Ideas For New Heater Core Pressure Check Befor Install

boostfrk said:

Funny, cause I'm in central Florida and just hooked up my heater hoses when I installed my ported lower intake last week. I've had the new heater core installed since last fall. Tried the heater on Monday and it got hot!

Then again, I am planning to move to Colorado in August so I'll probably need it.

To the OP, I just installed it and went with it. Sure it was a pain in the a$$ to remove the dash, but what fun is a project car without the impending "project" of another heater core replacement!

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You See!

This is what I was thinking about happening! I don't want to take that dash back out - probably wouldn't for a Heater Core down here, but I'm in there so I might as well do it. And all of you guys surely know: Doing it right the FIRST time is the best way - right.

Boost, You're not going to be a fellow Floridian any more??? Better get that heater core fix soon.

Thanks guys for the RESTRICTOR advice. I'll look inside my old core, the OEM one is probably still in it...

MikeH686 said:

Get some heater hose and clamp a gauge on one side with hose clamps and clamp a s headed valve fitting on the other side fill it to about 100# then submerge it in the bathtub and check for leaks that's how I check for pinholes in my tires

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So far MikeH686, you seem to have a plan that I can conceive. I just have to come up with the fitting. I probably could cut-off an Inner -tube valve from a bicycle to use as the inlet side...Hmmm, gotta come up with the rest of the plan....

Going to do the Evaporator too.

jrichker said:

This is what he is talking about...

Copied from: skent@ix.netcom.com
"How do you make the flow restrictors? I made them from 5/8 OD aluminum stand-offs drilled to 0.25" ID (restrict.jpg). The heater seems to be effective but the motor has to be good and hot for the heater to be _really_ hot. I can live with this, but if I were to do it again, I might consider a 3/8 ID. After about 20 minutes of normal driving, I observed air temperature of 157F. This is with a 192F thermostat. When installing the heater core restrictor, make sure that it goes in the input or pressure side. The input/pressure side is the top metal tube that runs along the intake and the larger of the two pipes on the heater core."

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I learn something new every time I read your responses, Thanks!

Mustang5L5 said:

A/C systems are usually filled with nitrogen and pressure checked.

I bet the same could be applied here

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Only folks I know that have Nitrogen is Costco, where I buy my street tires - they might not want to give me a shot, but I can try. At least the Nitrogen won't have moisture for the evaporator - probably not a big deal being that I will vacuum it down...

MikeH686 said:

No they make them Schrader ports I'm pretty sure at least I feel an inner tube port would be to flimsy

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Mike, I'm trying to get my head around the details of your design... sketch something on paper if you can.

I was thinking inner-tubes have Schrader valves in them, so I could cut and hose-clamp the tube valve into a piece of rubber or something and then clamp that to one end of the Core and capping off the other. Must admit: I haven't put my engineering mind to this as yet - just hoping someone else already did the work for me and would pass the idea along...

Frankly, I'm not so worried about the Heater Core as I am about the Evaporator -I could live without the Core but the Evap is another thing here in South Florida.

Thanks Guys.

Dwayne