only cold air blows when heater is on. the car sat for 12-14 years so im sure I need a new one

Not one of my favorite things to do. It's a pita but it is do-able. If the core doesn't leak and you have flow through it then it wouldn't be the cause of you not getting heat. Could be a problem with the heater control valve. Easier to work on but harder to find a replacement.

If your not leaking since it is a pain to get to the box, see if you can get it to work well first. From the floor heat doors you can actually blast air and clean the dust out of the box and the core. From the engine compartment you can flush water down the heater tubes, and see if you can brake up the garbage inside the core. The nice thing is these cores are pretty thickly walled so they can take a lot.

Heater contol valve on ebay @ the-Z-connection 29.95 "buy it now"

They are also available from Nissan as of August for roughly the same price after shipping.

I remember pulling the heater core on my 260z when I lived in Anchorage, That was about 20 years ago. I was not as good of a mechanic then and it was 10 below Zero fahrenheit. What a pain is the A, I remember being covered in antifreaze and running inside every 5 minuts just so I could feel my fingers, but I did get it done in a day.

Heater contol valve on ebay @ the-Z-connection 29.95 "buy it now"

They are also available from Nissan as of August for roughly the same price after shipping.

Not a 280Z heater control valve. They've been NLA for a couple of years now......

Here is a 280z heater core that has been advertised for months on the Seattle craigslist for $50 if you are looking for one http://seattle.craigslist.org/est/pts/2003557481.html.

-Mike

thanks for the tips.now I have something to do this weekend

Robb,

What the other posters are saying is they don't believe it's your heater core. It could be the control valve, a broken or stuck cable, or someone blocked off the water flowing through it (usually because it leaked). Go through trouble shooting before you fix something that may not be broken.

First check to make sure that both sides (inlet and outlet) are hooked up on the engine side. Second, pull off both hoses and pump some water through it, with the heater controls open and see if it comes out the other pipe. If so, then nothing is blocking the water and it should work. If nothing comes out, try changing the heater control and see if you get the same results.

Then, look at the heater control valve and see if it's moving or stuck in the closed position.

I'm not a pro on 280's, but this should get you started. Sure don't want you to go through all the effort to replace the heater core only to find out that a previous owner blocked off a hose or something similar.

Edited October 17, 201014 yr by bobc

Robb,

What the other posters are saying is they don't believe it's your heater core. It could be the control valve, a broken or stuck cable, or someone blocked off the water flowing through it (usually because it leaked). Go through trouble shooting before you fix something that may not be broken.

First check to make sure that both sides (inlet and outlet) are hooked up at the engine side. Second, pull off both hoses and pump some water through it, with the heater controls open and see if it comes out the other pipe. If so, then nothing is blocking the water and it should work. If nothing comes out, try changing the heater control and see if you get the same results.

Then, look at the heater control valve and see if it's moving or stuck in the closed position.

I'm not a pro on 280's, but this should get you started. Sure don't want you to go through all the effort to replace the heater core only to find out that a previous owner blocked off a hose or something similar.

Your right. Not to say it maybe blocked up, but it is a lot of work you don't want to do unless it is the only thing left. The heater core is one of the hardest things to get to, in a Z. I still think this isn't hard for a do-it-your-selfer, just takes time