Is there any way of replaceing the heater core without removing the dash? It just seems like alot of work, just to replace the core. The truck is a 98 ranger 2wd extended cab standard with a 2.5 engine.

 

Saws all maybe? Removing the dash isnt really all that hard. It looks worse than it is. You can remove the dash and just remove the steering column with it. Really no need to dismantle the dash. Just watch out for all the electrical connectors.

 

Here's some instructions I wrote after replacing the plenum on my truck. It was a long job. I didn't take the dash all the way out, just pulled it back to the point where I could get the plenum out.

Replacing the plenum

-Jim

 

Wow! remove the dash? I had to replace the heater core twice on my '91 and only had to work under the dash. Of course, I didn't have A/C...

 

All I can say is this...

When you remove the dash... dont try and get around it. Just take it out, or partially remove it to get the plenum out. Dont try and get around it. You will probably need to unhook your a/c stuff, get it evac'd, replace the dryer, etc...

Make sure you label everything. Just set aside a saturday and sunday, and go to it!

 

Ford made a change in the middle 90's that instead of taking out the glove box, unscrewing a few screws, detaching the lines from the core, sliding it out, and sliding in a new one, you have to basically pull the entire dash. The core drops in from the top of the plenum, and it's inlet/outlet nipples stick through the firewall. So the plenum has to come off the firewall to get the darn thing out. Brilliant.

AC does not need to be evacuated to get the plenum off. The AC components, as I remember, are on the engine side of the firewall. The plenum on my '98 was completely removable without evac'ing the AC.

-Jim