Pro/Forums - Heater core 2-342 with greatly different prices

Hi,

I've been reading the forums and have seen the 2-342 radiator used by many people. I looked for it locally and when I said 2-342 most of the auto parts stores had no idea what that was. One NAPA store said there were two different cores it related to. One for $32 & another for $52. Another NAPA store said there was no cross reference for that number. The biggest store in the area showed me the sales book pictures of all they had & the 2-342 was not found in it. Auto Zone had a different situation, the 2-342 cost $65.

I did some searching and found A CROSS REFERENCING WEB PAGE which if you put this heater # core in the part number option it & select the manufacturer, it will give you all the cross references for that number. By trial & error I found 2-342 worked with the manufacturer FEDCO & by clicking enter there's 9 different manufacturers of that heater core & each with a different # (Even a DELCO #). One is a GDI number & if you go back to the first web page & enter that GDI # in the lower field, it will show you a drawing of the heater core.

I called Auto Zone & asked which cross reference # they needed to get my heater core (not telling them the 2-342 number because they were going to quote that high price).

They accepted the GDI number of 399090 and had my heater core for $27.

So if you want this heater core just use the 399090 or go to that web page & find the manufacturer # that your local shop understands. I have the feeling that the same core will come in at different prices depending on the manufactures # you give them. So if you're quoted a high number, keep trying to see if they have one of the other cross reference #'s & maybe you'll get a better deal. I was happy with $27.

Cheers