Posted by Sherman in Idaho [24.32.202.166] on Thursday, March 21, 2013 at 20:52:35 :
In Reply to: Heater Core WM300 posted by John Malone [98.23.60.67] on Thursday, March 21, 2013 at 15:26:40 :
Without knowing what's wrong, how can anybody guess what it should cost to fix it. It's like saying "My engine makes a funny noise and they told me a rebuilt will be $1000". Two things happen to radiators and heater cores -- they clog up, and they leak. First of all, which is it?
If it's clogged, what have you tried to do to unclog it? Pressure, chemicals?
If it's leaking, where is it leaking? If it's leaking through numerous pinholes in the core, then yes it has corroded so much that the core is thin and needs to be replaced. If it's leaking along a seam, just clean it and re-solder it. A very common place to leak is where the inlet and outlet tubes go into the tanks, because they get the stress of bending and vibration. Again, clean it and solder it. Sometimes while you're at it, depending on the arrangement you can solder some sort of bracket or brace to the tubes to take the stress of the solder joint. If you're not equipped to do the soldering or not comfortable attempting it, any radiator shop will do it a whole lot cheaper than a re-core.