1996 heater core/controller woes: $4500?! (Full Version)

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1996 heater core/controller woes: $4500?!

  

aiken -> 1996 heater core/controller woes: $4500?! (1/11/2008 6:48:31 PM)

Hi, everyone.  I made an impulse buy of a 1996 H1 wagon a few months ago.  Ouch.  It's a great truck, but I did not get this one checked out by someone with H1 experience before buying it, and wow has that been an expensive mistake.  I spent $2k replacing the oil cooler less than 1000 miles after buying it!

Now I took it in to the dealer to get the heater/defroster fixed.  How bad could that be?  Well, it turns out that the main heater core leaks.  And apparently it's 11 hours of labor just to swap it out, and (according to the dealer) it's impossible to get a replacement for a 1996.  They've told me that I need to buy an upgrade kit to get the 98+ heater core and controller installed.  Kit cost: $2500+, installation: $2000 or so, total: $4500.  Yeeeeouch.

Can someone knowledgeable tell me if this is a reasonble diagnosis?  Is it really impossible to get replacement core?  With that kind of labor cost I'm wary of trying to repair the existing one.

Bonus points: apparently the starter is failing.  A $980 starter.  Ouch again.  Is this common?  And, again, is it practical to get a used one that's in good shape?

  
3hummers -> RE: 1996 heater core/controller woes: $4500?! (1/11/2008 7:30:54 PM)

Check out Ebay. I have seen rebuilt starters for $250.00 and the entire upgraded HVAC unit, less blower, for $850.00. I am almost positive it has the heater core with it and I believe there is one on Ebay now. The typical labor for a Hummer mechanic in Socal is billed at about $100.00/hour so the labor number sounds high also. Do you have another dealer with a good H1 mechanic in the area? there is a huge difference between mechanics and dealers.

3hummers -> RE: 1996 heater core/controller woes: $4500?! (1/11/2008 10:07:20 PM)

I checked Ebay and didn't see either but they are on Ebay regularly. Keep watching and you can get a great deal on them. I'll see if I can find the sources.

3hummers -> RE: 1996 heater core/controller woes: $4500?! (1/11/2008 10:38:55 PM)

As an examplea guy posted an H1 oil and transmission cooler on ebay a few weeks ago for $120.00 ( + 62.00 shipping ) and did not get a bid.
For starters AutoParts Warehouse is selling remanfactured starters for $310.00 + shipping. ( 866-503-5181 )
4Hummer Parts has starters ( reman ) for $425.00 but you get $75.00 back if you ship them your dead starter. Type in 4hummerparts on the Ebay search.

Haven't found the HVAC unit again yet.

Muddydawg75 -> RE: 1996 heater core/controller woes: $4500?! (1/12/2008 7:03:51 AM)

if it isn't your daily I am sure you have a rebuilder in seattle.... every city has a rebuilder...

ronb -> RE: 1996 heater core/controller woes: $4500?! (1/12/2008 10:57:05 AM)

Do your research before hitting the stealership so you know what they are doing...most will rip you off and screw up your truck when they work on it because they know little to nothing about h1's (thanks again, gm).

Get your hands on the service manual (helpful with part numbers etc...) and Dave Breggin's cd (step-by-step instructions on general maintenance/care for your truck). Pretty much everything hummer can be found on the hml's knowledge base:
http://www.hummerknowledgebase.com/H1.html
there is also a parts cross reference there that will help you find stuff at many auto parts stores:
http://www.hummerknowledgebase.com/parts/list/index.html

As far as your starter...$980 is for a new one from AMG, a rebuilt one is around $400 (Scot at SAX).

here are some sites you'll need:
http://www.hummernetworkforums.com -- the forum is a great resource for all things hummer
http://www.bluehummer.com -- Dave is aboout the nicest guy ever and has helped me over the phone many times
http://www.rubberduck4x4.com -- Travis is way cool and makes killer upgrades, he sells oem parts at good prices like Dave
http://www.sax-express.com -- Scot is also a very nice guy, has good deals on alot of rebuilt stuff (half-shafts, steering gears, starters etc...) and oem parts.

start studying, it's an easy truck to work on yourself and there is a wealth of knowledge and people willing to help out. It's a small community that sticks together (find other owners in your area on the hml). The first year of ownership is always an expensive one -- you end up fixing all the stuff neglected by the previous owner ($$$). I personally would never own this truck if i didn't wheel it -- so I like to work on it myself to learn what's what and how to fix it -- knowledge I'm sure I'll need someday in the boonies.

good luck,
Ron B

3hummers -> RE: 1996 heater core/controller woes: $4500?! (1/12/2008 2:23:53 PM)

Good info Ron. Thanks

aiken -> RE: 1996 heater core/controller woes: $4500?! (1/12/2008 8:38:59 PM)

Thanks for the great info and links.  The H1 mechanic at the dealership seemed like a great guy, and I'll score a rebuilt starter and I'm sure he'll be ok with that.

I'm moderately handy working on cars, but unfortunately I live in an apartment where I got in trouble for changing the battery in another car in the garage.  Dealing with starters and stuff would get me shot.  One day, when I have more time and the right place, I would love to do stuff myself again.

3hummers -> RE: 1996 heater core/controller woes: $4500?! (1/12/2008 8:56:54 PM)

When I find that heater core vendor I'll post the info. I know Kascar has them also. Can't remember the price. ( www.real4wd.com ) Let us know how you are doing with it.

hmcoleap -> RE: 1996 heater core/controller woes: $4500?! (1/13/2008 6:51:26 AM)

As others have said, rebuilding a starter locally you can get that fixed for around $250. 
The HVAC issue is a biggy, there are only a few places that rebuild those cores... Lefty's is the only one I have heard of who specifically rebuilds the pre-97 Heater Cores so you can potentially avoid the expensive upgrade -- that upgrade usually runs anywhere from $3500-5000, as you have found out. 

http://www.leftysautomotive.com/heatercore/recondition.htm

3hummers -> RE: 1996 heater core/controller woes: $4500?! (1/13/2008 9:10:49 AM)

Thanks for the info Manny. I knew someone had to rebuild those old heater cores.

96 H1 Hammer Truck -> RE: 1996 heater core/controller woes: $4500?! (4/1/2008 5:03:38 PM)

New to this forum. Has anyone used a rebuilt heater core from Lefty's? I have this same issues and have been quoted the same kind of prices and don't really want to go through the entire conversion to new system if the rebuilt option works fine. Appreciate any feedback on results of rebuilt cores from Lefty's. Thanks.

3hummers -> RE: 1996 heater core/controller woes: $4500?! (4/1/2008 5:07:36 PM)

I haven't. So far the 97 has hung in there. Maybe someone else on here has as it is a common problem.

axleman -> RE: 1996 heater core/controller woes: $4500?! (4/30/2008 10:35:07 AM)

I have done both on my 94, Lefty's and the late model upgrade. On the first failure the Lefty's unit started leaking so I had a local guy take it apart (which is not an easy thing) and repaired it. The a year or so later I did the nice upgrade while I had the truck apart for an engine transpant.

The original HVAC units in the 94-97s are complete JUNK. I have nothing bad to say about Lefty's or the unit I got from them, but... in my 16 years experience as a rebuilder, no matter how good you are, you just can't make sh*t shine.

So really your choices are this:

1) Spend under $1k and repair a system that really doesn't work very well even in its best condition and will very likely go out again at some point;
2) Spend big bucks for the ugrade system which works much better, is more reliable, and easier to repair.

I took the cheap route the first two times and for me it didn't work out.

Something else to consider is if/when you sell your truck, knowledgable lookers will be checking for the upgrade and will value your truck accordingly.

3hummers -> RE: 1996 heater core/controller woes: $4500?! (4/30/2008 11:54:11 AM)

Hi Scot. Good to see you here.

  

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