I need to replace the heater core in my 2001 Buick Regal. I’m stuck on getting the outer cover off. I’ve got all the screws out, but I’ve got an obstruction that is keeping me from getting it off.
First, I didn’t start blind on this. I’ve got AllData and the Haynes manual, and neither of them have steps for what I’m dealing with. They both show this cover in gloriously unobstructed space just begging to come off.
To make this simple I snapped some photos. First, here is the head on view of the cover
Now I can’t remove this thing from the bottom because the cover has a lower duct that is slotted into another duct which services the rear of the car. There’s not enough play in it to get it out of that duct.
I can tug the cover partly out from the top on the left, but on the right, the cover is blocked by some trim, but mostly a large bundle of wires that just aren’t budging enough out of the way:
Please don’t tell me I have to take out my entire dash for this. If there’s a way to get just this lower dash piece out (passenger side), maybe I could push that wire bundle enough out of the way to get the cover free. But I can’t find any good directions (let alone videos) for removing just that lower piece. I don’t really want to start pulling away at the trim to start hearing all my clips crack and break (this car is 20 years old).
If you’ve dealt with this issue in a similar GM vehicle, please let me know the secret for getting this thing out.
yup heater core are a massive PITA. It's very possible you need to take of the dash, but cross that bridge when you get to it.
For now, just give yourself more room to work. pull up the carpet. Remove every trim panel that you can in the area. Move those wires out of the way. They will be clipped in somewhere , or taped down so just cut them loose.
All done!
Special thanks to @mountainmanjoe. His suggestion was the only real option for getting that thing out. I found a clip in the wire bundle attaching it to the frame. Getting rid of that enabled me to move it just so slightly that I could yank and pull and force the cover out. When it's that tight, every single mm counts.
But that was a bear of a job for an amateur that's never tackled it before. The manuals just don't do the job justice for how much work is really involved. Next time I try something for the first time, I'll probably ask for some advice here first.
Would I do it again? Many times in the middle of it I was saying "NO %&@^*! WAY!". But now that it's done, and I figure I saved a minimum of $500 doing it myself - I'd probably do it again.