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When I take my radiator in to the shop to have it checked out I am also going to take in the car's heater core. In order to get to it it is necessary to take apart the heater. The heater is basically a box that goes up under the dashboard in front of the radio. It is bolted into the car from outside the vehicle; the bolts come through the engine bay. The unit itself contains the heater core and fan assembly. The box is in two parts. Eight small screws and a few taps with the mallet separate the two pieces of the heater box.

The larger section (pictured left above) contains the fan unit, which is attached with three screws into the box. Remove those screws, a bit of prying, and out comes the fan.

Here is what the fan looks like removed. There are two electrical connections for the fan motor.

Back at the box, you can now see where the heater core sits directly in front of the fan. I used my hand to push down through the recess where the fan goes to start to push the heater core out of the box. It comes out with a bit of coaxing.

The core looks just like a little radiator, and basically that's what it is.

I plan to flush the core with the hose and otherwise clean it up similar to the radiator before taking them both to the shop.

While I'm waiting to get the heater core back I'll clean and paint the heater box so it looks nice.