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Hey guys I'm having trouble sourcing a heater core for my 86' F250 with a 7.5L. Does anyone know where I might be able to find one that has the curved top and bottom? All of the parts stores around here have another style that doesn't fit in my heater box. The ones that seem to be available have a square top and bottom but the correct one has a slightly curved top and bottom. I've been poking around and I found a few on like Jegs and rockauto but I'm concerned they will show up like the square top/bottom one that the one from NAPA did. Any suggestions?
Oh yeah sorry I forgot it has factory AC and a standard heater core. I have a picture of it as well. the old heater core is one of the older style copper ones and I found a source for rebuilt ones but I haven’t found a source for a brand new one that has the rounded end cap that will fit inside my heater box.
It looks like a lot of the aftermarket ones don’t have the rounded end so I need to find a source of somebody that has one that does have the rounded ends and I need to verify that.
Hey guys I'm having trouble sourcing a heater core for my 86' F250 with a 7.5L. Does anyone know where I might be able to find one that has the curved top and bottom? All of the parts stores around here have another style that doesn't fit in my heater box. The ones that seem to be available have a square top and bottom but the correct one has a slightly curved top and bottom. I've been poking around and I found a few on like Jegs and rockauto but I'm concerned they will show up like the square top/bottom one that the one from NAPA did. Any suggestions?
Someone in the parts chain years ago decided the square one will work, and there must be hundreds of them in the parts chain. You might find a oddball one made earlier that will fit.
that picture looks correct but the one I ordered from Napa had the exact same picture but when it showed up it had the square top and bottom. Doesn’t do free shipping so I’m hesitant to order it and have it turned out to be the wrong part.
Someone in the parts chain years ago decided the square one will work, and there must be hundreds of them in the parts chain. You might find a oddball one made earlier that will fit.
That’s what I was thinking too I don’t know who made that decision but I kind of wanna smack them. I guess what I’m going to have to do is call and talk to a real person and verify before they ship if possible.
I don't know where you live, but can't you just go to the local NAPA or other auto parts store, bring the old one and show them. I think my heater core from NAPA was like $25 some ten years ago, May of 2014.
I don't know where you live, but can't you just go to the local NAPA or other auto parts store, bring the old one and show them. I think my heater core from NAPA was like $25 some ten years ago, May of 2014.
That's what I did, Napa claims the one with the square ends is a direct fit but it clearly isn't. I tried fitting the one with square ends and it just doesn't fit in the heater box.
The heater box is plastic. Can you grind away a small amount to make the core fit ? Sorry, I don't have AC in my truck, so I have no idea how different the box is.
But thinking more about it, if that was possible, that fix would have been mentioned.
That’s what I was thinking too I don’t know who made that decision but I kind of wanna smack them...
Sadly, these database errors are not uncommon. Once vehicles get beyond a certain age and there aren't too many on the road, the overall demand for parts drops off. Businesses in the supply chain want to consolidate parts listings as much as possible. Just a hunch, but I bet such tasks get assigned to the interns or new hires.
I ran into something similar with the water pump on my car. Over a ten year production run, the first three years had a slightly different bolt pattern. One bolt was off by maybe 1/2". Not real obvious at first, unless you knew exactly where to look. I found about 90% of the online listings were incorrect, even with some big chains.
Not sure what's the best fix. If you can order locally, the whole process is much easier if you bring the old part with you when the new one arrives. If it doesn't match, you can decline. If you'd prefer online, make sure the vendor has a good return policy, especially for return shipping.
If you need the truck in the meantime, you can connect the two hoses with a coupler and drive without a heater.
Sadly, these database errors are not uncommon. Once vehicles get beyond a certain age and there aren't too many on the road, the overall demand for parts drops off. Businesses in the supply chain want to consolidate parts listings as much as possible. Just a hunch, but I bet such tasks get assigned to the interns or new hires.
I ran into something similar with the water pump on my car. Over a ten year production run, the first three years had a slightly different bolt pattern. One bolt was off by maybe 1/2". Not real obvious at first, unless you knew exactly where to look. I found about 90% of the online listings were incorrect, even with some big chains.
Not sure what's the best fix. If you can order locally, the whole process is much easier if you bring the old part with you when the new one arrives. If it doesn't match, you can decline. If you'd prefer online, make sure the vendor has a good return policy, especially for return shipping.
If you need the truck in the meantime, you can connect the two hoses with a coupler and drive without a heater.
Yeah I currently have the heater bypassed so that's not a problem. I'm just struggling to find the correct heater core and really not wanting to spend hundreds to dollars to get it working if possible,
Yeah I currently have the heater bypassed so that's not a problem. I'm just struggling to find the correct heater core and really not wanting to spend hundreds to dollars to get it working if possible,
If the tanks are still good and the core is still available there are still a few radiator shops out there that can rebuild your heater core. It won't be cheap though...
If the tanks are still good and the core is still available there are still a few radiator shops out there that can rebuild your heater core. It won't be cheap though...
Yeah I already got a quote for $285 to recore mine. I want to see if I can find an alternate if I can. The agility heater core on Rock Auto seems like the right one but again I don't want to eat shipping if it's not and doesn't match the picture.
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