Today I flushed, acid slushed, then flushed again. There was a lot of crap in the system; rust of course, white chunks, and large black particles that settled to the bottom of the pail (I let the hose run into a white pail so I could watch what was coming out.

Putting in a new thermostat wasn’t much trouble. It was just a matter of pushing a couple of hoses out of my way for a clear view. I stuck two sided tape into the socket wrench to keep the bolts from falling. Putting the thermostat back in was a little tricky. As you know, the thermostat has to be seated in the top housing first and then set down onto the gasket on the engine. I was thinking of all kinds of elaborate ways to keep the thermostat from dropping out while I lowered the housing onto the engine. I noticed that after you settle the thermostat into it’s proper position there is a little bit of play as you rotate it either way. If you twist it far enough it sort of jams itself tight enough to hold itself from falling out. That worked great as I lowered it carefully onto the gasket.
<O</O
Next was to clean out the reservoir. It was filthy. After coughing and spitting up dirty, sweet tasting crud enough times, I gave up trying to siphon it clean. Yep, time to remove the reservoir and give it a good scrubbing. In order to remove the reservoir, the battery and battery plate have to come out first. Four bolts hold the battery plate in place. Three are easy to get at. The fourth is at a weird angle by the headlight and I promptly tossed that one in the garbage because there was no way I was going to waste as much time putting it back in as I did taking it out. With the battery plate out of the way, there are two bolts holding the reservoir in place….actually the coolant reservoir and washer fluid reservoir are molded as one unit. Then pull off the power supply for the washer pump and pull the unit up and out. No need to disconnect the washer pumps tube. I filled the reservoir several times, shook it up hard and poured it out. When you put it all back keep an eye on the wire harness that connects to the washer pump…it wants to sit itself against the rad unless you channel it away as you move the reservoirs back into place.

So, everything is clean and flushed and ready to hook up the heater core.

THE HEATER CORE
I tossed the original Ford quick connect hoses, so connecting the generic heater core to the 5/8” heater hoses posed a problem. The tubing on the heater core is smaller than ¾” and larger than 5/8” Try as I may I could not force the 5/8” hose over the tubes. I had to use ¾” hose but that left too much play. To shim out the gap, I bought the smallest bicycle inner-tube available and cut sleeves from it to pull over the heater core tube (see my earlier post). It worked perfectly!! I wanted to use one long sleeve to pull over the whole length of the tube, but the hose wouldn’t push over the ridge on the pipe, so I had to cut it into two sleeves; one on each side of the ridge. After lubing the ¾” hoses with antifreeze, they slipped snuggly over the heater core pipes, and I clamped behind the ridge. On the opposite end of the ¾” hose I put a male garden hose fitting, which screws into a female garden hose fitting, which is attached to the 5/8” heater hose.

As for tightening all those hose clamps in the tiny space so close to the fire wall, all I can say is “thank God I picked up that tiny ratchet wrench the other day”.

THE PROOF IS IN THE PUDDING
After adding the 50/50 mix of antifreeze and distilled water I had the usual troubles with air lock. I just kept up a rotation of running the engine, removing the cap, squeezing the top rad hose and refilling. I had no clue what I was doing, but eventually all the hoses were hot and the engine temp moved up on the gauge. And guess what!!....the heater core got hot as h*ll. I checked the whole system for leaks, suspecting to see lots after all the rough handling while pulling and twisting the hoses around. It’s all dry as a bone, including my elaborate labyrinth of heater core reducers and connections. But I guess I still have to pass the eventual road trip with higher revs.

TOMORROW…I put the blower assembly back together. I broke the casing in half while removing it, so I’ll be using a duct tape to fix it. Also I noticed that the heater core has some play in it and unless I push against it, cold air rushes past the edges. I’ll have to figure out a way to brace it tight against the housing. I already taped foam gaskets on the housing and they are working FANTASTIC as long as I push the heater core against them.

We’ll see how things go tomorrow. It’s been a long day, and I’m nursing a tall, and I mean TALL rum and coke in celebration of my accomplishments.

 

Great write-up, and creative thinking. However, I should warn you that the inner tube rubber is not nearly as weather resistant as heater hose, and will deteriorate pretty quickly under those conditions.

I'm trying to remember now, and maybe what I ended up doing was cutting off the plastic quick-connect parts off the stock heater hoses and pushing those onto the core nipples. I had to extend them at the other end to make them reach. Since I installed the T-fitting from the flushing kit into one of them, that was enough for that line.

I should have mentioned that when I removed my heater core, I had to first remove that lower dash trim. There are a few screws holding it in, including a couple of bolts in the space below the radio. If you have a factory equalizer for your radio, you would have to remove that first.

The other thing I found was that all the auto parts stores around here carried the same cheap Chinese made replacement heater core that did not fit well into the box. Since my core wasn't actually leaking, I just re-used it. It was important to keep the foam frame around it, or it would not seal to the box. If yours is lost or flaked apart, I vould find some thick, self-adhesive generic weather stripping to put around the core to help seal it.

 

Ya, I'm a little worried about the rubber hose shim. I hope it holds until I can get better fitting connections. A previous poster mentioned that import repair shops may carry a metric size inbetween 3/4 and 5/8".
I will probably end up cutting off the large flared tips and ridge, and connecting the hoses closer to the core. That would mean cutting the holes in the firewall larger and using expanding foam to seal them up.
As for the gasket, I have put self stick foam around the perimeter of the housing where the core comes in contact. I ran the fan, and it's a perfect seal around the edges as long as I lightly push the core against the housing. Now I have to think of a way to keep pressure on the core. It doesn't take much...just a slight push of the finger on the top.

 

Also, an easy tip in getting air out of the system is to fill the radiator with the heater on, fan on high. Make sure the radiator is at a higher level than the engine, as physics will force the air upward and out. Just make sure your Aerostar is on some common car ramps with the front end up.

After refilling, take the van for at least a 30 minute drive. Heater on, blowing hot and fan on high.

Then come back, and put the Aerostar back up on car ramps. Let the engine cool (overnight is best) with the Aerostar front-end up on ramps. Any residiual air pockets not removed during the coolant refilling process, will be forced out as it cools. Radiator MUST be up higher than engine for this procedure to work effectively.

I had an ASE mechanic tell me this, some newer cars actually have a air bleeder via the thermostat housing somewhere. Many newer vehicles do not, and those that suspect an air pocket in the cooling system, this is an easy and effective way to get air out of any cooling system.

 

Thank-you. I'll remember that for next time. It seems easier than a hose bleed.

 

Just a note:

Seven years ago, on my '89, there was a screw up high behind the glovebox that was harder than usual to get down.

Three days ago I did the heater core on my '93. It was a snap. Remove right kick panel, four 8mm head vertical screws, open glovebox door, pull down/out the plastic core cover.

Underhood, break off the hoses/connectors (I used a Dremel on a stick this time, but I've used various methods in the past).

Pull down core, keeping the outlets up to keep the coolant inside. A snap to remove.

I bought the aftermarket Four Seasons core this time around.

For the '89, I bought the Ford core. It, too, didn't have the foam filler, so I ordered it separately and could never get it to fit well, though I did eventually get it in.

On the '93, there was a 1" wide by 1/8" self-adhesive weatherstripping around the core. I duplicated it with similar home weatherstripping, after looking carefully at the setup: the foam does nothing to seal airflow; in fact, air can go right underneath the core at the drain "funnel", so the foam is not there to keep air flowing through the core. It appears to be there to keep the thing from squeaking in the plastic housing.

Hoses: you folks sure like to bleed a lot!

Buy the damn things from Ford. They are not all that expensive. A little teflon or silicone grease on the connector, and they snap right on. Don't fight hose clamps at an insane angle. You are not going to be taking them on and off every couple of years, and longer than that you want new hoses anyway.

I've done three Aero cores, new OEM hoses every time, and it's a breeze. You only need the special hose removal tool if you want to save the hose and/or the core, and I don't.

 

Now you tell me.!

 

I have an 89 also

I have to agree on using the OEM hoses - I didn't change my core (yet) but a couple of years back, I had to change a bad heater hose - I figured that since it was the lower hose of the two, I might as well do them both....

I got the removal tool and it was a piece of cake really... the key is to get a set of new o rings and fittings for the new hoses, since the old ones will be toast usually... and it's good to have an extra -

Yeah, the pair of hoses ran like $60 from the dealer, and at that time, I paid full price for them... they are the direct fit, correct hoses, so there was no guess work, etc...

The BEST part of this job, and why I like the OEM, is that the new hoses just slide and click in place!! - no worm clamps to worry about, no bloody hands, etc...

and, they will never come loose, which is the other thing I like about them, vs worm clamps that tend to creep sometimes....

I know if I keep the van another season, I will have to do the heater core - it's just not blowing hot anymore, :-)

so, this is where I will come to gather all that info - but anything specific on the 89 that I should know about?

the biggest pain for me, is that I decided to put my alarm system in that little space between the glove box and the heater core housing, so I will have to get rid of all that first, before I start tearing the core out, etc...

anyone have a good link to the procedure? and also, how are the prices of Ford OEM cores, vs aftermarket (az, Cap, etc) - Thanks

 

Ford OEM are abt double the price of cheapy import cores
plus there is the shipping

try these FTE site sponsors for real savings on OEM
http://www.discountfordpartsaty2kford.com/
http://www.directfordparts.com
http://www.rockauto.com/index.php?a=ford-trucks

best place for heater core install info is a Ford Svc cd of dvd
ebay and online sources now.

once Comspastic gets my 1 gb web site repaired, I'll post for 93>96

 

thanks 96 - I'll look for that - but I thought I saw the info on here? - I know that you're will be from lots of exp doing them :-)

I wonder why they don't list the 130 amp alt for the 1989? can you not put a 130amp alt on the 3.0L engine?

was 60 stock?

 

http://www.alternatorparts.com/ford_motorcraft_1g_type_large_case.htm

lots of Ford trucks and full sized cars in the 80s used the large case 3G rated from 80 to 100+ amps.
junke yard dogs lots cheaper than a super amp. rebuilt