Replacing the Heater Core 1999 SeaView on F53 Ford
Howdy again folks... Well, we're finding that this RV we purchsaed a couple months ago has sat around most of its life in one spot, and while that may be a good thing for the mileage factor, its not a good thing for any of its mechanical moving parts... or engine parts... .or tires... or seals... etc. etc... Anyway, its a damn good thing we're handy!! (ok i'm not handy but my dad is and we're in 50/50 on this thing..)
Has anyone had any expierence with replacing the Heater Core on a 1999 National Sea View (or any of the years where the body style wouldn't change much).
My dad is more handy than your average guy, and this is frustrating him because he refueses to 'send work out' to be done... I'm at the point where we'd like to use this thing and this is one of the last projects we've got going on and i'd just like it done...
We need to replace the heater core, its got a massive leak in it but can't get it out of the 'box' that its in..
Anyone able to lend me a bit of wisdom in can pass on to the old guy???
iRV2.com RV Community - Are you about to start a new improvement on your RV or need some help with some maintenance? Do you need advice on what products to buy? Or maybe you can give others some advice? No matter where you fit in you'll find that iRV2 is a great community to join. Best of all it's totally FREE!
You are currently viewing our boards as a guest so you have limited access to our community. Please take the time to register and you will gain a lot of great new features including; the ability to participate in discussions, network with other RV owners, see fewer ads, upload photographs, create an RV blog, send private messages and so much, much more!
National RV Owners Club Solo Rvers Club Freightliner Owners Club
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: FT for 6 years, NW in the summer, S in winter.
Posts: 1,173
Okay, I'll take a stab at this......I had a 94 GMC Suburban with a leaking heater core and the shop manual said the recommended way to get at it was to remove the whole dash assembly, and the heater core and the AC evaporator as a unit put it on the bench and open up the plastic cover to get at the heater core. Of course, this requires a complete AC recharge and many hours of work. UGH!!
I found a guy in San Antonio who said he could do it at an attractive price, so I said yes! He used a Dremmel and a cutting wheel, cut the plastic cover on 3 sides, both sides and the bottom, prized it open, removed and replaced the core, taped the crack in the cover with strong tape and PRESTO! Repair finished!! Good luck. Rook
__________________
When you get a chance to dance, or sit this one out......I hope you DANCE!
98 National Tradewinds 7370, powered by a 3126B 300HP CAT Turbo, Freightliner XC chassis
Howdy again folks... Well, we're finding that this RV we purchsaed a couple months ago has sat around most of its life in one spot, and while that may be a good thing for the mileage factor, its not a good thing for any of its mechanical moving parts... or engine parts... .or tires... or seals... etc. etc... Anyway, its a damn good thing we're handy!! (ok i'm not handy but my dad is and we're in 50/50 on this thing..)
Has anyone had any expierence with replacing the Heater Core on a 1999 National Sea View (or any of the years where the body style wouldn't change much).
My dad is more handy than your average guy, and this is frustrating him because he refueses to 'send work out' to be done... I'm at the point where we'd like to use this thing and this is one of the last projects we've got going on and i'd just like it done...
We need to replace the heater core, its got a massive leak in it but can't get it out of the 'box' that its in..
Anyone able to lend me a bit of wisdom in can pass on to the old guy???
Unless u are going to use it in the winter time i suggest to plug the heater hose(clamp it closed ) so no water is going thru the core and go on a trip and not have to worry about the leak....
Is your 1999 RV on a GM chassis?. As rook said, you can cut a hole in the housing to replace the heater core. On my 1999 Safari Trek, GM chassis, the housing is thermoplastic. This means it can be re-melted, and I cut through the housing with the blade that came with my electric soldering gun. Once finished, the part can be held in place with RTV. See below.
Quote:
Originally Posted by TheBeachHous
...Has anyone had any expierence with replacing the Heater Core on a 1999 National Sea View (or any of the years where the body style wouldn't change much).
My dad is more handy than your average guy, and this is frustrating him because he refueses to 'send work out' to be done... I'm at the point where we'd like to use this thing and this is one of the last projects we've got going on and i'd just like it done...
We need to replace the heater core, its got a massive leak in it but can't get it out of the 'box' that its in..
Anyone able to lend me a bit of wisdom in can pass on to the old guy???
I found several motorhomes that came in with heater core leaks that had good cores. Make sure the clamps are tight on the hoses. Antifreeze can spew into the heater box and run out the bottom of the box and look like a core leak.
__________________
1998 Pace Arrow 35 ft. F53 Ford V10 2014 Honda CRV toad
32 years mechanic at Delta Air Lines 15 year motorhome service manager. 3 popups....2 travel trailers....5 motorhomes....loved them all.
I found several motorhomes that came in with heater core leaks that had good cores. Make sure the clamps are tight on the hoses. Antifreeze can spew into the heater box and run out the bottom of the box and look like a core leak.
We just replaced the hoses and clamps and then drove it for a hundred miles or so and by the time we got back to the driveway (this after 1&1/2hr on the side of the highway changing a blown out rear dual) the reserve fluid tank was empty and the box was draining out one side... No other areas were leaking as they were before we changed all the hoses, so we'd have to assume the HC is bad... I'm pretty sure because this thing has very low miles on it, that it sat for a very long time recently and we're driving all the bugs out of it... Figuratively and sometimes literally...
My question to you is... Can or should this be tackled at home or should we have someone who's done this a few times get to looking after it?
Have you double checked your hose clamps? All coolant hoses heat set and the regular hose clamps will loosen up a little as they cool down, as they could do while changing your tire. When I changed the original hoses on my 99 Dolphin they had two clamps at each end. Why, I do not know, maybe there was a problem with leakage using one clamp. When I changed my heater hoses I used the high temperature silcone hose (not the kink resistant) and constant tension worm drive hose clamps. They are both pricey, but the silcone hose will last forever. The constant tension clamps will never lossen up if installed correctly. I use them on all of my vehicles, and at work on emergency generators. BTW, I did not use double clamps on the new hoses.
Is your 1999 RV on a GM chassis?. As rook said, you can cut a hole in the housing to replace the heater core. On my 1999 Safari Trek, GM chassis, the housing is thermoplastic. This means it can be re-melted, and I cut through the housing with the blade that came with my electric soldering gun. Once finished, the part can be held in place with RTV. See below.
This is an very old topic but I just wanted to thank George for sharing the idea to cut the heater core box to replace the core. My RV is a 2002 on a Ford chassis with the ACME Air Box. rbguinn's post here: http://www.irv2.com/forums/f104/2003...ml#post1470881 led me to getting to improved heater core after mine failed last winter.
It looked to be an almost impossible item to replace as there basically no access on a 2002 Triple E Embassy. The fasteners on the far side were out of reach and even if you could blindly get to them you'd then be left supporting the air box with no room to work on it. Carefully cutting into the air box as shown in this topic using a Dremel with a cutting wheel on a right angle attachment and a hot blade on a soldering iron made the replacement a fairly easy one person job. Sealing it up was easy afterwards. I used a high temp epoxy putty as I don't expect to ever have to replace the much improved core again. If I ever have to then I'll deal with the epoxy.
Linear Mode
