Technical Spider 2000 Heater Core

[samelmo]

I bought a 1980 Spider 2000 this summer. While cruising around I noticed it was getting hot inside the car. I fiddled with the heater controls and steam began rolling out from under the dash. I ended up having to bypass the heater core so I could drive the car.

When spring comes I want to fix whatever is wrong. Heater Core, gasket, valve? Any ideas?

Thanks

 

[mm3snipe]

I had the same problem on my 79 2000 it was the heater core, while I was at it I also replaced the heater control valve, also remember to replace all core and valve seals, do not reuse the old ones, no matter how good they look, I bought mine from IAP, they are the best I have dealt with. Good luck, also remember to bleed the whole cooling system IAP has the correct process to do it, it has a specific process, if done wrong you will get a large air bubble in the system and it will overheat real fast.

 

[blue ridge]

I just pulled my heater core out a few weeks ago. I have not as yet tried to bleed it out so I still have my fingers crossed. I got some good advice from Bayless and I took my core to a radiator shop and had it tested. I found out that it was the seals that were bad and not the core. It is not a hard job but it does take some time and I did find out that the core was a bit easier to get to when I took the passenger seat out. From there it was just following the steps in the service manual. I also found that I had to unclip the lower unit and remove the unit in two pieces because of space. There is a mess of wires behind your center console so if you unhook anything you might want to tag it. I went ahead and replaced my radio and speakers since I had it all apart. Good luck.