Which heater core do I buy?!!!? so many choices...
 

Does it matter which type of heater core I use? There's a different one for every make/year of car on the road! The biggest issues (I suppose) are the dimensions of the core, the fittings they use, and the price. Apart from that, are most cores basically the same? Would a core from a performance car work better than a core from a nova? :D
Someone posted a link in another thread... http://www.heatercore4u.com ... but their site is a bit cumbersome, their prices are high (compared to http://www.autozone.com for instance, and it would take years :) to compare of the cores to find the perfect fit. Has anyone already done this research???

ps... I'd like to have 5/8" fittings :)

size of the core, bigger is better, but it still has to fit into a case. Probably the easiest thing to do is find out what the biggest core your case can handle, walk into an autozone shop and say you want a copper core, 5/8" fittings, and specifiy your max possible size

Tried that. Doesn't work. All their cores are listed in the computer by model. Doesn't give exact dimensions. Unless they've got a lot of time on their hands to go through and open up a bunch of boxes. You might be better off to go to a junkyard. Some of them will pull off useful parts like that and keep them in a back room somewhere.

How do you clean out the rads from a junkyard? I wonder what was in them before...

Just because they're from junkyard dont mean they're dirty, I've gotten some really clean ones, and a rinse will do, then there's the grimey ones. And the ones in disguise! Oh goodness, shiny on the outside.... Ugly on the inside. Try a rinse first, if you get grungy stuff try rinsing with steaming hot water, and if it wont rinse clean... You can try boiling it, and I'm sure there are some good grease cutters/etc that'll clean stuff up nice. But first try to figure out what's inside be it soil, oil, coolant, or whatever has gotten into it at the junkyard (or its past life). Best part about junkyard is the price, you can get a few for like $10 and maybe some will rinse out on the first go.

goto autozone, ASK for the heatercore catalog. all the dimensions are in there and you can skim through it lookin for what you need.

the heater core for a chevy chevette (any year from '76 to '84; they are all the same), will do. the fin size is 6 1/8 inches by 6 1/8 inches. total width is 6 1/8 inches; total height is 7 1/2 inches, and 2 inches thick. it has a 5/8 inch inlet, and a 1/2 inch outlet. look at the chevy and ford heater cores at that heatercore4u website; several of them have two 5/8 inch inlet / outlets (ive looked thru them all; there arent that many, as several are duplicates).

if you buy it from an auto-parts store, dont expect them to have it in stock (its typically a special-order item), and it'll cost you about $18-26 depending on where you get it from. (it was like $17 ordered online from autozone.com, plus shipping. there was no pic tho, so it could be the wrong core)

although that tit looks really nice, I'm sure Joe won't like it (he isn't gay, but it's just one of those things)

if it's second hand, just get an air compressor up to it, and turn it on. if it leaks you will know, and you will get out all the crap in it

Right. AutoZone has got some seriously awesome cleaner. It's called Power Purple. The stuff's incredible. It'll get almost anything off. Our two year old wrote all over my keyboard, mouse, monitor, and desk with a permanent marker. I got the Power Purple stuff after it and it came right off. I've had places where cherry Kool-Aid got onto our countertop and stained it after sitting an extended time. Still comes right off. Let me put it this way. It's got a "may cause burns" warning on it. For things like chrome it recommends diluting it 15:1. I bet if you were to soak the heater core in that stuff over night or two (after running some hot water through to get out as much as you can), it would be sparkly clean.

The guy down at the "NAAPA" store quoted me $25.00 for the Chevette just the other day, not in stock though.

The FORD Econoline 85' unit I use (big 9 x 11) has two 5/8" inlets. Cost me $27.00 plus tax at Autozone.

Jim

if you are looking for a way to find out which heatercore at autozone matches the ones at heatercore4u.com, it's simple.

The heatercores at heatercore4u.com are Fedcos. Go to this site:

http://www.autopart.com/radiatorinfo/heatercoretech.htm

Enter the Fedco heatercore part # and use the cross reference guide to match it up with GDI heatercores. Those are the heatercores that Autozone carries and walaah, you have the exact match from Autozone! Have fun!

the Ford Econoline one sounds cool, big core size, big tubes, is it copper construction or aluminium?

i have one of those. it is copper with brass tanks

Ford Econo heater core is all copper and brass, I wouldn't accept aluminum mixed in with the copper block.
Jim

I use a product called Super Iron Out to clean junkyard radiators. You can probably get it at most supermarkets. It's a powder that you mix with water. Just mix a fairly strong batch, dump in the rad with a funnel, and let it sit for about an hour. I don't think it's so strong that it disolves the brass, but it really cleans out all the gunk!

For the fittings, I cut off most of the long pipes on the rad. I then use brass hose menders (barbs on both ends) and solder them inside the rad pipes. You might have to tap in the pipe ends a bit with a hammer to get the diameter tapered small enough to fit the barbs snugly so that you get a tight solder seal.

Steel wool shines it all up!

you will not go wrong with BIX.

I may just get a $25 core from autozone, already nice and shiny. I plan to get one w/ 5/8" pipes. I'll just cut off any excess pipe that I don't need. I plan on using 1/2" ID silicone or tygon hose, which I hear will stretch nicely over 5/8"... I'm going to use hose clamps... so do I need to attach any fittings to the rad?

ECU-
Here is an example of a heater core with 5/8" inlets, the 1/2" should fit over with no problems.
Go with TYgON!

http://images.andale.com/f2/104/124/..._case_2inv.jpg
Jim

did that core come with those barbs? if so, what model is it for?

--Matt

1987 Ford escort w/ air cond. heatercore $17.99 The best bang for the buck.

Yep, thats the way it came from Auto Zone. It is a 1985 Ford Econoline Van Heavy Duty heater core. All copper and brass.
But, it is big: 11 x 6 1/8 X 2. Two 120 MM fans fit nice.

Jim

Right! I think that one has 5/8" pipes too! A little smaller core easier to fit inside the case.
Jim

Thanks all...

I just bought the one Jim recommended for under $30 w/ tax. It's a big biatch. I think it will fit, but where on earth will I stick the pump. Those 1250's look big... We'll find out whenever DDen pull through for me. :)

Holy cow! Have you guys ever looked carefully at the fins on a heater core? Like I said, I just got that big one shown above, and I got to looking at it... I thought the thing was just a series of flat tubes w/ fins connecting them. Nope. The fins only extend about 3/8" into the core. After that, it's just a zillion copper wires soldered fairly close to one another. At first glance, the fins sure look solid, about 2" deep.
How on earth can they make something so intricate that cheap?

Sheer volume. You know how many econolines are on the road? The church busses, airport shuttles, airborne express vans,...

BTW thanks for the pics. thats what I was looking for.