Drain coolant before removing heater core valve

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rjkoop
Posts: 976
Joined: Thu Nov 08, 2012 6:45 am
Your car is a: 1981 Fiat Spider
Location: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

Drain coolant before removing heater core valve

Post by rjkoop »

Silly question #26... :?

I'm going to remove the heater core valve and replace. Do I need to drain all the coolant out of the system before I do this or I'll create a big mess in the passenger floor? I don't mind a bit of spillage because the interior is pretty much gutted anyways. Just didn't want ALL the coolant to come out through the heater core tubes.
Last edited by rjkoop on Tue Apr 02, 2013 2:20 pm, edited 1 time in total.
dmwhiteoak
Posts: 1088
Joined: Mon Aug 15, 2011 1:12 pm
Your car is a: 1972 Fiat 124 spider
Location: White Oak Tx

Re: Drain coolant before removing heater core valve

Post by dmwhiteoak »

Your spillage will be minimal as where they enter the firewall is your highest point. It would be wise to maybe drain a little tho.
Dennis Modisette

1972 124 Spider
2003 Chevrolet Z71
2007 GMC Yucon
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azruss
Posts: 3659
Joined: Sun May 30, 2010 12:24 pm
Your car is a: 80 Fiat 2000 FI

Re: Drain coolant before removing heater core valve

Post by azruss »

I would break the heater hoses at the firewall so you dont have any pressure when you pull the stuff out of the interior.
TX82FIAT
Posts: 1814
Joined: Mon May 03, 2010 11:04 am
Your car is a: 82 Fiat Spider 2000 CSO
Location: San Antonio

Re: Drain coolant before removing heater core valve

Post by TX82FIAT »

While I did have a little spillage. I unhooked the heater hoses on the engine side of the firewall and bent an thin aluminum cooking pan to catch the coolant and postion it to drain into an oil pan on the floor. With the heater valve open, I hooked a pump/siphon to the outlet pipe on the engine side and pumped more coolant than I thought I would be able to get into the same aluminum pan spillway. Then I put two small rubber cone shaped plugs in the heater pipes and pulled the entire assemble including the heater core from the heater box at once.
Buon giro a tutti! - enjoy the ride!

82 Fiat Spider 2000
03 BMW M3
07 Chevy Suburban
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