BIGONTS

I will be replacing my bad heater core in my 92 ES300 this weekend. I smell antifreeze and there isn't any heat when the car is warmed up. I need a little help please.

Which replacement heater core to go with? Toyota? Autozone? etc.....?? I might just play it safe and go with a Toyota one but will go to the Toyota dealer to get a better price. For what year Camary do I ask for?

Anyone know much$$$ they run for??

I am very well mechanically inclined and have some help from a very good mechanic but never did anything like this. Does anyone have step by step instructions on how to do it or a link showing how to do it? Hopfully with pics. I hear I have to take out the radio and the whole center section to do it.

Any imput to make this job easier will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Pianoman72

Are you sure you need a new heater core and it's not the heater valve? When the heater valve goes out you lose the heat, also if your thermostat is bad I've been told.

Reason I say this is that I had a heater core go out on another car and the heat *I believe* (was a while ago) still worked but all sorts of smoke (burning antifreeze) just came POURING out of the AC vents like the car was on fire. (all the time).

Really hard to wipe that stuff off the windshield I found out. So I drove with my head out the window no prob.

It was a 25 year old car at the time so I figure maybe that's a pretty rare thing to have go out.

Good luck, I think I paid $300 to have that fixed. I wish I had that $300 now....

BIGONTS

Yes I am positive that it is the heater core. We checked the valve and it is opening up fine. It has a new thermostat. We check by checking the heat on the hoses going inside the car on the firewall. The one going in, with the valve, is nice and really hot. The the valve opens, the hose going in is still hot but the one coming out is not as hot. This means that not enough hot coolant is getting through. Both of those hoses, in and out, should be really hot so you can bearly touch them.

Pianoman72

That sucks man. A rare thing to have go out I imagine. There are some Lexus certified techs that poke around in the "maintenance" thread on here. You might be better off starting a thread in there.

BIGONTS

Nobody else has any other input??? Help me out here folks