lol theres your problem, you went to home depot

 

I just used a piece of 3-4" long 1/2" copper pipe, never had an issue. I think I even threw it behind the seat or someplace for a pinch if it pukes again.

Been a while since I did a heater core, don't recall seeing square or round corners here, but could easily be the case, may have been that Ford bought the heaters as an assembly from their suppliers, and didn't look too closely at the internals.

 

Grey I did the same thing and I have that copper in my glove box just incase lol

 

I've had a short piece of 3/8" pipe in my truckbox since I bought the truck, for just in case. Been 13+ years. Bout time to replace the pipe, even though it's never seen use.....LOL.
The pipe also comes in handy if a heater hose springs a leak in the middle of nowhere, and too far away from the end for a trim and refit. When someone sees that piece of pipe, with 2 clamps snugged down on it, they always wonder what it's for.

 

I went out to lunch today and I noticed some antifreeze on my passenger side floor mat. I will try taking the glove box off and opening that panel y'all speak of and see what the heck is going on in there. Maybe it just dripped down the heater core tube.

 

Tell them it is part of the Universal Ford Pre-Power Stroke Diesel Rescue Kit™, carried by every informed owner.

 

Aluminum core on left, copper/brass on the right.
The copper/brass one is what came out of my '88 F250 with 7.3L. The aluminum one was in my parts '90 F250 that had a gas 460. Both trucks have A/C.

The overall length and width of the two are almost the same. However, look at the end tanks. The rectangular aluminum tanks have corners that the rounded copper/brass tanks don't have. The top tank especially is much smaller on the copper brass tank.

The cutout on the heater box on the '88 had a rounded shape that the copper brass core fit nicely through. The aluminum core with its rectangular tanks did NOT fit through this cutout. The heater box on the '90 had a rectangular cutout to fit the aluminum core.

I'm just saying what my truck has, I don't know when, or why Ford switched from one to the other. I was able to find the correct core at rockauto for about $38 I think. Advance does carry one they think works, but the hose fittings are too short and the wrong shape, maybe it fits trucks without A/C though, I don't know.

The guy at Home Cheepo was an idiot. Of course PVC wouldn't work, most PVC at big box stores are for drain lines. 5/8" is an odd-ball size for plumbing fittings too. The correct store is an auto parts place which will have the fitting in the "Help" section made out of black nylon and specifically for heater hose. The one I found at Lowes was on the rack that has all the small brass and nylon fittings and adapters. Its made of natural nylon, was quite cheap. Although I'm not sure of the temp rating, mcmaster says natural nylon is good to ~212°, another place said natural nylon is rated the same as black nylon, 275° I figured it was fine, and it was cheaper than the ones at an auto store, so I bought it and a bag of well built stainless hose clamps (made in china, but better quality than what you see at most parts stores).

I'm not sure I'd trust a smooth piece of pipe under pressure. There is a reason why fittings for hoses have either barbs or a raised bump that the clamp rests behind. That being said, its better than nothing in an emergency. Also, the 90 elbow might be better for a heater bypass, but a straight connector can be cut in anywhere a hose leak is found. Which is why I put the connector back in my glovebox after replacing the heater core don't forget you'll need 2 clamps as well to fix leaking hose.

 

Nah, I give my usual SA reply, "It's a trap to catch nosey people, and look who it caught"......

 

Update: I got home today, let the truck cool down and I removed the heater core. It was a simple-stupid job and the hardest part was fanagaling it out of the bottom of the glove box compartment. That and getting up close and personal with a hot heater core. The good news is that the heater core is in almost mint condition. I could not spot one speck of corrosion on it anywhere! I think it is a newer replacement. It had a clean looking sticker on the bottom. The bad news is that I obviously am not qualified to secure a hose with a worm drive clamp.

More good news is that I figured out my vacuum issue and why my vents were not switching. The answer is that whoever the clown was that dicked around with the vacuum lines near the heater core did not connect the line for the vent selector (white tube). There is a junction connector where the lines from the engine compartment connect to the ones in the cab and it is a 3 port junction connector. The vacuum line coming from the engine bay was connected to a port that had nothing on the other end. The cab side was connected to the junction connector with nothing on the engine bay side. I connected the two and now I can get some air from the vents. I still have a gaping hole in the A/C box but maybe some JB weld will rectify that.

Over all I am pretty happy with the turn out of this. I fix my vacuum issue, I realize I am stupid and I find out my heater core is good for another ten years. Now on to differential and transmission services this weekend!

Oh, as an aside, I found a hypodermic needle in the vent passage by the heater core. Kind of an odd thing to find but this truck was clearly used on a farm at one point, so I am hoping for the needle's intentions to be on the bovine side.

 

Eatont9999,
Just to let you know, the one I took out (in the above picture) also looked like it was in great shape. There looked to be some deposits inside, but the exterior looked fine. I tried to pressurize it to see if there were any leaks, couldn't find anything. Pulled a vacuum on it, still didn't seem to be leaking. Reinstalled it, fired up the truck. As soon as the coolant came up to temp, steam was pouring out from someplace.

I hope for your sake that it was just the hose connection, but don't bet on it.

 

hey Eaton,iv noticed for a while now my windshield keeps getting the coolant film,a tell tale sign the heater core is going.
i better just replace it,as im sure it's likely the original '93 still.last thing i need is for her to spring a leak and make a mess,and have to make a roadside repair of bypassing the thing.
anyway,my question is;
where did you find a copper/brass heater core? who makes it? i can't for the life of me find one.i only searched for an hour or so,so far last night.but im calling uncle on this one and just gunna ask where you found one?
i really don't want any aluminum parts for my coolant system.i'll buy used if need be.
thanks man.

 

I couldn't verify the heater core was leaking or if the hose connecting to it was leaking, so I didn't replace the heater core. I don't have steam, smell or water in the cab but I noticed a while ago that I was losing coolant and happened to see a puddle of it under the passenger side door. Nothing on the floor of the truck but it looked like some coolant running down the firewall, so I just bypassed it since it is 110F out. I think my issue is that the 5/8" hose is a little large for the heater core. The hose seems to fit on loosely and the clamp can't compress it enough. I'm going to try some 1/2" hose next time.

I saw the copper heater core on O'Reilly's website but I don't see it anymore. i see a few on fleabay. If I see any more, I'll let you know.

 

Seems to me, that when I had to bypass mine on the side of the road, I just looped one of the hoses back around and did not have to buy anything.

 

That's what I did. F250 is looking for a replacement heater core. Up there in MA where he lives, it gets really cold for at least half of the year. He needs a heater by November or he will be quite unhappy.

The only bad things I have heard about the aluminum ones is not fitting properly. Check Ebay for copper/brass ones.

 

I found mine on RockAuto. Not sure how to link directly to it, but this is what I found when I just looked it up. I can't remember if this was the same one I put in my truck, but the price looks about right and the picture matches. VISTA-PRO Part # 398300
W/Standard Heater; Copper/Brass Heater Core; w/AC

Did you check what was in there first? Its only a couple screws to pop the panel loose and see if its an aluminum or copper one. The aluminum will NOT fit into a copper case, its possible the copper will replace the aluminum with additional foam insulation around the ends. I can probably check that for you if you have the aluminum one, I think my parts truck is still in pieces and I have the old copper core from my truck.