Already pulled dash, removed hoses, got the support bar out and undid the 3 nuts mounting the unit to the firewall and it still won’t budge. What am I missing?
Did you also remove the AC box nut too?
Then it’s just a matter of yanking, prying, pulling, tugging, swearing, cussing, pausing to have a beer, and the box will come out.
Tester
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The one in the lower right of the heater box, left of the AC box? Got that one, there’s only supposed to be the three right? If it’s ready to come out a lot yanking and prying are in my future. And the beer break is almost over…
Yep!
There’s only three.
It’s just a bear to get it to come out. But it will.
Tester
Do you have any tips or tricks? I seriously can’t get thing to move more than a few inches. I’m at a loss here.
You’re almost there!
Tester
I appreciate your help but I need SOMETHING, I’m worried this thing is gonna break. Should I be pulling up and out? Down and out? What the hell is still holding this thing in there? This is insane
Did you remove the wiring clip that’s screwed onto the box?
Tester
Ya, undid those guys. Besides it’s definitely not cemented in by those wiring clips. I guess you’re right and there really is nothing else but I’m seriously not getting it out. Is there really no way to approach this other than just straight yanking it? That seems crazy
Got it! Holy hell that is the most frustrating thing I’ve had to do on this car. Time to go over to my mom’s place and tell her to drop her mantra of “never force something or you’ll break it.”
Any tips for future posters reviewing this thread with the same problem OP? Would messing w/the hvac controls be of any help? Did you have to rotate the heater box first, before it would clear? Is there one thing in particular it wouldn’t clear?
This reminds me of changing the belt in a Whirlpool washing machine. There’s just one spot that’s the real problem but the manual goes into seemingly infinite detail about clearing the parts that don’t matter, and not nearly enough about clearing the part that does matter.
Unfortunately no, Tester had it right. After you remove the nuts and wiring harness the only thing holding onto the unit is the glue which adheres the coolant pipes to the firewall. Just have to yank and pull and sweat until it comes out. Only advice I have is don’t be afraid to really go all out, you won’t break anything. Well you might, but just avoid those foot ducts in the bottom front left and right and you should be fine. Almost broke one but it clipped right back in.
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I have removed HVAC units that adhered to the insulation pad on the firewall, sometimes patches of the insulation tear and remain on the HVAC unit.
Well @Nevada_545, I’ve posted this question elsewhere and found other resources which confirmed the same thing: there is no other way to remove the heater box. Trust me, I searched and queried so many other forums and finally accepted this is the only way to remove it. Besides, the worst damage my insulation received is visible on the coolant pipes in this photo (which as you can see is very minor). Regardless, you don’t even have a choice with the '95 legacy. You either pull the unit out and lose a miniscule amount of insulation or you live without heat entirely. I think the choice is obvious.
Someone asked for tips for future posters and I posted what I have experienced, I have never worked on your car. Torn insulation is insignificant, the situation just requires more effort to remove the unit.
So I guess you don’t do the job in earshot of children, huh?
whew. i almost bought a 95 subaru. just kidding
Thanks for the feedback. I think that might help other folks attempting this same job. Not to beat a dead horse, but what if a person used a heat gun to heat up that glue first, to make it softer and hopefully help free the pipes from the fire wall a little. Maybe a helper on the fire wall side with the heat gun warming the glue, while you pulled on the heater core from inside the car. The biggest problem w/this theory is that the glue is probably heat resistant … oops!! 