heater core replacement

anelson52 · Post by **anelson52** » 25 Oct 2008, 21:14

I have a 2000 S80 T6 that has developed a heater core leak. Has anyone replaced the heater core and have any tips? It doesn't look overly complicated but my local dealer's replacement estimate was over $1,000! I'm curious as to how difficult it is and what, if any, problems you may have encountered.

Post by **MadeInJapan** » 25 Oct 2008, 21:52

Welcome to MVS.
Hopefully someone who has done this will chime in.
It is not hard at all on my car (S70) but I don't know about yours. I would think it's about as easy.

LadyV70 · Post by **LadyV70** » 22 Nov 2008, 10:46

I own a 1998 V70. I'm a grad student and this is my first car. I am by no means handy or even knowegeable about cars but I'll tell you what Ive found so far. I too need my heater core replaced. (I have to refill my coolant every 150 miles, theres moisture on my passenger side floor, the heater bathes me in coolant fumes if i venture to turn it on, ect) The dealership quoted me 10 hrs of labor (including coordinating the ac system) and a $45 part which comes to a total of about $1200. I have also asked the only swedish car mechanic in my town and he quoted me 2-3OOO (so you can guess which place Im going to on monday). Looking around online its difficult to get a clear estimate on how long it takes to do the job. Ive seen people post on sites stating it too k them 2-3 hrs or 1.5 (sometimes using abbreivated methods ie "chainsaw" http://forums.turbobricks.com/showthread.php?t=24211) and others have commented that its ~2hrs to take it out but an additional 4-6 to put it back together. It sounds like the dealership estimates are close to this total but still a little high (maybe b/c I'm a woman

). Looking at instructions and various posts it seems its not teribly difficult, but potentially frustrating and in that way more time consuming. Its an expensive proceedure. I want to take care of my car, but I also dont want to get screwed. So i too am interested in finding out how long it should take and how difficult it is to install a heater core on a 98 V70.

(The following are two sites with instructions on how to do it: http://volvospeed.com/vs_forum/index.ph ... =9717&st=0 http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index ... 232AAaJAEs)

Thanks

Post by **MadeInJapan** » 22 Nov 2008, 11:55

Your V70 and my S70 are identical up front where the heater core is. If they are quoting you so much money, I'm wondering if they are talking about the Evaporator and not the heater core (now, that's a job!). I can replace the heater core in my car in about an hour (from start to finish) and this repair does not take a genius or a great deal of skill...just the parts which aren't going to break your wallet. Look at www.fcpgroton.com or eeuroparts.com for which is cheapest. Just be careful not to break off the yellow (sometimes green) tabs...you might have to reuse them. Btw, the write-up that you've posted as a Word Document is exactly what I have followed.

Post by **MadeInJapan** » 22 Nov 2008, 11:57

Now that we've swayed and talked about S/V70 heater core replacements....

Does anyone have information on how to do this with the S80?

anelson52 · Post by **anelson52** » 04 Dec 2008, 20:58

Just a follow up, it turned out to be a bad O-ring on the bottom pipe that feeds into the core. $6 worth of new O-rings and a few choice words did the trick!

Post by **MadeInJapan** » 05 Dec 2008, 20:20

Thanks for posting back...glad you got it sorted!