Great Lakes 4x4. The largest offroad forum in the Midwest banner

01 2500 Ram, Heater core issues

1K views 5 replies 4 participants last post by  rammanriley 
#1 ·
I think my heater core may be shot. How can I prove this before pulling the dash?

Currently I have found several puddles and drip lines under and on the passenger side exterior firewall.
When I turn the heat on it smells horrible, a nasty residue forms on the window and a smoke rolls out of the dash vents.
Because of the residue I'm not sure if the heat warms up.

I also understand this is a pain in the ass job on a normal truck but add in the fact that my truck is lifted 11" how difficult will that make it? Any tips to make this easier?

How much would this cost at a shop to have fixed?
 
#3 ·
Could it be a plugged drain tube on your heater box? That would allow funky water to build up in there. Does that truck have a cabin air filter? If it does that should be changed also because it can seriously block airflow in there. Are you losing antifreeze?
 
#5 ·
We just did a heater core on a 2001 Dodge Ram 1500, and yes it is a pain.
You will need to drop the steering column down and pull the air bag.
Then if that is not bad enough you need to pull the entire dash loose from the firewall and pull it. The heater core stands straight up with the inlet and outlet tubes having several bends that make it difficult to pull out I cut them off. The new one is no joy to put in as the box wants to be removed due to the bends in the tubes and lack of room to wiggle. just be patient it will take time and several different size of sockets and a t-25 torx bit.
Good luck.
 
#6 ·
Im sure you already did the job but when I did both cores on my 96 (EVAP and Heater) I was able to drop the column and un bolt the dash. Then put the pass side up on the passenger seat and sneak the whole case out. make sure you pay attn to where all the doors go etc. took me about 6 hours start to finish. Also make sure to get the A/c system recovered.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top