98 V70R - Swedish Cart Parts Heater Core Report Topic is solved

[BEJinFbk]

Just a few notes on replacing the heater core in my '98.
I've been smelling syrup for a month or so, and based on
the posts out there, I thought I'd give the Swedish Car Parts
core a go. Their revision of the tank crimping looks very good.

Pretty straight forward, although SC-900/901 owners with
Dolby Surround or anyone with an amp mounted behind the
radio will have the extra step of removing it. The heater core
"bucket" needs the room back there to get in and out. No biggie.

Swedish Car Parts does cut a few corners, though...
The foam strip around the core that comes installed on the unit,
is only about half the thickness of the original foam from Volvo.
It can't possibly provide the same degree of seal. The good news
is that it's easily replaced with thicker foam. Problem Solved

There's also a little more of a gap than I'd like between the
fins and the tank. More air bypass, but again, the price is right.
I used a little high heat silicone to seal it up - More BTUs!

The real downer is the core's thickness. The original Volvo heater
core is nearly 2 inches thick at 1-7/8". I was disappointed to see that
the Estonian version from Swedish Car Parts came in at only 1-1/2".

That may not mean a lot to you folks in Florida, but winter is coming
to Fairbanks and around here, I want all the heat that I can get.

For most owners, this core should be fine for lower 48 winters,
but I really wish that the vendor would advertise the difference.
Or even better, offer a thicker OEM sized core at a higher price.
I would have GLADLY paid a premium for a higher output unit.

Just my POV - Stay Warm out there!

[polskamafia mjl]

Good to know. I literally just finished installing this heater core. I had heard that it can smell weird initially so I ran it through the dishwasher. Unfortunately I didn't think to compare it to the old one so I was unaware of all of the differences. I'm in Pennsylvania so hopefully it will be adequate for our winters here.

[BEJinFbk]

Having read the same posts about odor, I filled a bucket
with hot water and a good blast of Dawn dish soap and
let it soak for a few days - So far so good.

I'm also happy to report that the O-rings that came with it seem
to be holding up. I'm still going to drive it for a few days and keep
an eye on things before I button it all back up. The paper towel
that I left under the connection between the pipes and the core
is still bone dry, but better safe than soaking!

[abscate]

It's possible the heat transfer properties are similar even though the core is 20% thinner. You would have to look at the details of the fin structure to work this out.

These cars have great heaters when they are sorted, even in our rare -15 F snap ours are comfortable in minutes.

[mecheng]

Same story with my Spectra heater core and I've come to the conclusion, the Behr units are inferno cores not heater cores. Nothing compares to them, at full heat I couldn't keep my hand on the vent.
Its hot enough hopefully for winter, but I usually have my jacket on in the car.

But, I'm no longer smelling syrup and zero leaks with Spectra o-rings. It uses a crimp style connection like the Ebay core. I made sure I connected the screw to the coolant lines first to make sure they seat okay.

[polskamafia mjl]

I'm also happy to report that the O-rings that came with it seem
to be holding up.

Also good to know. I know cn90 cautioned against using the supplied O-rings so I went and bought a pair of OEM ones.

[rspi]

For most owners, this core should be fine for lower 48 winters,

Please let us know if you have any heating issues. I doubt you will.

[cn90]

The ebay heater core (Estonia) is HOT. It is hotter than my stock HC with 170k miles.

Just turned on the heat, I could not put my fingers at the vent for more than 5 sec.

Highly recommended.

[precopster]

It's hotter than a standard (Behr) heater core. Don't quite know how they manage to do that however wouldn't a thinner core provide LESS heat dissipation than a thicker one? Rmember this core is no different than any other radiator or cooling product with fins and tanks; the larger the core the greater the heat dissipation and the coolant gets cooled that little bit more. There must be a formula for core thickness versus trapped air temperature around the cooling product because THIS little Estonian/Italian has the right balance between both.

[abscate]

Total surface area is the factor for heat transfer. The core can be thinner and yet have larger area if the small pipes and fins are different.

These cars have great heaters..fast and great capacity. Even if the core were not as good, I doubt anyone not in SoCal would notice