Alas one of my 30 year old heater hoses in FRONT of the firewall gave out this morning. It looked like a two-toothed critter may have taken a bite out of it.

The rubber hose passing through the firewall was very soft and overdue for replacement. Fortunately I was able to cut off the (bit? bitter?) end and still have enough left to clamp onto the nipple and limp home.

The heater hoses themselves appear to pass THROUGH the firewall instead of, as on many cars, having a metal tube pass-through integral to the firewall. Correct?

I assume this means I have to pull the entire dash apart to get to the other ends, ends I ASSUME are clamped onto the heater core.

Has anyone done this job? Any tips? As bad as it looks? Will I have to pull down the heater core too?

Are these moulded hoses or will 3/4" heater hose work, any sharp bends?

I'm not looking forward to this one...

Anyone with some advice to offer on this job?

I replied last night, but the forum went down or something.

Unless you work for cirque de sole, you would be better off taking the dash out to get to the heater hoses inside. You don't have to take the heater box out or the fan. Take the spdo cable off at the pigtail and the dash harness off at the connections in the passenger side. Radio out. There used to be a write up somewhere, maybe here and on zdriver. There is also a small hose that should be replaced. And now would be a good time to rebuild the heater valve.

The Z Garage ? View topic - HOW TO: 280zx Dash Removal

There are plenty more out there. One person can take it out, but two people needed to put it back in. It sits on a couple of pins so it can tilt out. Getting it lined up back on the pins can be tricky with one person.

google "280zx dash removal"

Use the formed stock hoses, they will come with a new grommet for the fire wall.

Nissan sez "Not available." No listing on Rock Auto. Any suggestion for a source for these?

MSA, pretty reasonable, less than $40

Motorsport! Heater Hoses - The Z Store, Nissan-Datsun 240Z-260Z-280Z-280ZX-300ZX(Z31/Z32)-350Z-370Z Parts

ebay, also...

Genuine Nissan 1979 1982 280ZX 280 ZX Heater Hose New | eBay

Shame on Nissan for not putting a firewall / bulkhead pass-through on these so-important hoses (brass fitting and separate hoses on separate sides of the firewall!)