95 Heater Core Replacement "How To"
 

Since i could not find a how to on replacing the heater core on an SN95 i decided to make my own "How To".
First i stopped by an Auto shop and had the A/C drained. I know the owner and this cost me $0. :)
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Next i removed both of the front seats so i can easily remove the dash. On my 95 it was 4-15mm bolts each seat. Also had to disconnect the power cord from each seat.
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30 min of work so far. I found $0.60 under the seats.:) Before i put the seats back in i will do a complete cleaning of the carpet and interior.

Next thing i did was disconnect the battery.
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Removed the boot around the shifter. This just pulls out. Remember to disconnet the accessory plug and remove shift knob.
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Maybe 5 mins for these steps.

Open center console and remove the 2 rubber stops. Unscrew the 2 screws and remove the inside section.
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Remove the center console by removing 4 - 7mm bolts and disconnecting the plugs. 2 are in the center console and 2 are up where the shifter is. You will have to disconnect the electrical plug and the accessory plug.
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Here is it removed
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Found $0.98 under the middle console along with a lot of trash. I am glad i am doing this just to get it clean. Maybe 25 mins of work.

Little more progess today...
Removed the radio...
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To remove the bezel around the radio you must take out this 7mm bolt.
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Then it just pops out...
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This took me about 30 min because i did not know how to remove the radio. But now that i know how it comes out it would have taken me 10 mins.

Next removed the AC/Heat contols. 4 - 7mm bolts
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Disconnect all plugs
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Takes about 10 min.

Next i moved on to the drivers side...

Remove 2 - 8mm bolts. Then the plastic piece pops off.
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Then removed the metal plate. It has 2 - 8mm bolts.
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I next popped off the defroster vent...
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I popped off the door sill molding.
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Also the kick panel molding...
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And pulled back the carpet to see the damage. There is a push pin holding the carpet to the ceter console. Carpet was still real wet. I put a fan in there to try and dry some of that up.
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So i began to take the steering column out. I heard you can leave it in but it makes the dash even more akward when taking it out. So i removed the plastic around the ignition.
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Locked the steering wheel in place and disconnected it from the steering shaft.
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Remove metal brace under column. 2 - 7mm bolts
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Then disconnected all plugs associated with the steering column. then removed the four 13mm nuts holding the column in place.
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Removed the door sill molding and kick panel
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Unbolt the hood release handle. You need to do this so you can disconnect the plugs. 10mm bolt.
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Disconnect the plugs found in both kick panels label any plugs that look similar. The dash is held in place by the following bolts. Starting on the drivers side.
3 gold 7mm bolts
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15mm bolt located near drivers door.
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This 7mm bolt is right above the previous bolt but you have to access it from under the dash.
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7mm bolt
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7mm bolt
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7mm bolt
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7mm bolt near passenger door
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7mm bolt accessed through glove box. Squeeze the sides of the glove box and it should pop down.
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3 gold 7mm bolts
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Gently pull on the dash and it should come out easy. Disconnect any remaining plugs.
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Remove retainer Clip on A/C Hose
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I had these tools already to disconnect the A/C hoses.
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They are CRAP. So i ended up back at the part store and got these.
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So after a few hours i finally got them disconnected.
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That is all for today. I would like to kick Ford engineers in the butt for placing all that in such a cramped messed up way. I could barely get my hands in there. I had to disconnect some of the cables surrounding just to make space.

Take these 3 bolts off from the inside....
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Losen this bolt so you can slide the canister out of the way to get to the next bolt.
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Also moved this out of the way for access...
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Now take this Nut off...
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Now gently pull out the big black box...
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Undo the 4 bolts and replace heater core....
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Here is the new core in place....
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Ready to go back in..........

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Installed the unit back into the car.... This was fairly easy.
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Underside still slightly damp...
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So i used this...
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Now FORD says (tsb) to Solder a ground wire to the new heater core to prevent the aluminum from corroding (dissimilar metals). So why didn't they do that already? Because they are dumb. I do not know how to solder alumium so this is my solution. I went to home depot and got a ground rod clamp and some new bolts but 5/8" length.
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Did not over tighten so as to crush the tubing. There is about 1 tread showing on the otherside of the clamp. Used some thread lock to prevent backing out. I need to find some wire that will be good for grounding.

For Roush intake owners the heater core hoses are special to the kit. I found that if you buy a stock heater core hose it can be modified to closely match the one that came in the kit.
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I only replaced this one hose because the other one looked in real good shape.

Also in doing my reaserch about replacement cores i kept hearing stories about the pressure blowing out the aluminum cores. Some say that is on the fox bodies some say it happens on the 94+ as well. Who is right i don't know. But the fix is a pressure reducer that fits inside the hose.
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The new water pump i got is suppose to flow more so I installed it on mine just incase.

This is what i finished up today. I have to figuer out where one hose goes and then i can finish up the outsdie quickly.
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Finished up on the outside. Now on to the inside tommorrow.
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Started back on the inside. Got the dash in by myself. Really was not that hard to put it back in. I will say it would be easier if you got someone to help on this step. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.:D
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Awesome write up, everyone say this little prayer with me...

Please God, do not make my heater core go out on me, I don't want to take out my dash.

I had a '71 Chevelle that I had to replace once, small block so lots of room and it was still a giant pain in the butt. However, I was able to do it with the dash still in the car.

nice wright up. i see your car looks nice and clean.

I hope to have i close to being finished this weekend. I am taking my time it has been 2 weeks so far. I find this is good to do if you can go 2 weeks without a car. I think i could do it in 2 lonnnnng days if i reallly needed to. For me this was better than spending $1400 i was quoted on for someone else to do it.

ill be doing my heater core in a few weeks... prolly right in the dead of winter. its was by passed when i bought the car, and im ok with it, but the ladies seem to like cars with heat...