oops?

[97ranger22bronco]

So I was working on removing the passenger side front shock and via methods that shall not be discussed it looks like the heater core corner is now cracked. (Lesson learned and on the bright side, I figured out how to take the shock out fairly easily)

Is it possible to patch it up the core without replacing the whole thing?

 

[Roert42]

It’s under pressure so I wouldn’t be confident in a patch.
@Rick W had good experience patching old plastic stuff

 

[97ranger22bronco]

Note: I'm assuming that's the heater core since it had old coolant in it

 

[Lefty]

Maybe somebody else has good luck with a patch.

My advice is that if you want a reliable Ranger that will last a very long time, replace with new. Don't repair. You never know how long a patch will last. Why take the risk?

If you are strapped for cash, then go to a U Pull yard.

 

[Curious Hound]

The "heater core " is the aluminum and copper heat exchanger inside the plastic housing. If the heater core is leaking, it needs to be replaced. The plastic housing can be repaired by various plastic welding methods. The housing does not hold any pressure and is normally just full of hot air.

 

[97ranger22bronco]

the heater core itself isn't damaged; it's just the plastic box that's cracked.

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

the heater core itself isn't damaged; it's just the plastic box that's cracked.

But why did antifreeze come out?

 

[97ranger22bronco]

Good point; what's interesting is that i flushed the heater core so it shouldn't have had any old antifreeze in it. I'm wondering if somehow some leaked out from when I was draining/cleaning it.

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

The heater core would have to be leaking for antifreeze to be in the plastic box. If you have access, use a pressure tester to make sure there isn't a leak in the radiator system. Some parts places have a loan-a-tool program...

 

[97ranger22bronco]

Another thing to add to the list I guess; is there a source to get a new housing box? Or do I need to pull one from a yard?

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Not super familiar with the newer trucks but isn't the heater core inside the cab?

 

[Rick W]

The "heater core " is the aluminum and copper heat exchanger inside the plastic housing. If the heater core is leaking, it needs to be replaced. The plastic housing can be repaired by various plastic welding methods. The housing does not hold any pressure and is normally just full of hot air.

If the copper coil assembly inside is not leaking, and you can reach the break in the plastic, you can probably patch it in place. Might not look the prettiest, but if you’re lucky, it should function fine forever.

Is this the crack/hole? Is it that soft, black plastic, almost like a mastic or fiber board that could be bent real easy?

I would go with the baking soda & superglue method

First super clean and super dry the area that’s damaged and maybe a half inch all the way around it. If you could use some kind of little brush and get it really clean inside, that would be good too. I’d use solvent to get any chemicals and antifreeze out of it, And then a scrub brush, maybe a toothbrush, with just dish soap maybe using hot water. Flush it out with hot water, dry it with a heat gun, and then use a little clean brush and just brush it with some lacquer thinner or alcohol to help form the bond

If it’s not laying flat on a table, it could be real messy, but it’s not hard to do, and it doesn’t have to be pretty to work. working quickly, use a Q-tip to dab up some superglue and paint it around the crack. Don’t try to do the whole thing at once. Before the super glue sets, use a popsicle stick or something even smaller than that for little bits of baking soda and stick it onto the superglue. The baking soda makes the super glue set instantly, and the baking soda also acts as a filler. Basically you just go back-and-forth like that until you build an 1/8” thick shield that covers every area of the opening and maybe extended past 3/8 or a half inch. You may also want to paint the outside of it with superglue and certainly give attention to anything that might look like a hole.

If it’s what I think it is, it’s only holding the pressure of the air running through the blower system, and once you use this baking soda/superglue trick, you’ll realize it really gives a pretty strong bond/patch

The only danger is if it’s a different base material, than there are a couple other methods, but this is the one that’s most universal I think. I’ve used it to repair metal gas cans, repair plastic gas cans, little mechanical pieces, whole bunch of stuff.

 

[97ranger22bronco]

Yep, that's the hole there. There was old antifreeze leaking from it so I'm a bit worried the heater core is leaking . That being said, i flushed it with a hose without an issue, but it wasn't under pressure.

 

[Rick W]

There were a lot of typos in my post, I cleaned it up

 

[scotts90ranger]

From experience it's easy to get coolant back into the box when flushing, I barely remember what went on since I last did that like 3 years ago back when I was first trying to get my heater working... There is a drain that goes outside under the evaporator but I could see how some coolant could stay under there...

From what I hear changing the heater core is like a 4 hour job on a '95+ which is specifically why I haven't done it on my '97, much different than the 5 screws and 2 hose clamps that the '90 takes...

I'm with Eric, fixing the housing can be done with many different plastic welding techniques, myself I would recommend the sub $20 soldering iron kit from Harbor Freight just make sure to let the heat do the work and do not force the tip since it's copper and super soft especially when heated...