Miata Mailing List: November 1994, Message #85
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   From: bkd@usl.edu (Brian K. Dore')
Subject: Miata heater core change
   Date: Thu, 3 Nov 1994 10:36:40 -0500


A couple of months ago, shortly after changing my timing belt, the heater
core in my white '90 A (with A/C) started to leak.  We probably bumped the
inlet hose when working under the hood.  Both the factory manual and the
Miata Enthusiasts manual detail the removal of the dashboard.  I found a
better way.  On the drivers side, there is a white plastic cover that is
held on by a couple of phillips screws.  Removing it exposes the core.  One
of the lines that extends from the core through the firewall is solid, the
other is in two pieces with a heater hose and clamp holding them together.
The piece with the heater hose is easy to remove, the solid side can't come
out.  So I cut it.  About 4" from the core I cut through the line and slid
the core out.  It just barely cleared the steering column, and the main
wiring harness had a bad habbit of getting in the way too.  In my case, the
core could be fixed, and I slid it back in, added a couple of inches of
heater hose and another clamp, and I have heat again for those cool nights
we have been having in the lower 50's.

By some strange coincidence, my radiator started to leak the day before I
planned to bring it in to work on the heater.  Turns out the rubber gasket
between the radiator proper and the plastic top tank began to deteriorate.
I had the gasket replaced and the radiator pressure tested at a local shop.

Next is a do-it-yourself top replacement.  

Brian (with the Miata that thinks it's a Brittish car)
Brian K. Dore'                                              
Systems Analyst
University of Southwestern Louisiana Computing Center