2008 JKU heater core replacement?

mikefishes

mikefishes

New member
Has anyone here had to replace the heater core in their JK? I noticed that the floor matts were wet the other day when I was cleaning mine. Later during the weekend the temp skyrocketed and I could hear the coolant "gurgling" from what I assume is air in the system. A subsequent trip to the shop confirmed that the coolant seems to be leaking from the heater core. The cost for the fix was quoted at close to $1000. Anyone know how big a job it really is?
 
wayoflife

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
mikefishes said:
Has anyone here had to replace the heater core in their JK? I noticed that the floor matts were wet the other day when I was cleaning mine. Later during the weekend the temp skyrocketed and I could hear the coolant "gurgling" from what I assume is air in the system. A subsequent trip to the shop confirmed that the coolant seems to be leaking from the heater core. The cost for the fix was quoted at close to $1000. Anyone know how big a job it really is?
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Haven't had to replace mine yet but I can tell you that you essentially have to pull your whole dash apart. No easy job.
 
mikefishes

mikefishes

New member
cozdude said:
wish i could help you Mike but i dont know. :grayno:
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wayoflife said:
Haven't had to replace mine yet but I can tell you that you essentially have to pull your whole dash apart. No easy job.
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Thanks Steve. Should be interesting to see how the temps hold up when we wheel this weekend. It's really sporadic. If it starts to get hot I'll bail rather than hold the group up.

Thanks Eddie. I was actually hoping you'd chime in and say as much. I hate to pay the shop to do something, UNLESS it seems to be over my head. BTW Leave the Jugglers alone! Attack the mimes.
 
wayoflife

wayoflife

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Staff member
mikefishes said:
Thanks Eddie. I was actually hoping you'd chime in and say as much. I hate to pay the shop to do something, UNLESS it seems to be over my head. BTW Leave the Jugglers alone! Attack the mimes.
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:cheesy: Fair enough, the mimes are fair game :D

Regarding the job, you can do it but I would plan on having your Jeep out of commission for at least two day as it is a job to pull the dash apart to the point where you can access the heater core and then you'll have to put it all back together again too.
 
mikefishes

mikefishes

New member
wayoflife said:
:cheesy: Fair enough, the mimes are fair game :D

Regarding the job, you can do it but I would plan on having your Jeep out of commission for at least two day as it is a job to pull the dash apart to the point where you can access the heater core and then you'll have to put it all back together again too.
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Cool! Thanks. I kind of figured it was a two day job. They are always the ones that get completed and there are still pieces left OR I run out of fasteners before it's even close. I may just pay to avoid the frustration.
 
wayoflife

wayoflife

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Staff member
No shame in having your dealership do the work especially being that they'll have to warranty the work. :yup:
 
A

aemery

New member
mikefishes said:
Cool! Thanks. I kind of figured it was a two day job. They are always the ones that get completed and there are still pieces left OR I run out of fasteners before it's even close. I may just pay to avoid the frustration.
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If you don't need the heater for a while just bypass it so you don't have to worry about it leaking.
 
mikefishes

mikefishes

New member
aemery said:
If you don't need the heater for a while just bypass it so you don't have to worry about it leaking.
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So let's pretend I am a little handy but don't have any idea how to do that. Where would I look for direction n something like that? Is it safe for the motor?
 
wayoflife

wayoflife

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Staff member
mikefishes said:
So let's pretend I am a little handy but don't have any idea how to do that. Where would I look for direction n something like that? Is it safe for the motor?
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You have 2 hoses running from your motor to the firewall. These will be your heater hoses. You can disconnect them from the firewall ports and just connect the two right there. If you do this, you need to make sure to burp your cooling system as you will otherwise have air bubbles that can screw up your cooling.
 
mikefishes

mikefishes

New member
wayoflife said:
You have 2 hoses running from your motor to the firewall. These will be your heater hoses. You can disconnect them from the firewall ports and just connect the two right there. If you do this, you need to make sure to burp your cooling system as you will otherwise have air bubbles that can screw up your cooling.
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Awesome. That sounds simple enough and even I know how to burp the cooling system. The air that is getting drawn in from the heater core has been the cause of my cooling problems anyway, I suspect. Thank you all for the input. This is truly what makes this such a cool forum.:rock:
 
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