Has anyone replaced their heater core? What is the life of it? My 2003 MCS has 59K miles, and is out of warranty, I ordered the part ($109.00) and o-rings, but i am just curious as to if any of you have had to replace yours?

Thanks.

Wen

 

looking at the bentley manual, it doesn't look as bad as on some other cars.
in the engine compartment:
drain coolant
remove air filter housing (MCS) or battery box (MC)
loosen or remove heater hose clamps, detach coolant hoses, blow air
through to clear coolant from core

under left side of dashboard:
swing down left lower dashboard trim
remove cover on l side of heating/ac housing
remove three mounting screws
carefully wriggle cover backward past throttle pedal assembly
remove heater core mounting screws
loosen coolant pipe clamps and disconnect pipes
installation is reverse of removal
seat heater core correctly
replace coolant pipe clamp sealing o-rings...coat new sealing rings
with antiseize paste
seat sealing rings and clamps correctly
fill and bleed cooling system and check for leaks

 

yep, got that, just wondering if anyone else had this problem.

 

Why do you need to replace it?
Is it leaking? Only other reason I would change it would be if it might be clogged. Only way that can happen is if someone added some sort of stopleak to the system. Which is for emergency use only!

 

Done and done! Replaced it without a hitch. Hardest part was getting the screw at the back of the cover for the piping.

Had to replace the heater core because it was leaking, soaked the carpet and the vents blew collant steam when the heat was on....Scary!

Thanks for your help man.

 

My heater core failed this week. My MCS is 3 years old with 40,000 miles. Seems very premature, but it's all under warranty.

The symptoms were exactly the same as Wenzor's. The wierd thing is I'm in south Florida and can't recall ever using the heater.

 

Seems like a strange thing to go out. What was the failure mode? Did something get stressed and crack, or did it fail in the middle of the core? Just curious.

 

Mine went last week,41000 mi.Waited 4 days so far ,1 in north america according to s/a.Kind of hard to believe but if you look at consruction if o rings get brittle or shrink you got leak on floor.Any one got re/re scanned from bently?

 

I replaced my heater core today and did not disconnect the hoses going through the firewall (very hard to get at) which feed the core. I just pulled out the core and drained it very carefully.

phil.

 

My heater core went kaput this morning. The dealer quoted parts and
6 hours to replace it. They were going to pull the dash, discharge the
AC, etc. I used the instructions above (I have the Bentley manual) and had
the old core out of the car in about 30 minutes. I'm now waiting for parts.

 

6 hours??? AC and dash??? I'd REALLY go question the dealers business ethics! The core is designed to be removed without ripping the car apart. I skipped disconnecting the 2 hoses going through the firewall and spent the extra 5 mins draining the core into a cup.

1. disconnect main coolant hose from rad and drain
2. remove heater core cover
3. remove heater core clamps
4. drain heater core
5. swap cores
6. put everything back together
7. clean all carpets (shoes+coolant+pedals dont mix)

good luck!

phil.

 

Yeah, the repair really is a no-brainer. Parts should be here today.

 

Pete,
My wife's '03 core went yesterday! Where did you get the part(s) and at what price? I got the bad core out without problems but can't seem to find any online. I have heard $300!

Thankx,
Ned (Greenville, SC)

 

I was able to get the core and fitting kit (don't forget this) for ~$140 from
the local dealer (Global).

-
Pete

 

MINI dealership...i think it was only $85 bucks! Call your local dealers parts counter....!

 

Here's a drawing with part numbers:

http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts...26&hg=64&fg=15

 

I am beginning to wonder about the longterm with my Mini - to have a heater core fail at 3 years is ridiculous - I recently replaced the heater core in my 91 Ford Ranger after 15 years and 159,000 miles - almost to be expected - sorry for the comparison but they should last longer

 

how about this... my heater core went at 37000 miles. took ot to the dealer who said they never have a problem with hheater cores and after 1.5 weeks i got the car back. 2 days later leaking again. after 3 weeks got the car back. two weeks later it dumps all over the floor.

 

Has anyone actually seen the damaged core? I am curious about what the "damage" is. Sounds like the connections are leaking. I haven't had one out or seen one with this problem, I can't understand how this is happening. please post your experience.

 

I had the same thought. That it's relatively easy to change makes me feel a bit better, but still.

 

hey I got fluid in my passengers floor board smells like coolant and I keep having to replace it in the reservoir and when the heat is on I smell coolant. Looks like I need to get a heater core, but why in the passengers side and not the drivers?????

03 MC 91,000

 

It could be pooling up in the box and just coming out the passenger side floor vent.


Most heater core failures are from corrosion due to clogged hvac box drains and debris (leaves, pine needles, small animals) getting into there and absorbing water.

Usually it seems the evaporator goes before the heater core, but I guess it could go either way, depending on a number of variables.

 

Hello fellow NAMers:

I want to renew this thread because I have question about a tool needed.

I noticed the lower coolant hose clamp (the one that feeds through the firewall) is actually not seating (or clasping) the hose properly. Normally you would see the clamp graspping the hose flat to the connector. I saw mine the top half is graspping the hose to the connector while the lower half is crooked, only partially gripping the hose to the connector. The hose itself seems to be tightly connected with no sign of leakage and the clamp itself seems tight.

My question is, is it even necessary to re-adjust it to clasp the hose flush? If so, what kind of tool should I use? Like retainer right plier sold at Sears?

Thank you for your help.

 

Any help plz? I want to know what kind of tool to use and how to loosen and tighten the hose clamp if I do decide to re-adjust it.

Thank you .

 

Alright this all just happened to me too. But is it necessary to replace the core or just the seals? Seems funny that the core would go when most everyone is saying the seals crapped. Figured I'd get a second opinion before ordering parts.