S40 Heater Core Replacement

[ClemBuilt]

2002, S40, 1.9, has been leaking coolant onto and under floor mat for some time unnoticed til recently. Am going to replace with OEM unit from Volvo and am not sure if I will need to remove entire housing assembly along with A/C evaporator. I do know that the entire dash needs to be removed to make this easier and I have five hours into that already. I'm looking for pic's or detailed drawings that may help. Any advice on things to look for would be helpful too.

[Louie Louie]

November/December 2010 in Snow Country

I tried to dissemble the dashboard to see if I could replace the heater core myself ................ too difficult with no experience

I had a friend who is a car and truck Technion do the job for $400.................the whole dashboard needs to be removed to replace the heater core and it is a 10 hour job. Cheapest new core I could find on the `net was $366.

If you don`t need a heater you can join the radiator fluid pipes on the engine side of the firewall to loop without going into the core.

[ClemBuilt]

I should have sent this out but didn't. So, this is what I've found. After removing the entire dash (8 hours), you can get the heater core enclosure out by removing the right center console support, remove any bolts joining the heater side to the a/c side of assembly. No need to remove the A/C evaporator. This saves time and money. Now, after all that I found that one of the aluminum tubes that connect to the core and pass thru the firewall had worn away from the inside, at the point where the connect, and was the cause of the leak.. The core shows no sign of wear but will replace anyway. I can only figure that the radiator needs to be flushed more often to prevent part from wearing. Core was $400 and tubes are $50 each. Hope this may help others..

[greencc]

Clembuilt,

My daughter's 2001 S40 has been diagnosed as needing the heater core replaced. After reading you post, I have a couple of questions. The car only has 81,000 mi so I'm somewhat surprised with this.

When you stated that the heater core enclosure can be accessed by removing the center console support, are you saying that the dash does not need to be removed? And when accessed, can the heater core be removed without much difficulty?

Looking for an easier way than removing the whole dash.

Thanks,

GreenCC

[Richouser]

I should have sent this out but didn't. So, this is what I've found. After removing the entire dash (8 hours), you can get the heater core enclosure out by removing the right center console support, remove any bolts joining the heater side to the a/c side of assembly. No need to remove the A/C evaporator. This saves time and money. Now, after all that I found that one of the aluminum tubes that connect to the core and pass thru the firewall had worn away from the inside, at the point where the connect, and was the cause of the leak.. The core shows no sign of wear but will replace anyway. I can only figure that the radiator needs to be flushed more often to prevent part from wearing. Core was $400 and tubes are $50 each. Hope this may help others..

Hi ClemBuilt,
I am facing what I think is a bad heater core replacement on my 2003 V 40 wagon. Are you saying in this post that the dash does not have to be removed to get at the enclosure, or that after removing the dash you can get the heater core enclosure out by removing the right center console support? I am not wanting to remove the dash if not necessary. Thanks