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My Heater Core Is Broken And Leaking Badly. I Jumpered The Hose To Isolate It From The Core So I Could Drive It. Should I Try To Replace The Core Myself Or Take It To A Shop? How Much Would Repairs/ Replacement Costs Be? If I Chose This Option?
Dunno. How skilled are you under the hood? Do you ever plan on becoming more skilled? I'd do it myself to gain the experience. A few screws and a couple hoses from under the dash isn't worth paying through the nose at the dealership or a garage. That's a $300-$500 job out here.
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It ain't broke till you can't fix it anymore.
Depending on the year, I guess. Mine went out, too, (2000 Sportage) and I've driven it for three winters without a heater because all three dealers I spoke with said it's a $1,300 dollar job! I refuse to spend that much on a car with 134,000 miles on it, when we only get ice *maybe* once a year, and snow almost never, in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. If I lived somewhere else, I might think differently.
I also had a friend who owns a garage print out the directions from their computer on how to change the core. It involves pulling the entire dash...I'm fairly mechanically inclined, but I'm afraid that would take me the better part of a week with the work schedule I have! And his cost...to a freind...based on the current labor standards, was still over 850.00!
definately take it to the dealer. I personally have done a couple and the dash has to come out then remove the heater box as an assembly then split the box on the floor replace the core then assemble the box install it then put the dash back in. If you wanna tackle it go ahead but i wouldnt recommend it.
I was able to change mine out in less than 4 hours. I removed the hoses, removed the glove compartment part of the dash, and cut the hump out where it resides in the air delivery system, pulled out the old one, cleaned out any liquid, slid the new one in, attached the hoses, glued the hump that I cut out back in place with silicone sealer and put the dash back together.
I did this a few months ago and it has no issues and is working fine.
Otherwise, look at spending 500-1000 for someone to change it out for you....they have to pull the whole dash!!!
If you need some pictures, I can get some for you. everet@upyourkia.com
well spend momey to have it done professionally and properly or save money and hack the s**t out of it. Its your choice, but i recommend doing it the way i said. Some people like to fix things properly. All i know is i know now who i would never let touch anything of mine.
There are some that can and some that can't, for whatever reason. At the least, he'll know what is happening to his car and with the proper patience, care and attention to detail, he'll do a fine job.
And your guarantee that the "professional" isn't going to hack the shit out of his ride?
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It ain't broke till you can't fix it anymore.
hello i have been reading this forum for years but actually never posted a response or question...but i just needed to tell you that yes it does take some time but it is do-able i am actually in the process of doing mine.....it does help if you have a second vehicle because it allows you to take your time especially if you have not done this kind of job before...it fairly easy the problem i had was figuring out a short cut with having to take off the steering wheel....which i found there is bolts that hold it up in place and once removed it drops and is out of the way to remove dash....after that is was cake....i have done 2 previous heater cores....but not one on a kia so i new i would need extra time to make sure it was done properly...i started to take it apart on friday ...was done with that...putting it together today...if you have questions i will be glad to help....but it is do-able if you are mechanically inclined..good luck
hello i have been reading this forum for years but never actually posted...if you have a second vehicle it helps because it gives you the luxury to take your time...also if you are mechanically inclined even better...i am actually in the process of doing mine...i took it apart on friday and putting it together today....the problem i ran into was having to take the steering wheel of which i did not want to do...so i didn't instead i just took the bolts off that hold it in place and let drop which gave me just enough clearance to take dash out....my advice is do it yourself instead of paying some other guy...if you have any questions i can help..good luck
well spend momey to have it done professionally and properly or save money and hack the s**t out of it. Its your choice, but i recommend doing it the way i said. Some people like to fix things properly. All i know is i know now who i would never let touch anything of mine.
Others of us like to spend money on other things, like airfare to Kauai (where I'm vacationing right now). If you don't know enough about what your doing, and don't understand what matters and what doesn't, then don't attempt things or do them by the book. Also, it's hard to "hack the s**t" out of things with a scalpel! (the tool I used to do the actual cutting of the hump). Since you haven't seen my work, I find it humorous that you think I "hack the s**t" out of it.
If an easier and less expensive way is found to fix something with the same desired result, I will try it out and after it has proven itself, pass that information on to others, which I did.
Didn't mean for anyone to get their panties in a bunch about this "work around".
It seems that if what I did was wrong, dangerous, or damaging, then and explantion of why it shouldn't be done would be in order. Besides, what does "properly" mean? Following the repair manual? (which was probably written by a technical writer with help from an engineer, and we all know how skilled most of those types are with tools!).
Most professional mechanics I know find "work arounds" to save time and make more money per hour, just as people who race find ways to make a car go faster by not following a manual. (Sportages aren't race ready vehicles, but with some changes, (not found in any manual) they became SCORE champions for several years.)
I can see by your post that your keen sense of doing things properly is paramount,.... except maybe spelling and grammar.
I appreciate GOMER's attitude of gaining more knowledge if that is the path you choose to take. It appeared that DX9615 has some skills because he jumped the heater hose. Hope he didn't "hack the s**t" out of it!!
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Sportage Heater Core
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