Audi 100... Heater Core Monstrosity!

[bmurphy7369]

I just got the '89 Audi 100 transmission replaced, ready to be my daily-driver.... I drove to work the first day, filled up on the way (almost a 20 gallon tank), pulled into work and a cloud of vapor started rising from the defrost vents. What a let-down, but so it goes...
If anyone has any idea how to remove the large black box contraption in the engine bay, directly under the wipers in an Audi 100, could you please post some advice. I have the heater core (miniature radiator), I have removed the wiper system and am at this point totally stalled... For some reason, Haynes doesn't seem to publish a manual for the '89 thru '91 Audi 100/200 Series. I have searched online for tech advice, but am not making much sense of what I'm reading. I know that I need to remove some interior panels to reconnect the vents and main duct when I get to the core, but am very leary of just yanking the core/blower housing from the firewall without knowing what may come with it. Thanks for any advice you may have in advance.

Frustrated,

Brian /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thirsty.gif

 

[Steve]

I found you a factory manual Brian......on sale as well!!

https://www.motorbooks.com/Store/ProductDetails_17671.ncm

Good luck!

 

[Eric]

I don't know anything about the Audi specifically, but in any other car I've looked at I suspect they put the heater core on the assembly line and then build the rest of the car around it. They can be a royal PITA to get at. Good luck!

 

[Guest]

To get at the heater core or a/c evaporator core in my Volvo 850 everything between the front seats and the firewall, from door to door, needs to be removed. Most shops charge a boatload for the job since they have to put two guys on it to get it done in one day, and they still take 7-8 hours to do it. As Eric said, they can be a monstrous job in certain cars.

 

[jsneddon]

Tried to replace on in a 78 or 77 Firebird one time... the Hanyes manual actually said to cut a hole in the passenger side wheel-well with a torch.... We buttoned everything up, bypassed the hoses, and told my friend to just live without heat.

 

[bmurphy7369]

Steve, thanks for the find, that is half of what I found the 3-volume set priced at! I may give it one more day of dismantling, then break down and buy the books, much cheaper than asking a mechanic to take a box of parts and put the darn thing back together for me.

Eric, Scott and Jim,
PITA is correct... I have disassembled the entire under-dash on the passenger side, as told to do by a friend who knows Audis, broken the glove-box (plastic) hinge, and yet all I can see is more stuff to remove before I get to the firewall! I have the 1985 parts car, with a solid 5000s turbo engine, and plan to bribe this Audi mechanic/parts collector to take the engine off my hands and help me work through this nightmare. I already told him he could have whatever he wants for free before I scrap the car for the aluminum. It is worth more as a large pop can than it is to a salvage yard, I am finding... The saving grace of this project is that summer is here, close anyway, and a nice u-shaped pipe would stop the antifreeze leak and I could worry about it later when time is less an issue... I am having visions of driving the car now with no heat, no dashboard to speak of, panels removed still strewn out on the back seat... I will never attempt this again without a proper research and the correct tools and manual.
Thanks for the input, guys... And I thought Jaguar could be a bit complex....... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/england.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thirsty.gif