96 Impala SS Heater for went bad
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Very limited options these days. NOS from someone's shelf would be ideal. Delco and Delphi ones are NLA. Those are the only ones I've used that fit somewhat correctly. Even the Delco/Delphi didn't fit well, needed new thicker foam around the edges to close the gaps.
What is your fitment problem? The pipes? Or the size of the core itself? Most cores now come with pipes that can be rotated to align. If it's the size and the pipes fit fine, then your only choice is to use foam to close the gaps.
Maybe try a NAPA one. They tend to use higher quality parts.
What is your fitment problem? The pipes? Or the size of the core itself? Most cores now come with pipes that can be rotated to align. If it's the size and the pipes fit fine, then your only choice is to use foam to close the gaps.
Maybe try a NAPA one. They tend to use higher quality parts.
At rockauto.com, if you look closely at the pictures, the Four Seasons one is the only version with flares down the tubes for the hose ends, and in the pictures looks better than the other mystery alphabet brands. The Four Seasons pictures are the same pictures on Napaonline.com, so I guess Napa = 4S.
Hunt the Napa website and you might find a store near you which has one in stock, hopefully been sitting on the shelf for a long time.
Hunt the Napa website and you might find a store near you which has one in stock, hopefully been sitting on the shelf for a long time.
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Hello everyone, I found a heater core at advance Auto. It seams everyone had the wrong part for my car. Auto Zone only have them in Canada and can't get them here. The Nice lady at Auto Zone gave me the part number and I did a google search with the part number and that's how I found it. Now I just have to put it in.
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The part number Auto Zone gave me is 15-63720 and Advance Auto part number is 398343 I'm not sure who makes it .
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364 Posts
Thanks for the followup!
The Delco "15-63720" usually shows "Out of stock" or "NLA" on most websites for the past few years.
Amazon shows it in stock for $106, but "ships within 3-4 weeks" so that is suspicious to me.
"Professional, premium aftermarket replacement" -- that's also suspicious. My recent experiences on Amazon with the "AC Delco Store" shows they are either sending fakes or have switched all production to low quality offshore junk. I can handle offshore production, but there is no excuse for low quality with an OEM brand.
Curious to hear how well the Spectra/Carquest/Advance/Vista-Pro/Ready-Aire 398343 fits. Those are obviously made by one supplier and rebadged. Looking at the reviews, people are using this core on Fords. That doesn't give me great confidence. It may come close enough to fitting a Caprice. Be prepared for a fight. The dimensions aren't the same or close as below. Plus the inlet and outlet being both 0.625 which is wrong.
On the other hand, Part Number 398270 (Autozone) does seem like a better fit. I am dubious that 398343 is correct -- now that I see 398270.
More data points...
Just to show how much variation there is in size -- using the 2 NAPA ones that show up:
PN: RNR 1811452 (18-11453)
Brand REACH
Heater Core Thickness 1.25
Heater Core Width 6.06
Heater Core Length 8.38
Heater Core Inlet Size 1
Heater Core Outlet Size 0.625
PN: TEM 553778
Brand NAPA
Heater Core Thickness 1.375
Heater Core Width 6.5
Heater Core Length 8.25
Heater Core Inlet Size 0.625
Heater Core Outlet Size 0.75
PN: 398270
(found dimensions at Northern Radiator, but this core is available as Spectra/Carquest/Advance/Vista-Pro/Ready-Aire)
Heater Core Thickness 1.25
Heater Core Width 6.06
Heater Core Length 8.375
Heater Core Inlet 0.75
Heater Core Outlet 0.625
PN: 398343 (I suspect this is wrong for a B-Body)
(Also from Northern Radiator)
Heater Core Thickness 2
Heater Core Width 7.5
Heater Core Length 7.75
Heater Core Inlet 0.625
Heater Core Outlet 0.625
And the NOS Delphi (AC Delco OEM manufacturer) that I have in a box:
PN: Delphi HC0276 (I took these measurements myself)
Heater Core Thickness 1.3125
Heater Core Length 08.25
Heater Core Width 6.625
Heater Core Inlet Size 0.75
Heater Core Outlet Size 0.625
NOTES:
I normalized those measurements since the concept of length, width, height and thickness were all juxtaposed on the websites.
The Delphi one includes the cross bracket between the two pipes and the pipes are pre-clocked correctly.
The heater core dimensions are the core itself -- not counting the end tanks in the measurements (apparently).
The Delphi ones come with new foam. I remember the form factor being smaller than OEM and it needed new foam to prevent air bypass. I guarantee the old foam on the car is shot (disintegrated). I also guarantee that (due to these dimensional variations), you may want to have some HVAC/Weatherstripping sticky foam tape on hand. I'd say something like 3/4" wide by 3/4" thick roll on hand to cut to fill gaps.
I may still have an original stock OEM one in a scrap pile. When I do a scrap run in the spring/summer, and if I find it, I will take measurements of that one and update this post.
The Delco "15-63720" usually shows "Out of stock" or "NLA" on most websites for the past few years.
Amazon shows it in stock for $106, but "ships within 3-4 weeks" so that is suspicious to me.
"Professional, premium aftermarket replacement" -- that's also suspicious. My recent experiences on Amazon with the "AC Delco Store" shows they are either sending fakes or have switched all production to low quality offshore junk. I can handle offshore production, but there is no excuse for low quality with an OEM brand.
Curious to hear how well the Spectra/Carquest/Advance/Vista-Pro/Ready-Aire 398343 fits. Those are obviously made by one supplier and rebadged. Looking at the reviews, people are using this core on Fords. That doesn't give me great confidence. It may come close enough to fitting a Caprice. Be prepared for a fight. The dimensions aren't the same or close as below. Plus the inlet and outlet being both 0.625 which is wrong.
On the other hand, Part Number 398270 (Autozone) does seem like a better fit. I am dubious that 398343 is correct -- now that I see 398270.
More data points...
Just to show how much variation there is in size -- using the 2 NAPA ones that show up:
PN: RNR 1811452 (18-11453)
Brand REACH
Heater Core Thickness 1.25
Heater Core Width 6.06
Heater Core Length 8.38
Heater Core Inlet Size 1
Heater Core Outlet Size 0.625
PN: TEM 553778
Brand NAPA
Heater Core Thickness 1.375
Heater Core Width 6.5
Heater Core Length 8.25
Heater Core Inlet Size 0.625
Heater Core Outlet Size 0.75
PN: 398270
(found dimensions at Northern Radiator, but this core is available as Spectra/Carquest/Advance/Vista-Pro/Ready-Aire)
Heater Core Thickness 1.25
Heater Core Width 6.06
Heater Core Length 8.375
Heater Core Inlet 0.75
Heater Core Outlet 0.625
PN: 398343 (I suspect this is wrong for a B-Body)
(Also from Northern Radiator)
Heater Core Thickness 2
Heater Core Width 7.5
Heater Core Length 7.75
Heater Core Inlet 0.625
Heater Core Outlet 0.625
And the NOS Delphi (AC Delco OEM manufacturer) that I have in a box:
PN: Delphi HC0276 (I took these measurements myself)
Heater Core Thickness 1.3125
Heater Core Length 08.25
Heater Core Width 6.625
Heater Core Inlet Size 0.75
Heater Core Outlet Size 0.625
NOTES:
I normalized those measurements since the concept of length, width, height and thickness were all juxtaposed on the websites.
The Delphi one includes the cross bracket between the two pipes and the pipes are pre-clocked correctly.
The heater core dimensions are the core itself -- not counting the end tanks in the measurements (apparently).
The Delphi ones come with new foam. I remember the form factor being smaller than OEM and it needed new foam to prevent air bypass. I guarantee the old foam on the car is shot (disintegrated). I also guarantee that (due to these dimensional variations), you may want to have some HVAC/Weatherstripping sticky foam tape on hand. I'd say something like 3/4" wide by 3/4" thick roll on hand to cut to fill gaps.
I may still have an original stock OEM one in a scrap pile. When I do a scrap run in the spring/summer, and if I find it, I will take measurements of that one and update this post.
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68 Posts
Thank you so much.That's a lot of info.
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