Can I just plug my heater core?

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I have a 96 Ford Ranger with the 2.3 and I am pretty sure my heater core is on its way out. I can smell Anit Freeze when my A/C is on and there is no visual leak under the hood and I can't smell any anti freeze from just under the hood. So I have looked into fixing it myself and it seems to be a total PAIN! Involves pulling the sterring wheel, removing the whole dash blah blah blah, and I have checked out how much 2 local shops would charge to fix and its around $800. I don;'t really have that now and I don't really want to spend that much on the vehicle anyway. So can I just plug and bypass it? I live in Florida so the heater is not so important. I only had to add about 2 cups of fluid to my radiator so im not losing much now. How much damage am I doing as long as there is fluid in it and its not overheating while I drive it until it gets fixed? Thanks to all replies.
 
I would use a shunt so that the shunt replaces the heater core. Just connect the heater inlet and outlet hoses together with an barbed adapter with hose clamps.
 
Hmmm, did they change the location that much?

On my old 91 Explorer (4.0L), you could remove the glove box and replace in about 10 min.
 
Hmmm, wonder if these GM tablets will help..

If you're in Northern Florida, you're gonna be hating life, but it doesn't HURT anything, I don't believe. Blow as much coolant out of the core as you can before you plug it, though. For all I know, you could just leave it open after you blow the coolant out of it, pump compressed air through it for a few minutes, and it would dry out inside, for the most part, anyway.

I had a friend plug his up, but left it with coolant in it, and a year or so later, it dumped what was left inside all over the carpet. There is NOTHING worse (ok, maybe butts in the ashtray) than THAT!

ew!
confused.gif
 
Eddie, can you tell me a little more about doing this? I mean do you still have heat in winter? Or is it the same as plugging it? 2002 I have a 2.3 so I am not sure about the 4.0's now but a shop manual lists it as as 8 hours worth of labor job. And too, i'm in central Florida so it is not TOO bad, last winter I pretty much had no heat because my thermostat was stuck open, so im kinda used to not having heat. Thanks to everyone for their help.
 
If you're not going to replace the core it's best to hook the hoses together as Eddie suggested rather than plugging them. Plugging a line can cause an unbalanced coolant loop which can lead to cavitation erosion in other portions of the cooling system.
 
Quick is quite right. I meant the CORE should be plugged (or maybe it doesn't matter), but you want to join the in and out hoses together with a capped flushing T, or a garden hose joiner and clamps to maintain flow.

I do believe on some engines, the flow off the heater core feeds the engine, yes?
 
Yes, go ahead and disconnect the hoses from the heater core. Connect the 2 or run on back to where the other starts as a couple of people mentioned. Some engines use the heater core as a relief bypassing the thermostat until it opens.
 
Well its bypassed. Thank you all for your help. I know its not just my imagination but the truck is running better now. Its idle is smoother. Thanks again.
 
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