I've got a '55 2nd series Chevy truck. When I got it in October, the heater hoses were unhooked from the water pump. I ***ume they were disconnected because the core leaked. I can't find any info in the factory shop manual. I'm not sure the heater is even a factory piece. It's round. If you have pics of your factory heater, I'd appreciate it too. So, what do I do to check it out to see if it works? I'd like to pull it out in case it leaks. Do I just run water through it to check for leaks? If it leaks, do you just braze it to fix the leak? And how about the blower motor,just hook up power and see if it spins? Sorry these are all basic questions, I've just always had working heaters and never had to go through one. As always, thanks for the help and thanks for this great forum!
having the hoses being disconnected, the core is most likely no good, you can usually take it to a good radiator shop, they can pressure test it and sometimes can fix it, if it is bad you might just want to go with an aftermarket heater because the replacement round heater cores are not cheap, and the factory heaters in those trucks **** anyways.
It is not hard to pull it out 3 nuts on the out side out fire wall. Then pull it out, take the 4 philips screws out and that will expose the core and fan, motor. Then you can go from there.
Thanks for the advice guys. I'll try and post a pic of the heater box tomorrow so we can determine if this is even stock.
This is supposed to be a photo of a 55 to 59 Chevrolet truck heater. It is listed as that on the " famous " auction site. I had a 1955 Chevrolet Cameo 1/2 ton pickup many years ago and to the best of my memory ... the heater did look like the one in this photo.
Thanks for the pic. Mine is nothing like that at all. It's round, about a foot in diameter. On the front facing the bench seat, it has two doors that swing open. I'll get a pic up soon, that should help a lot more than my *****ic description. Thanks again for the pic.
Your local radiator guy can pressure it up with air and dunk it in water to find any leaks. A lot of times he can makes any needed repairs to the core. A new blower motor and some detail work on the sheetmetal should finish the job.
I was going to take my heater core and run as much water water pressure through it as i could to see what kinda junk came out and to see how it flowed. If it p***ed that test i was thinking i would hook up some hose to it and plug one side ad hook the other side up to my compressor set at about 25lbs. then submerge into into a tub of water and see if i saw any bubbles. i just rebuilt my heater valve it was a Ranco thermoastically controlled valve. I got the kit from napa. lets keep our fingers cross it works. your trucks might be rebuildable. It was just one rubber seal set me back $10.
I have the exact housing that Deuce posted a picture up, but there's a few different housings for our year trucks. I believe the cores are all the round style ones, and new cores are available from parts houses, last I checked they got $299 for one. I think they fit some of the earlier p***enger cars or trucks, too. When I hooked mine up it leaked and then shot the fan blade off. I still haven't bought one myself because the price, nor taken my old core out and down to the rad shop because I think I'll look for another complete ***embly at a swap meet. I see them from time to time.
its some generic aftermarket heater. The round core "standard" heater in the picture that Deuce posted was used from 55-57, but 58-59 truck "standard" heater is different, it's square and has a normal rectangular core. The 55-59 deluxe heater is also different...it's the one with the sliding lever controls. You can check the core by pressurizing it with LOW PRESSURE air, up to about 10-15 psi, using a pressure regulator adjusted way down. put the core in a tub of water, put the air to it, look for bubbles. if it leaks it will be obvious. Don[t put more than 15 psi in it or you'll probably blow it apart if it was a good core to start with.
Yup, these trucks only had a 7 pound cap on the radiator so testing with 10-15 psi is plenty. I blew a perfectly good core out years ago, wasn't thinking and gave it a blast with full pressure shop air, about 100 lbs worth. It blew the fins out like one big long copper ribbon.
Hey Terd, I spent this morning over at my dads barn, he called me to let me know it was broken into sometime between last wed and this morning. I had a ton of stuff over ther, most of which is gone. I loaded up what was left a brought it to my place and to a store and lock. I did see a heater from my 55 pickup in the parts that was still left. It was good when I pulled it out of my truck. I never drove the truck in the cold, it was more of a race/street deal, anyhow if you want it, let me know. You pay shipping and I'll send it....I'd rather give my **** to someone who will use it than let any ******* steal it. I'm not going to be online until later tonight, so just let me know.
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