Lujack762

Can anyone tell me why the highly acclaimed Bentley manual doesn't even bother to mention the heater and core? Maybe cars only had air conditioning but no heating when they published these manuals?

If anyone has repaired a heater core on the 86-era 5000 CST's, I'd appreciate any generous instructions. So far, I've got most of the dash board pieces (except the big one) off and when removing the plastic cover from the engine compartment, I can't find sh*t in the way of hoses to disconnect.

Also, where does the windshield drain to? I've got water collecting everywhere, and it has even gotten into the damn air ducts.

Thanks in advance.

DanA100

OK, i'll try to give you some instructions, since i did replace the heater core and the heater blower motor on '86 Audi 5000 two weeks ago. Let me tell you this - it's not easy and prepare to work on it for about 4 hours if you have all materials and TOOLS ready. I followed instructions provided from other people who've done the job before but it wasn't as easy as it sounded on paper. And some instructions didn't even match what i saw in the car.
*** Inside: Remove the dashboard(tach, speedo), AC control unit, Stereo, glove box...everything that can be removed. and then try to pull out the whole dash. You may still do the job without removing the whole dash but you'll have less room to operate and disconect the heater ducts.
*** NOTE: If you ONLY want to bypass the heater core and not replace it at this moment - Ignore the work "Inside" the car - work only under the hood. ***
Go outside and remove the hood. Yes, remove it. Let me warn you - when you install the hood back you need to align it, that's why, before removing it, mark with black marker the exact location of all bolts. After you remove the hood, remove both wiper blade arms and then remove the black "Audi" labeled cover. Remove the wiper blade motor and mechanism attached to it.(4 bolts total) Disconect all visible cables in the area. *** With a powerful, strong vacuum suck all the junk collected in the area. You'll really find lots of it. Under all the junk, on the bottom, you'll discover two drain holes that most likely are cloged with leaves and dirt. They can be seen behind your sttering rack too. ***
At this point, You should be able to see the two hoses attached to the heater core....they are located between the black fuse box and the actual heater assembly. (heater assembly => white plastic, rounded thing glued to the wall, going inside the car) *** If you want to only bypass the heater core and not replace it now...this is where you diconnect the hoses(from heater core) and connect them one to another using a "U" connector or another invention. ***
If you want to replace the heater core and the blower motor, or only one of them, you should pull out the whole heater unit out. (the whole white plastic thing that looks glued to the firewall) The heater core is inside it and you need to split the heater assembly in two parts to get the heater core out. I know, it sounds complicated but this is how we did it on my friend's Audi. Some people here may know an easier way but honestly, i couldn't see it when i was working on the car.
I'm not sure if you want to replece the heater core on your car and i'll stop here for now. If you need more help or more tips how to the job, just let us know.
Good luck!

Lujack762

Well, I'm getting coolant vapor (a generous amount) on the windshield interior when I drive, so I think the heater core is out. You think?

Thanks for the advice.

By the way, how the hell do I get the last big dash piece, the main dashboard, out? I can't find any more damn screws or tabs to pop.

DanA100

Sounds like your heater core is out. All these vapors should be comming from it and they are also poisonous. You should bypass it or you should replace it.

To remove the dash.....i didn't remove it completely because i couldn't. Did you remove the screws from the side where the doors close and hide them? When you remove your speedo/tach dash, there should be one screw somewhere there behind it, i think. The worst part that holds the dash and doesn't let you pull it out is the little screws that are attached to the air duct pastic pipes. They keep the (black)pipes comming from the heater unit conected your air duct vents openings. You cannot see them(screws), you can only touch them since they are behind the pipes. If you remove those screws somehow, you're done, the dash will come out.
Good luck!

Lujack762

Thanks. Those stupid Germans, they made a great-looking and driving car that can only be worked on by shape-shifting aliens like Odo from Deep Space Nine.

By the way, does the hood lid come off pretty easy? I'm not sure how I should detach it, because it isn't mentioned in either the Haynes or Bentley manual (go figure.)

DanA100

For the hood, just remove the bolts - 2 on each side and also disconnect the shocks. It will be very helpful if you have someone next to you when you are doing the hood removal/instalaion. It's kind of heavy.

jimweisptd

It sounds like you guys are in for allot of unnecessary work. I've done three cores 2 85s 1 84 Never needed to remove the whole dash. Believe it or not I used the Mitchell manual. Although they said I would need to discharge the AC, that isn't necessary either.

Lujack762

Jim -
That figures! Sh*t happens; the Haynes and Bentley manuals are worthless when it comes to this task. Not something an amateur like myself can guess my way around.

Thanks for the help - I'll see what happens.

DanA100

I still replaced the core and the blower but it was a little tricky. If you remove the whole dash, you can have a lot more room to work around the heater area.
I didn't touch the AC either. Why would we need to discharge it?

Lujack762

A) How does the heater assembly, the big plastic white thing, come out after the hoses are detached?

B) Is the heater core inside the heater assembly? If so, do I just pop it out?

thnx in advance