tongue & groove pliers slip joint pliers needle nose pliers aviation snips Never a good sign when you see fluids dripping from under your car, when it's a dry, sunny day. This was accompanied by some white steam from one of the heater vents. Lucky to have noticed the steam, otherwise I might have suspected the leak to be coming from somewhere other than the heater core. Tried the Rislone Liquid Aluminum again, but this time, no joy. So I parked the car, and let it cool down overnight. To access the heater core, I had to remove the centre console, the lower dash, the upper dash, and the passenger airbag, along with some other parts under the hood. So now I could access the hoses to the heater core, and could see the heater core. This was when the fun really began. Sure, there were some screws that were hard to access, and I must have spent at least 1/2 an hour upside-down on my back under the dash, with the back of my head buried in the dirty car mats. Next time, I'll vaccuum the interior first. Back to the fun. The hoses. First, the hose clamps. Mine, are the basic spring type hose clamps. At the factory, they must have installed the clamps from below the hoses, because that was where I had to get the tongue and groove pliers. I had to get my whole arm behind the engine, next to the firewall, and then bend my arm to position the pliers to squeeze the hose clamps in just the right way to twist the hose clamp so I could later squeeze the hose clamps from above the hoses. Once the hose clamps were repositioned, I then had a better chance to squeeze the hose clamps fully open, to slide them down the hoses, past the inlet and outlet pipes of the heater core. This must have taken 1-2 hours. Then the hoses. Having never dealt with coolant hoses before, I wasn't sure what it would take to get them off the inlet and outlet pipes of the heater core. They were almost fused on after about 286,000 kms. A large flat head screwdriver helped to a point, but then all the pulling in the world by hand wasn't getting me anywhere, except 1 or 2 more hours into the night. Time was really standing still for me at this point. This was when I decided to pack it in for the night, and go to the store the next day to find some kind of saw to cut the pipes off. As I was packing tools into the trunk, I found the HSS Japanese Saw I got a while ago for some woodworking. This saw is a very thin, very flexible saw, with teeth made of High Speed Steel. Yes! HSS should cut through aluminum. This saw was almost made for this job, as it curved to sit almost flush to the firewall, and in about 15 minutes I cut both pipe ends off, including some of the fiberglass-reinforced hose, and finally removed the heater core. So, I decided to continue. Installing the new heater core. This part should have been straightforward, but my first mistake was not measure the distance between the inlet and outlet holes in the firewall. Once I figured that out, try as I might, I couldn't get the new part to go through the old holes. That was it for the night. 13 hours at this point. Took a shower, ate some food for the first time that day, then thought about my problem. I was pretty sure that one of the holes in the firewall wasn't big enough, for whatever reason, so I gathered about 2 dozen rasps and files to kill the problem the next day. Then it occurred to me to take the aluminum end I had already cut off from the old part, to see if it would go through the holes in the firewall, from the engine side. Sounds like a plan, time for bed. Installing the new heater core, part 2. Using needle nose pliers, I had extracted the pipe ends from the hoses the night before, so now I just needed to take one of the cut-offs and try to fit it through holes in the firewall. One hole was just fine. The other hole was impossible. Took rasps and files to holes, and about 30 minutes later, the new heater core was installed. Reinstalled everything, and 6 hours later on day 2, ended-up with 10 extra screws/ fasteners. 19 hours, lots of scrapes and bruises on my arms, and a good reason to buy more tools. Why do we do this to ourselves? I think the answer is similar to why we carry a canoe on our head for kilometers and miles in the middle of nowhere. There must have been a brook trout in my car somewhere.

Works, seems a slight bit wider than my 1967 original