Has anyone replaced the heater core on a 2000 Ford Ranger pickup? How hard is it and how much of the interior needs to be removed?
Here are the instructions: http://www.autozone.com/shopping/repairGuide.htm?pageId=0900c152801f097a I think there must be a better way than taking the dash completely apart, if done according to these instructions.
I would be using my Dremel tool, knife, and hack saw to simplify. NO, it doesn’t have to be a butcher job-----just judicious cuts in suitable places. And, when put back together, it would look, and be, fine.
I’m curious about what you think can be cut and then put back together without any consequences? Dash rattles are the worst. And if you don’t replace every fastener, I virtually guarantee there’s gonna be rattles down the road.
Aside from that, I agree, there are almost always shortcuts. The people who have done a bunch of them usually know what they are. Rather than remove the entire dash in an older 2500, it was possible to loosen only the pass side and pry the dash up to gain access to the core. It had to be done nearly to the point of touching the headliner but it saved a ton of time. It was down the road that the rattles started but by then, the repair was just a faint memory in the customer’s mind…
After reading the instructions I am more confused… one part says to remove the steering column! I want to repair the heater core and I do not think it is behind the steering wheel on a ford ranger. HELP!
The steering column’s connected to the dash cluster, the dash cluster’s connected to the duct controls, the duct controls are connected to the duct work… did you read the procedure? This is why they want big $$$ for this kind of repair.
Beware of generic instructions for these kind of repairs. They cover a range of models/model years and may not be exactly correct for your version. Sometimes it pays to have the factory manuals if you’re new to the process. Case in point, sometimes you do not have to remove the column but simply loosening and lowering it gains enough room to get the parts around it out.