Multiple Heater Core Failures
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Elder User
Joined: Mar 2004
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From: El Dorado Co., CA.
Multiple Heater Core Failures
1991 F250 Diesel.
I'm on my 5th heater core in the past 18 months. This last one lasted less than 500 miles. I'm using the Spectre brand from Autozone. I find it hard to believe i could have gotten 5 bad ones in a row. I have pressure checked the system and it's normal. There is no fluctuations in the readings, so I doubt there is a head gasket issue. I checked for stray voltage in the coolant and the results never got above .17 volts, but it was usually lower than that. I thought I had an electrolysis issue when I noticed the heater core tubes touching the firewall, so for this last core, I insulated the tubes, but that didn't help. I'm at a loss here.
I've checked everything I can think of. The truck has 117K miles on it. I don't drive it much, less than a few thousand miles a year.
any thoughts?
thanks
I'm on my 5th heater core in the past 18 months. This last one lasted less than 500 miles. I'm using the Spectre brand from Autozone. I find it hard to believe i could have gotten 5 bad ones in a row. I have pressure checked the system and it's normal. There is no fluctuations in the readings, so I doubt there is a head gasket issue. I checked for stray voltage in the coolant and the results never got above .17 volts, but it was usually lower than that. I thought I had an electrolysis issue when I noticed the heater core tubes touching the firewall, so for this last core, I insulated the tubes, but that didn't help. I'm at a loss here.
I've checked everything I can think of. The truck has 117K miles on it. I don't drive it much, less than a few thousand miles a year.
any thoughts?
thanks
Fleet Mechanic
Joined: Jul 2011
Posts: 1,667
Likes: 5
did you find where the failed heater cores leaked,to fail in 500 miles I would think you would have to rub a hole into it,vibrate the thing apart or burn a hole into it with a shorted 12v wire or you got some really crappy heater cores.
Thread Starter
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Elder User
Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 588
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From: El Dorado Co., CA.
thanks
Elder User
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 767
Likes: 1
From: Franklin, GA
Dang! That many in that short length of time. Sounds like my kind of luck. I do believe I'd try a different manufacturer for the next one and probably another parts store. Not meaning the cores you are getting all came from a bad batch, I just know I wouldn't want to do another one after this next install by eliminating all possible causes, manufacture defects included.
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