Heater core change - Spirit R/T - How Hard?

[ShelGame]

How hard is it to replace the heater core in a Spirit R/T? Does the whole dash have to come out, or just some of the lower panels?

["Top Fuel" Bender]

whole dash
I haven't done it yet but Alex and his brother started tearing into, got lost and put it back together
(not really hard to confuse them though)

leaky or not working?

It wasn't leaking so I disconnected the heater core hoses
used a garden hose to spray water back and forth between the 2 ports
I put a short section of hoses on the core so they pointed up above the heater core height
filled it with radiator cleaner/conditioner and let it sit while I was at work
came home and re-flushed till the water came out completely clear, no milky white
works great

[ShelGame]

Drivers floor is all wet, all the water is gone from the system in a 10mile drive. There are no visible leaks anywhere else. So, we assume the heater core is broken/leaking. We can get the core itself cheap, but it's the replacing I'm not sure about...

[GLHNSLHT2]

whole dash had to come out on my daytona. It's a pain. But if your's is leaking which it sounds like it is you've got to do it.

[Tony Hanna]

Alumaseal!

Seriously, my Caddy is finishing it's second winter since "fixing" a leaking heater core with alumaseal. Hasn't leaked a drop since. It wasn't at the leaking in the floor stage yet, but it was fogging the windshield when the defrost was on and stinking the car up.

I sold an old Chevy Blazer to a friend about 8 years ago that was bad enough to wet the floor. I used alumaseal in it too. I asked him last winter if he ever ended up having to change the heater core and he said it never did start leaking again.

I know it's sort of a half-@ssed way to go about it, but with the luck I've had with it in the past and how long it seems to last, it's the first thing I'll try before resorting to pulling a dash. At the very least, it might allow you to put off replacing the heater core until spring/summer when the weather is warmer. That was the main reason I tried it in the first place. It was winter and I didn't have a garage to work in at the time.

[denviola]

My Spirit R/T is sitting right now with the console and most of the dash out for the same reason, heater core. The core is inexpensive, but the dash must come out. Waiting for warmer weather since I don't need to drive it. Chilton has a good diagram showing the attaching bolts under the dash top panel and pivot bolts by the doors.