Heading Out Do Change Out Heater Core In RRC

[the colonel]

OK....it's D-Day and we are getting ready to swap out the heater core on Jon's RRC. Will post pics as we get thru the steps.

[the colonel]

OK. we were able to label and disconnect the wires and vent lines as well as the middle dash face piece. Jon was able to get under the dash and disconnect the holding bolts for the heater core lower bolts. I disconnected the higher bolts by using a 12" extension rod and 14mm socket. With the sun setting, you can feel the temp differenc and we decided with that out of the way, we will continue on Monday. The heater core moves some, but not as free as I would have hoped. We need to move the core forward and up to disconnect the water lines, but I am confident we will need to remove the top dash as well. Any suggestions or advice is welcome!

[Greatdivide1]

brave boys you are!! looks good check okierover's<on lro > site the has a break down on the one he did.

[the colonel]

yeah... we got that one too. he took the top dash off. we will start early MOnday and continue what we started today. At least we got the small stuff out of the way!

[ArmyRover]

Makes the Jag look easy doesn't it Don...

[Greatdivide1]

lol yea it does lol

[the colonel]

not to hard.....yet!

[cellulararrest]

You've got a ways to go! You'll finish though and it will be great! Just make sure you properly adjust all the controls when you're putting it back together or you'll regret it!

[the colonel]

Chris...that seems to be the head on the nail.....cause everyone is reminding me of that! I will be sure to do so.

Follow up post:

ok... just taking a break for a few. We got the entire assembly out. the snag is that we received the wrong assembly w/ core soooooo what we did was open up the assembly, ( which was thrown in w/ the core) removed new core from used assembly and re-installed it into Jons assembly. After break we will reinstall assembly, re-connect lines and harness' and button up the dash and see what happens.

UPDATE: Got it in. Got heat! Stronger than before. Cleaned out a blockage in the blower motor. Mouse had to find a new home! We are buttoning up the dash. No leaks! Our first Range Rover Heater Core Job....COMPLETE. Not as hard as everyone in other forums made it out to be. Total 9hrs!!! Worst part....getting behind the engine block to disconnect / connect hoses. Let me say this: There is no need to remove the AC unit! Again.....NO NEED TO REMOVE AC UNIT!

[the colonel]

Here is the write-up for CHANGING A RANGE ROVER HEATER CORE.

IT IS IMPORTANT to understand how we will be doing this. We will work from left to right, one layer at a time. Do not bounce around or you will get messed up. IT'S NOT AS HARD AS EVERYONE TELLS YOU!

1) Begin by disconnecting the battery terminals.

2) Inside the vehicle, begin by poping out the dash vents. A flat head screw driver does the trick. While you are doing this, remove the coin tray on top of the dash by removing the 4 screws found under the rubber pad and then on the passengerside, remove the screws under the rubber pad in the cubby.

3) Under the dash, drivers side, locate and remove the 4 nuts that anchor the instument cluster. This will release the top dash from the framework. You DO NOT need to disconnect the harness connectors under the cluster.

4) Move to the center dash and locate all the screws that were located under the vents that you popped out. Remove the screws. Also under the upper lip of th dash you will find more screws. Remove them as well. This will release the front panel of the dash.

5) At this time, Move to the right (passenger) side of the dash and locate the all screws holding the final section of the dash face on. This should be loose enough to move out of the way, exposing the inside chnnel of the air vents.

6) Before disconnecting any wires or harness connectors, it is suggested that you get a label maker and label all connectors, both ends. This was suggested by OKIE ROVERS and saved us a lot of aggrevation. The temptations there to skip this suggestion, but don't.
With that said, begin on the left side of the center dash and reach behind and disconnect the clock wires, then the mirror wires, the fuse box and anything else that you may have on your dash face.

7) With these items disconnected and placed away in a safe spot, go back to the drivers side and locate all the screws that anchor th bottom cover under the steering wheel. Remove! Lower cover out of the way. Locate side of vent assembly. Disconnect all vent hoses. Our vent hoses were held in place with plastic wire ties. Simply snip them with wire cutters and remove from air channels. Next remove the screws that are anchoring the air channels. Put the screws right back into the housing frame where you got them from so you know where they are. Disconnect ALL vent hoses at this time.

8) The heater core and vent housing assembly is anchored to the fire wall by 4 bolts. Using a 12" extention will make this reach easy. Locate the 4 bolts on both the left and right side of the vent housing assembly. On each side one is high, the other is low. Remove all four. You will feel that the housing is loose but not free. the coolant hoses are still holding the unit somewhat securely in place. Not for long though.

9) With the bolts undone from th fire wall, head outside and under the hood of the vehicle. Towards the center left of the firewall, behind the engine block, locate the upper and lower lines to the heater core. These are held in place with either standard hose clamps or the spring wire ones. Either way, you will find it a somewhat tight fit. Be persistant. Disconnect both hoses. Be prepared to catch any antifreeze that may leak from the lines.

10) Head back into the vehicle and with a tug on the right side of the dash, pull out and up. This will move the top dash out of the way, exposing the complete heater core housing assembly. Be sure all wires are labeled and disconnected. If you are working with someone, have that person hold the right side of the dash up and out of the way while you gently remove the hose nipples from out of the fire wall. If you are working alone, I found a 4' piece of 2x4 works just as good to hold the dash up and out of the way. One end undrer the dash to support it, the other end in the door jamb of the passenger side door. NOw simply grab the housing and remove by pulling the top out first and then the bottom until clear of the dash area. NOTE: Be aware of any wires that may get snagged while pulling the core out.

11) Now depending on whether you are just replacing the the complete housing or just the heater core (which we did) will depend on how much more time you have on this project. If you are simply swapping the complete housing and heater core, you are almost done. We had to remove the heater core from the housing and replace that from a donor housing assembly and that added 2 hours for some reason to the job.
If you are just changing the complete housing, simply drop the housing and core back into th location you just took it from. And begin the process backwards. Do it as soon as possible so the steps are fresh in your mind. Just work backwards. Notic, there was no need to remove the A/C unit.
IF YOU ARE REPLACING JUST THE HEATER CORE this was somewhat a challenge for me as I never had to open up a housing unit before. Locate all clips, screws and circlips. Remove all. Be mindful of ll actuators and flps that may come dislodged. The idea is to seperate the unit in two. Concentrate your efforts on the center seam. Notice where the vent flaps come through the housing they are held in place with crown retainer washers. They suck but they will come off. (What comes off must go back on) Work the housing open and remove bad core. Install new. If you remove a plastic nd aluminum core and replace it with a copper and aluminum core, you may have to make some adjustments to the inside of the core housing chamber. ie: cut away some of the plastic seperators that they built into the chamber. We had to cut this out and re-engineer the housing to fit a copper core.
When completed the install. Button up the housing being mindful to check the flaps, accuators and everything else that you took apart. When complete, re-install housing unit to the firewall and secure with the four bolts. Then reverse the steps and re-assemble until complete. GOOD LUCK ! Feel free to contact us if you have any questions pertaining this this project!

[cellulararrest]

Looks great! Congrats on completing the job! It feels great!

[PriestlyDeacon]

Haha, the picture of me holding up the heater core captures my exact feelings at the time: victory.

[Daniel]

Nice job guys! Congratulations!! And good write up Tom.

[TightButWillFit]

congrats!

[junkyddog11]

congrats. Those things are a pain.
I dont remove the AC either, but do loosen it and drop it to one side, no disconnection required. This method lets you skip removing the dash top. Might be six of one....half dozen of the other, but generally I end up following the path of least resistance.
Only other thing I do is pull the bottom heater line up at the fill and pump the coolant out which will empty the core. Less coolant loss...I hate a messy core job!!