Heater Core Replacement - Spectra Premium alternative to discontinued product

[JesseR]

Finally got tired of coolant leaking on my floorboards every time i turn on the heat. Pulled the full heater assembly so i can work on it. The spectra premium replacement for my 76 620 has been discontinued. Does anyone have any experience with heater cores that fit with minor modifications. I have been looking at the Spectra Premium 94741 and i think the width will fit. It is the right core thickness and inlet and outlet size. I am pretty sure the 99170 will be a little long (measurements are core only).

 

Any advice before i place my order would be great.

 

Jesse

[hobospyder]

Try to find a stock one? Or will aftermarket work better?

[racerx]

no jy in ur area?

[Sastis]

Finally got tired of coolant leaking on my floorboards every time i turn on the heat. Pulled the full heater assembly so i can work on it. The spectra premium replacement for my 76 620 has been discontinued. Does anyone have any experience with heater cores that fit with minor modifications. I have been looking at the Spectra Premium 94741 and i think the width will fit. It is the right core thickness and inlet and outlet size. I am pretty sure the 99170 will be a little long (measurements are core only).

 

Any advice before i place my order would be great.

 

Jesse

let us know how it turns out, I don't mind hording heater core.

[datzenmike]

Why would it leak only when you turn it on? It has coolant in it under pressure at all times. I suspect it isn't the core but the valve that shuts off flow and heat. The slide lever that goes from cool to warm. The valve is on the passenger side of the heater assy.

[JesseR]

It leaks all the time but it is worse when on, i am thinking it has something to do with heat and the flow of coolant. I have the unit out, it was definitely the heater core. I checked the valve and it looks like it had been replaced by a previous owner, it looks newer. I am going to order the 94741 and give it a go. If it is too big i can order a smaller one. thank you all for the quick responses, i know i can always count on you guys.

[Jersey]

A radiator shop should be able to repair your stock one. That's what I've done in the past, when I was having issues. I'm getting ready to pull the one on my 610 and take it to the radiator shop.

[JesseR]

Good news....  the spectra premium 94741 fits in the heater housing perfectly. The primary difference is the location and length of the inlets and outlets. I had to Dremel a little of the plastic housing to allow the inlet and outlet to slide right in. I used 5/8 right angle heater hose to connect the inlet to the valve and another right angle on the outlet through the firewall which was connected to the factory return hose using a 5/8 nipple connector in the engine bay. This kept all hoses close to factory location. The last part of the modification was to connect the passenger side defroster vent, since the old factory plastic connector could not be used (it was brittle and cracking anyway) I used 2-1/4 flex heater duct from the auto parts store. It ended up very clean and the new heater works amazingly well, for around $60 (heater, hoses, clamps and connectors).

 

Happy to send detailed pictures if anyone is interested.

 

Thank you all

 

Jesse

[red13]

Post pics here

[hobospyder]

Post pics here

this

[JesseR]

Sorry for the delay

 

Here is the new heater core, the inlet and outlet are the right size, they are just a little longer and in a slightly different orientation. The hardest part about selecting the right heater core is they are all by application and the sizes listed are for the core and do not include the tanks.

 

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Here i took the Dremel to the heater box to make room for the new inlet orientation

 

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The fit is snug with the factory installed foam

 

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Here is the inlet and outlet plumbing using 5/8 90s

 

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Here is the new heater hose to the passenger side defroster, I secured the hose to the heater box using 2 small plastic angle brackets in the original holes, just cut a small slit in the hose to secure everything.

 

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[Charlie69]

Nice work and great pictures!  Thank you for sharing.

[racerx]

Nice work!

[Leche]

This is extremely helpful thank you for posting up the information. :thumbup:

[red13]

are the nipple metal or plastic?

[JesseR]

The heater is entirely aluminium. The old one must have been mostly clogged in addition to leaking, this thing puts out serious heat.

[red13]

What bout tbe outletson the core the hose,connect metal or plastic?

[racerx]

looks like metal or aluminum.

[red13]

If thats the case, bet you could bend them to match the 620 core

[J's 620]

That heater core is for a 91-02 ford escort and 91-99 mercury tracer. This is great! I had my core repaired earlier this year for more than $200 and it now leaks again. I'm so dissatisfied. Thanks for this great post. It gives me hope

[J's 620]

Yes the tube are aluminum

[J's 620]

Where did you get that valve that is shown in the picture? Is that the one the PO had installed?

[Spawn]

Where did you get that valve that is shown in the picture? Is that the one the PO had installed?

 

I'd like to second this question!   Perhaps if there are any markings on the control valve that you would be able to see and share you could either get photos of them or post the markings on here?  I'm hoping there might be something like the make and model of the valve marked into the plastic (looks like a plastic heater control valve).

 

My heater valve control had essentially rusted itself out and wasn't working anymore, so I just completely removed the valve.  This wasn't an issue for the cold winter in NY state, but with it starting to warm up, I would very much like to install a new heater valve so that I can stop the heat from constantly flowing into the cabin!

 

If anyone knows where a heater control valve that would work for the 620 can be located, please point me in the right direction!

[JesseR]

Sorry I have not been on in a while, the valve was on the truck when i got it, I can inspect it more closely and see if there are markings on it if you all are still curious.

[J's 620]

My 91 land cruiser has a valve like that near the firewall. Not the exact valve but similar. It would work but can you find one???? I don't know.......

That's my 2 cents