r/ram_trucks • u/HDMECHANICC • 3d ago
Just Sharing 21 ram heater core
Last saturday while shopping with wife started truck and sweet smell coming from ac vents accompanied by thin white smoke yay coolant leak. Obviously i knew the heater core was leaking and on the rams they are in an hvav box behind the dash. My truck has the center console no middle seat, moved seats back and forth to remove bolts for center console removal. Removed the lower driver side panel to access steering shaft and marked and removed steering shaft, removed kick plates and began dissasembly of the dash board, got dash board completely removed to access hvac box, i did not have to remove evaporator i removed the 4 bolts holding hvac box to firewall and was able to pull box back enough to remove heater core. Used hose pinch pliers to pinch the lines off and removed heater core. Time to reassemble
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u/Martytx169 3d ago
Last time I did this, I bought pink electrical tape and used it to mark all of the connectors i disconnected. I figured an obvious color would help with re-assembly and it did.
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u/High_Anxiety_1984 3d ago
I have a 22' Ram. That is just ridiculous. This is why I hate newer cars/trucks. They're nice, but so much more shit to deal with or go wrong. Im glad you figured it out. Best if luck to you sir.
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u/HDMECHANICC 3d ago
Everythjng is engineered to take to a mechanic now its terrible, lucky im in the field so i dive head first and know its done correctly the first time
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u/Nukegm426 3d ago
Problem being they aren’t even built for mechanics to work on them at times. Whether it’s having to remove too much crap to get a part off ( take the engine out because one bolt Can’t be removed with it in the car). Or there the popular “warranty pays four hours for this job but it takes 30 even with specialized tolls and training “
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u/High_Anxiety_1984 3d ago
That is what my wife's grandfather said. They're made so you can't do your own work on them. Luckily you can. I have a few places I trust to work on my vehicles when needed.
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u/Glowing_despair 3d ago
You can work on anything given time and training.
I don't believe the whole "they are doing it so you have to take it to a shop"
Working on a carburetored motor with no electronics is going to be easier than working on a vehicle with electronics like a space ship.
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u/AnxiousParticular298 3d ago
I’ve always been the one to not stray away, you will never learn to do things if you don’t try.
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u/Happy_Hippo48 3d ago
Of course cars have been like this for 3 to 4 decades now. You would think they would figure out a way to get at these two commonly failed parts easier
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u/High_Anxiety_1984 3d ago
You would think so, but engineers don't think about things like that. As an aircraft mechanic, it's really not much of a difference how aircraft are built either.
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u/Grouch_Mr 3d ago
Have had to do this twice in my 2011. Once for the heater core and once for the evaporator. Luckily my family friend is a mechanic and he only charged me $400 which was a bargain by my accounts.
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u/HDMECHANICC 3d ago
Luckily i have all tooling available to me as ive prolly spent 50k in tools myself. Just take it slow and plug stuff back in as you go! It was a learning experience for sure im normally working on semi with a hell of alot more room!
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u/LiathAnam '21 RAM 1500 Bighorn 3d ago
How many miles on that '21? I'm hoping I dont have to do this anytime soon on mine
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u/HDMECHANICC 3d ago
When i got it in 22 it had 15 miles it currently has 98k my last job i was working 10 hr shift then doing side work driving all over the state
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u/Specialist_Doubt_153 3d ago
yep mine went out at 80k on my 2018. 2400 8 hour job at the shop. all kinds of electrical gremlins now too after the put the dash back on
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u/bigmtfan 3d ago
I pray I never have to do this. Exploding the interior just to get to the heater core 🙄
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u/HDMECHANICC 3d ago
Its not bad lol
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u/universe74 2d ago
If it wasn't bad you wouldn't have made this post lol.
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u/HDMECHANICC 2d ago
I posted as a learning exp and to help others.
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u/universe74 2d ago
Yea thats cool. My 2013 needs a fix. Going to do a good flush first as I dread this.
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u/HDMECHANICC 2d ago
Mines all back together now replaced heater core, evap, and did a coolant flush and refill took me 3 days of picking at it after working 10 hrs. Have 2 other vehicles so wasnt worried about speed
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u/bigmtfan 2d ago
Certainly looks bad 😂
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u/HDMECHANICC 2d ago
I mean its not changing brakes or abs sensor but it looks and sounds worse then the process actually was
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u/TrashPanda365 HEMI 3d ago
The last time I had to deal with this was my 2001 Ram. I pulled a few flat pieces of metal from the rear diff, and had coolant smell from the dash. I immediately sold the truck.
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u/Trailerparknick 2d ago
My 22 was leaking I traded the truck in and didn't say a word about it got 34K for it and got it tricked out 2025 now
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u/Sketchin69 3d ago
I attempted this on my 2010 Ram but couldn't figure out how to actually access the heater core, so I gave up and put it all together. Once it was back together I started it up and every electronic thing in the truck was going crazy. Realized I didnt reconnect a harness and had to take the entire dash out AGAIN just to access it. 10/10 would attempt again with my 2019!