Hello ford enthusiasts,

I was having heater core and coolant issue so i had a coolant flush + pressure test done on my 97’ F-250 5.4 light duty (yes i know this is for f-150s but i couldn’t find mine lol) and discovered coolant leaking from the heater core. It was leaking very bad and the reservoir was almost running dry. The leak was plugged due to a previous owner (ive had the truck a few months) pouring a stop leak solution in the reservoir which clogged the lines and radiator. After doing the flush, the leak was unplugged and it started leaking much worse (mechanic said it cant get worse than that). The truck was not holding any coolant so i went back to do a heater core bypass a few days later. The leak stopped and my truck is holding the coolant now, however i still smell the sweet smell outside of the truck and i smell a different smell of coolant on the inside the cab. Coolant level stays where its supposed to be though so im not to worried about it.

Now the problems:

Mechanic said i should not only replace the heater core but also the radiator due to the stop leak. He also recommends an instrument cluster because my speedometer died once (it came back on the next day) and my odometer doesnt work. The major issue is my dashboard is cracked of course, just on the instrument cluster portion. So mechanic says the dashboard will be further damaged and it can possibly collapse on itself when he does the heater core so he cant really replace it without redoing the entire dash.

My dash:


So now i cannot find a dashboard for my truck. All are already extremely damaged or have been totally salvaged through. I found some on ebay however they say they are for an 1997-2003 F-150 instead of F-250. My truck is a 97’ “7 lug” light duty F-250 so it has the exact same body style and interior as the F-150s so im wondering if this part will work in my truck? Can anyone help me answer this question, or does anyone have any suggestions for finding a new dashboard/repairing the heater core? Maybe someone has been in the same situation and can help. Also, is there anything else i should replace while im working on the radiator and under the dash? Like should i put in a new thermostat or fan? Should i check for electrolysis? Anything i need to know about replacing an instrument cluster?

Here are the ebay dashes:




This is only the instrument panel portion of the dash, which is the only part that i need for my trucks dashboard the other piece is intact. So can i get by with just replacing this part pr do i have to do the entire dash?

Last thing: my mechanic said around $125 for his labor to replace the dashboard and heater core which i think is more than a fair price based on the fact that one mechanic quoted $1600 and another quoted a few grand. What do you guys think is a reasonable price range?

Im honestly tired of this truck and i just want to get rid of it but its so uncomfortable without heat but this forum has helped me a lot with some of my previous issues so im hoping i can get this resolved soon with the guidance of some more experienced folks. Thanks for your time.

 

$125 for labor?

Has this guy worked on anything recent? A ‘94 Ranger takes 20 minutes to change a heater core. These F150s take hours!

Anyway, I bought a Coverlay cover for my ‘03. Should work for hours, but that upper portion is about $220 for the part. My dash isn’t that bad, but there are spider cracks around the defroster vents and I opened a hole above the passenger side airbag.

Epoxy your current cracks and slap the Coverlay over it.

 

Gotta be a misquote or a missprint by one of them lol. That job will take at least 8hrs.

 

You can bypass the heater core pretty easily with a brass 5/8" hose barb. I did on the Expedition and my Lobo for a while. If you have the means put an inline coolant filter on the thing to really clean any caca out, I had to on both due to PO using tap water to top off as the intake manifold died. Morons.

Yes, R&R of core is not a half hour job like the 9th gen and older. Mine took most of a day, you spend most of the time removing trim and keeping fasteners together. Really far quicker if you have a pal to bag and tag or a large shoppe to lay out bits with fasteners.

Be sure to use an updated blend door motor while in there, it has some steel ring around it.

 

How many blendoors do we have in the vehicle? One or two?

Is the blend door motor the same as the blend door actuator? Is this the same thing as the heater air door/heat temp blendoor door?

 

There is just one door up in the front, I would probably use a Dorman one. I think mine is GPD but they all come from Chyna anyway. The motor is about 3"x3" and under the plastic trim up front. Fairly easy to access.

The R&R of the core is not that bad, just time consuming. Can always start one day by pulling trim and bagging it, finish another day if you only have one vehicle.