[heups1629]

My heater core on my '69 LeMans (no A/C) has been leaking on the front passenger mat. I've read some posts that the heater core is tricky to replace, so I'd rather just bypass it for now (I never need the heat anyway). Would that involve just hooking the 2 hoses that go into the firewall together? I believe those hoses might be different widths, so I'd have to get a 3/4" - 5/8" connector (see attached photo). Is that all there is to it?

[68gtoMN]

Your heater core does not need to be plugged. What you WILL need to do is disconnect the hose that comes from the water pump and plumb that back into the nipple on the cylinder head. Look where the hose from the water pump goes. Then look where the heater core outlet goes to the cylinder head. Make sure you put the hose from the water pump to the nipple on the head.

Look that the attached picture. Shoot - it won't load. I'll edit/update in a moment.

[David Jones]

I did mine last week. Got a couple of brass fittings from Lowes and unless you REALLY look you'd never know. Will I miss heat until I fix it next year (bad arm). Probably not.

[69lm69gp]

I didn't think replacing the heater core in my non-AC LeMans was all that tricky.

It's a lot easier than the evaporator core on the Dodge Intrepid that I was doing about the time I replaced my heater core. For the Intrepid you have to remove the dash, then remove the heater box from the dash.

While you may not need heat, you might want to consider if need the defroster. Maybe you don't, but it is something to consider.

[heups1629]

For anyone looking to do a heater core bypass, it was pretty simple. I attached a photo of the final result. Hopefully I'll find time to install a new heater core next year, and I'll just need to remove the "U" connector, and plug the hoses back into the ports in the firewall.

[salem1912]

I was getting coolant on my pass side floor and I knew my heater core was new. Turn out to be a loose clamp. No leak on the out side but only on the inside( on my new carpet).