heater

[ed9msi]

Just about to do the timingbelt, but since my heater in the car seems to be leaking, thought i'll buy a new one as well but I'm having problems finding one here in Sweden. Anybody got a link to one on ebay or any other webshop that might ship to Sweden. It's a 2003 cruiser, manual shift gasoline.

[chuzz]

Not sure what you're referring to as the "heater" Ed. Do you mean the heater core that the coolant flows through to provide the heat inside the car? If so, that is a MAJOR job where the entire dashboard has to come out and the a/c system has to be evacuated. Once it's all back together, the a/c will have to be vacuumed and recharged. If so, rock auto sells them for under $30. I just don't know if they ship internationally. Here's a link. 2003 CHRYSLER PT CRUISER 2.4L L4 Heater Core | RockAuto
I also found one on Amazon but don't know about their shipping either. https://www.amazon.com/Spectra-Premi...er+heater+core

[ed9msi]

Thanks Chuzz, quick as always. Yes I mean the heater core. Is it one piece with the cooling core (A/C) or are they separated from each other. I know it's a big job but since it's leaking inside the car I guess I have no other option, or?

[ed9msi]

Does anybody know if there's any thread that covers the change of the heater core on the PT?

[chuzz]

It's not part of the A/C system, ed. It's just like a small radiator with two hose connections. Here's a video link I found on youtube. There are several, so you may want to watch more than one. Good luck with it, and take your time. It might take you two or three days, but as long as you get it right the first time, it should be worth it, right?

[ed9msi]

I didn't think it would be one unit (A/C and heater core) but was wondering why you would need to empty the A/C system to change the heater core?

[chuzz]

I don't know for sure I think the a/c lines are in front of the heater core and have to be disconnected in order for it to come out. I didn't watch the video

[soyomb]

The a/c evaporator is in the same area as the heater core. For the few extra dollars, I would replace them both as the labor charge would be double if, down the road, the evap failed to perform.

[Fk5]

Ninja'd! As soyomb states, the a/c evaporator core is in the same box with the heater core. I think the whole box has to come out to do the heater core. I would get the best one possible because it is not a job I would want to do twice.

This is RHD, but the picture shows the box and both parts. The heater is #5 and a/c evaporator is #4.

[Renegade]

The heater core is in a large plastic "box" inside the dashboard along with the a/c evaporator. The entire box has to be removed from the dash in order to open it and get to the heater core, and the a/c lines have to be disconnected from the evaporator in order for that to happen (the fluid hoses to the heater core also have to be disconnected).

It's a bear of a job, but watch the videos and do your homework and you can get it done. Take a few pictures of the way things are connected in the center console so that you can hook things back up right. The job is 90% removing bolts, but there are a heck of a lot of them to remove.

The best tip I came across is that you can drop the steering wheel without having to remove it. It's probably easier to remove the heater core box with the steering wheel removed, but I did not want to go that far and it wasn't difficult to shimmy around the dropped wheel so I'm glad I did not remove it.

Also, since the job is a pain you should consider also replacing the a/c evaporator at the same time as the heater core so that you don't have to do all this again in the future if your current evaporator also fails from age.

Hmmmm, double ninja'd! Looks like several of us posted around the same time.