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Thread: Questions regarding rear Heater Core interchangeability

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    Questions regarding rear Heater Core interchangeability

    I have a 1987 4wd van. The car had coolant leaking problems when I got it, and I suspect the previous owner may have used Bars Leak, with the pellets to try and fix the problem, and it clogged the rear heater core ( the little radiator unit that heats the rear part of the car ). The front heater core never worked either, but I know they are much harder to change out, as they are buried in the front dash. I have a question or two regarding this dilemma

    Does anyone know if other years models are basically the same and can be used in this model/year ?? ( ie are they interchangeable )

    Secondly, any idea whether rear wheel drive models of the same year ( or other years ) have the exact same heater models ( they may well ),
    or same thing, are there some other years of the RWD models may be interchangeable ???

    Thanks for any input.

  2. #2
    Administrator llamavan's Avatar
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    Re: Questions regarding rear Heater Core interchangeability

    There are a surprising number of heater core numbers even within years, but none are 4WD-specific. The differences (per Toyota) are "with AAC" and "Cold Spec" aka "Heavy Heater". They all mount into the same housing, so in theory they are all interchangeable ... but it's quite possible the A/C versions are reconfigured to accommodate the A/C.

    Gwen
    1985 5-speed window cargo van set up for llama haulin'; 345K ("Trustyvan")
    1989 4WD 5-speed DLX; 410K and an odd sense of humor ("Skylervan")

  3. #3
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    Re: Questions regarding rear Heater Core interchangeability

    Quote Originally Posted by llamavan View Post
    There are a surprising number of heater core numbers even within years, but none are 4WD-specific. The differences (per Toyota) are "with AAC" and "Cold Spec" aka "Heavy Heater". They all mount into the same housing, so in theory they are all interchangeable ... but it's quite possible the A/C versions are reconfigured to accommodate the A/C.

    Gwen
    Does anyone know more about the Cold Spec ("Heavy Heater") versions? Is it just a beefier core that fits in same housing? Are more parts needed up the line to convert to Cold Spec (bigger blower, different controls, etc)?

    I'm in the mountains alot and my current heat isn't cutting it. I drive an 87 4x4 no-AC. I found Cold Spec cores (front & back) at junkyakd. I'd like to re-core and install but want to make sure not missing something else in whole heating system before dishing out the cash for the re-cores!

    Thanks!

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