I'm stuck - '97 960 Heater Core rear ducts removal

wasaabi · Post by **wasaabi** » 19 Sep 2019, 15:44

I'm finally tackling this job for the first time, trying to be patient. The car is in excellent condition and I would like to keep it on the road for many years.

I am stuck at removing the lower air distribution box. There are two ducts that come out of it that go to the rear. I have removed the one screw on the tab that holds it in (VIDA doc claims two screws but I only found one).

The structure of the lower air distribution box appears to be able to be split in half horizontally, so I thought maybe I could do it that way, but the rear of it is inaccessible and so I cannot reach those tabs to fully split it.

Both seats are in and all the way towards the rear. I would be afraid to reconnect the battery with everything disconnected just to move the seats forward to remove them and peel the carpet back far enough to release the rear ducts. There has to be a better way.

The overlap of the rear ducts over the distribution box lips is about 1 inch each. Those rear ducts just won't budge. Has anyone tried cutting the left side of each rear duct, or even the entire duct, and then taping it back together with aluminum duct tape? Any other ideas?

wasaabi · Post by **wasaabi** » 19 Sep 2019, 16:47

Since it was simple to do and easily fixable, I did cut the ducts as shown by the pics below. But while the box moves a bit, it will not come out, yet I cannot figure out what is holding it in. Here are pics of the box with the opening "doors" cut into the ducts:

Help is appreciated on how to get this lower air distributor out. Thanks!

wasaabi · Post by **wasaabi** » 19 Sep 2019, 17:54

Update: I realized that I misunderstood the instructions and tried to pull out the air distributor to the side, but the center tunnel hump would not let it squeeze through. So I cut each rear duct a few inches back, which I will repair upon reinstallation. I was then able to pull the distributor towards the *rear* of the car. Then it just slips right out. Felt a bit stupid but it;s out so now onto the next step tomorrow...

dm635 · Post by **dm635** » 20 Sep 2019, 07:08

I feel for you doing this job. I did it to my 960 this past winter. Not a fun job. And I did use some of the aluminum duct tape to seal some of the areas. Some parts of it do not go back in as easily as it came out. I practiced first by going to a junkyard and tearing a junker apart. Don't want to think about ever doing it again. The all metal core I put in better last. I don't know if I'd do it again. At least not do it in the cold of winter.

wasaabi · Post by **wasaabi** » 20 Sep 2019, 10:35

Thanks for the support. It gives me a boost to hear from people who have been there before! I did the bypass last winter after I couldn't see through the foggy windshield anymore. The core I got is the Hella/Behr (eBay from Eastern Europe) but it does have plastic connectors. I want to get a decade out of it (at least), hopefully not being too naive on that.

We're on a good streak of weather in PA so I'm about to hit the job again for a few hours and see if I can actually access the core today. I'm taking a million photos which I will put into a doc and upload for others.

dm635 · Post by **dm635** » 20 Sep 2019, 11:37

At 1st I did order the aluminum core with plastic end tanks. I opened the outside box and the plastic connectors were sticking out of the box from damage. I wasn't about to take a chance of using it as a replacement.

The outside box had no damage at all. They picked the box with the core in in it and the plastic ends sticking out of the box off the shelf and sent it to me. I could not believe it when I saw it. Was highly upset they sent me a damaged part and I was not going to install it with potential damage. So that delayed my reinstall due to having to get a refund and ordering from another vender. That took an extra week and I needed my car up and running. As upset as I am with this well known vender sending me crap I did order control arm bushings from them this morning. Only for the free shipping over $49. My son refuses to order from them due to several attempts to get the correct Bilstein's. Kept getting their junk. The company has made some good changes, I'll give them that.

wasaabi · Post by **wasaabi** » 21 Oct 2019, 18:42

Update: The interior part of the job is complete. I took it slow, a couple of hours here and there, rather than try my patience all at once. The hardest part of the job is really whenever you don't know what to do. I am doing a complete cooling flush and then will connect the core for the real test. I have many many photos of the job which I plan to put together into a PDF and upload (if file size limitations allow).

dm635 · Post by **dm635** » 22 Oct 2019, 08:35

I didn't think about mentioning this until I read your post. I did connect and test the heater core before putting the front of the heater box on hiding the core. Once comfortable I finished the reinstall. So far so good. I can only hope I have many years that this repair will last. I've been driving this 960 for going on 9 years now and have done several major repairs and feel I've got to keep it due to all the work. That includes 2 engine swaps after the 1st one was no good.

wasaabi · Post by **wasaabi** » 22 Oct 2019, 08:52

Wow, two engine swaps...

I did the heater core test in a 5 gallon bucket of water with an old bicycle tube. I was able to pump to about 10 PSI before the tube exploded and didn't notice anything except for a tiny bubble (which was most likely air caught in the fins as opposed to a leak). So my confidence is pretty good, but I do know that the plastic inlet/outlet of this Hella/Behr core is not the same as the heavy duty OEM brass I pulled out. So it *should* be okay but I am not at 100% yet until I see it in action. I would have connected the cooling system sooner, but I wanted to do a full flush before connecting it since I had previously used leak stop tablets to make it through the winter with the old core.

As much as this job is frustrating, I do have to say that there is something special about this car. It is built to last with a level of durability from a bygone era, and has a certain RWD Volvo feel to it that I really enjoy.

dm635 · Post by **dm635** » 22 Oct 2019, 09:22

Another thing I did was leave the drivers side under dash panel off for a little while. And put a white cloth under the heater box seam to also monitor for any leak.