I've done it both ways. The first time, before I discovered FTE I did from under the hood and it was a a reall pain and took for ever. The second time I followed the article that Steponit just posted and was done in a couple of hours. No need to remove the evapourator. Read the tech article and then feel free to kick your self.
My '76 has factory air.

Don't feel too bad I did the heater core in my friends '97 F150 it took over 8 hours, complete dash removal, dropped the steering colunm , removed air bag ,a ton of wiring every place,,,, really made me appreciate these old trucks.


Frank

 

yeah my brother did his, its like a 93, turned into a 2 or 3 day project.

 

I hope your not a betting man because I'll make a video doing it with the evap core in the box connected to the hoses if you want to put your money where your mouth is.

100 bucks for my time sounds fair to me.

 

100 bucks, you got it! start making your video buddy.
It's obviously been a long time since you were into one of those.
no hack job like cutting on the box allowed and truck must have an engine in it...

 

I just read it, step 15 says to ''Pull the evaporator from the case and secure it above the case''.
How did you get the screws out of the heater core straps without removing the evaporator from the case? The right strap has 1 screw and a hinge, it needs about 6'' to swing out of the way. The other one has 2 screws, the evap mounts almost against the core.

 

You just undo the screws holding the evaporator to the case and the screws holding the little metal piece beside the evaporator, then twist/move the evaporator up or out of the way to reach in the box to get to the heater core. I think you just lost $100. I've done it on my truck in a few hours. 77 with factory air.

 

I couldn't tell you the last time I've worked on a dentside.

I don't do hack work, never have cut the box on any of my trucks. I will tell you that it is rather simple to R+R a heater core or a blower motor with the evap still hooked to the hoses. If you still insist on my making a video we will find someone neutral to paypal a 100 bucks to.

It also looks like I'm not the only one that can do it.

 

I gotta agree with ranger...never have I had to unhook the evap on a factory A/C installed rig. I really don't see the big hub bub about replacing one either, sure it's tight, but it usually takes me around 3 hours start to finish, including clean up. Can I get some action on this bet too?

 

I didn't even see that line before. The engine in or out shouldn't matter. Besides the hoses on the heater core all the work I would do is done from under the dash.


I have a feeling once he finds confirmation from others that it can be done he will think twice about putting his 100 bucks up.

Here is someone else that can change both without disconnecting the evap core: http://www.ncspecialties.com/autobody/heater/index.htm

Let me know if you still would like a video.

 

NO NO NO NO... You guys are missing my whole point!
You were saying you don't have to remove the evaporator from the housing, I'm saying you do. Who got us on the subject of disconnecting lines anyways?? It wasn't me. I don't care about the lines. You change that heater core without pulling the evap out of the box and I'll give you a hundred bucks.
You said you can do it without removing the evap. pulling it out of the box and hanging it under the dash is still removing it from the box.

 

Notice the part that says ''IN THE BOX'' ????
My, my, my. how you have twisted this subject around there ranger.

 

NO. I just WON a hundred bucks. I'm saying you can't do it without pulling the evap from the box. You confirmed that, I don't care if it's dangling from the lines or not. It's gotta come out of the way to get to the core.

 

Apparently we all misunderstood what you meant by pulling the evaporator.

 

See post 12. I communicated fine, Ranger just twisted the subject all around to save his hundred bucks.

 

Post 12:

I'm not gonna nit pick, because I really don't care. I posted that pic because to me it's obvious we all thought you meant unhook it and take it out of the truck completely. Because, if someone says "I pulled the distributor" or "I pulled the starter" that means they took it completely off the truck. I'm not saying anyone is twisting anything or it's anyone's fault.

It's cool dude.