Heater Core Test??

[Agent_Orange]

my 74 duster has been restored for some 13 years now. I have never hooked up the lines to the heater core since I only drove the car when warm. I use to not drive the car on cool mornings, but enough with that, time to hook it up. Since I have not put antifreeze to the HC in a number of years, is there any test I can run to verify It doesn't have leaks. I want to run an air pressure test on it, but I'm curious as to what everyone thinks an appropriate pressure would be..

 

[TrailBeast]

Put a towel on the floor and back flush it first.
If you don't see water in the floor, then hook it up.

Since it's been that long, you really should just pull the heater box and clean it all out anyway.
(Then you could chk the core in soapy water while it's out.)

 

[Agent_Orange]

add too, I'm thinking somewhere around 16psi. isn't that what a radiator cap is?

 

[adriver]

It all depends on where you are in this.
I've pulled the heater cores so many times that I can do in while the box is in the car.
Not fun, but I do it with no issues.
If you have never had yours out and plan to do it in the car you can access the top 5/16 screws through the glove box opening. Good luck. It's going to fight you.
If you already have the heater box out checking it would, of course, be the smart thing to do since it's easy at that point.
Yea, if it doesn't leak with 16 psi of air, I'd call it good.
I did forget to turn down the regulator on one once I was check in water once.
I've also got the bad new out of the box. So even check a new one before you put it in.
I had to solder the tube joints on one. And those tubes don't always line up with the holes in the firewall good.

 

[TrailBeast]

I've also got the bad new out of the box. So even check a new one before you put it in.
I had to solder the tube joints on one. And those tubes don't always line up with the holes in the firewall good.

I can take the whole heater box out in about 15 min in my 73.
I had to unsolder the tubes on my new one and resolder them so they were aligned with the firewall hole.
It's not hard to do at all, as long as one does not get carried away with the heat and unsolder the tanks while doing it.

 

[Lonewolf3165]

Here's a trick an old timer showed me;
Take an old bicycle inner tube from like a 10 speed bike (skinnier tires & will fit heater core tubes better), cut the tube to about 2' length with the valve stem in the middle of the section. Fill your heater core with water, attach the inner tube to the heater core on both ends forming a closed loop with the core. Install hose clamps on the tube. Pump up the inner tube/heater core assebly with a bike pump or compressed air to your desired pressure(16#) & watch for any leaks. The same thing can be done to test radiators, but you need a larger inner tube.

 

[Agent_Orange]

Here's a trick an old timer showed me;
Take an old bicycle inner tube from like a 10 speed bike (skinnier tires & will fit heater core tubes better), cut the tube to about 2' length with the valve stem in the middle of the section. Fill your heater core with water, attach the inner tube to the heater core on both ends forming a closed loop with the core. Install hose clamps on the tube. Pump up the inner tube/heater core assebly with a bike pump or compressed air to your desired pressure(16#) & watch for any leaks. The same thing can be done to test radiators, but you need a larger inner tube.

that is a great idea, thankyou