# April 2000 Frontier heater core tubes



## elaric (Aug 9, 2009)

Hi all -

I have a leaking heater core tube on my 2000 Frontier.
According to the door panel, it was built in April of 2000.

I'm looking for the heater core tubes ONLY for the pre-June 2000 truck, and I can't find them even in aftermarket, even though they DO bolt on.

I've been researching, and apparently there was a change in the heater core and tubes after June 30,2000
So trucks built in the second half of the year use a different type of tubes, even though the core appears to be the same.


The aftermarket sites sell the POST June 2000 core and tubes for between $50 and $99. But the heater core and tubes from _before_ June 2000 all appear to be WAY more - at least $250, and not available separately! 
:jawdrop:

I'm desperately trying to figure out if I did the research right, and that for some crazy reason, this is actually true, that the same core, and slightly different heater core tubes (mine are both plastic) are for some reason THREE TIMES the price of nearly the same thing from just 4 months later?
I just don't see substantial differences - the core appears to be identical actually, and the tubes just have a couple extra bends, presumably to go around the plenum case and evaporator in a different route?

I just can't believe the price difference, and wonder if I'm selecting something wrong on the sites?

:wtf: ???????


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## elaric (Aug 9, 2009)

By the way - this is just one of the sites showing a HUGE increase in price for nearly the same heater core and tubes..
2000 Nissan Frontier Replacement Heater Cores & Parts ? CARiD.com

This one is for the _after_ June 30 2000
TYC® 96089 - Nissan Frontier 2000 Front HVAC Heater Core

This one is for PRE June 2000
TEN TIMES THE PRICE! 
Genuine® W0133-1601065-OES - Nissan Frontier Manufactured Before June 30, 2000 2000 Heater Core
$366 !!


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## smj999smj (Jan 1, 2006)

Based on what I see, the heater core you need has one plastic tube and one metal tube, like this:

HVAC Heater Core Genuine Fits 1998 2000 Nissan Frontier Xterra | eBay

If that's the case, and only the black plastic tube is leaking, it looks like the curved, black, plastic tube in Dorman #902-099 would work:

HVAC Heater Core Tube Fits 2000 2004 Nissan Xterra Frontier Dorman OE S | eBay

If you have the other style of heater core with the two, white, plastic tubes, it looks like the angled pipe in the Dorman #902-099 would work for that. Maybe the listing is just wrong and the Dorman kit is designed to work with either style, hence the one curved and one angled pipe? It might be worth a shot getting it to see if it works.

My only issue with just replacing the pipe is this: if the heater core is as old as the truck (16-years) and keeping in mind you still have to remove the entire dash and heater assembly to replace the pipes, do you really want to take a chance on doing the job again by gambling on the longevity of the original heater core?


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## elaric (Aug 9, 2009)

Hi smj999smj -

Yes, it's just the one upper tube that's leaking. As it happens, the lower tube has not cracked.
On the OEM heater core, I think both tubes are actually plastic, and on those aftermarket kits, the lower tube is now metal. I suspect that's because of the bends which might be easier to make in metal than to blowmold in plastic, but then again, I've seen some crazy shapes in blowmold...so... I've no idea why they'd go to the trouble of making one complex tube out of metal, but not use metal for the other easier to make tube...

Given the apparent history of these tubes becoming brittle, it appears to me that one set of aftermarket tubes are a different kind of plastic (the two white tube style) -- or other afterOEM manufacturers are doing at least one metal tube. 

What's crazy to me is the price difference... 

I'd love to avoid spending nearly FOUR HUNDRED dollars on this.
It's _really_ tempting to buy the cheaper core, the Dorman tubes, and see if I can somehow replace just what I have to. $36 is not much to waste if putting in a new core turns out to be ten times the work.

I've seen a few videos in which people were able to remove just the glovebox and plenum, to get at just the tubes.
And I've seen the videos/photodocs in which people had to remove 95% of everything in the entire dashboard, top to bottom.

Not sure who is right -- I know there's mechanics that can do something one way, and a lot of less experienced homeowners who will disassemble _far_ more than they have to by the time they get at a part. 
Sometimes it comes down to tools and what tool can reach where.


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## elaric (Aug 9, 2009)

Another interesting point about which core/tube to select to replace --

In the firewall, it appears there's a second hole with a bolted on cover, just below where the two tubes come through.
I have to wonder if that's there in anticipation of the soon-to come June 30th 
revision of the heater core.

Maybe if I'm lucky, the plenum spacing will allow the use of the cheaper $36 core and $40 Dorman tubes, as opposed to the $350 one-metal/one-plastic tube and core.
Won't know until I take out the plenum and see what the space behind it looks like.

Here's the future through-hole in the firewall









Maybe I can somehow make use of that, and use the cheaper components.
Maybe too, I can figure out how to get the heater core out using some mechanics tricks and only take apart the passenger side, and not have to disassemble the _entire_ freakin' truck! 

Fingers crossed....


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## Roader (Nov 9, 2014)

Mine is a May 2000 so following this thread with interest. Rock Auto shows three heater cores:

SPECTRA PREMIUM / COOLING DEPOT 99222 @ $34 "Pipes and seals are not included with this heater; core only.; For Use With O.E. Pipes

APDI/PRO 9010395 @ $91; No pipe verbiage but picture shows no pipes

TYC 96089 @ $28; No pic/no verbiage

A websearch of TYC 96089 shows the same pic as that CARiD page linked above, a core with white pipes attached. $28 isn't that much money to throw away if it turns out it doesn't fit. The only downside is if the $28 core doesn't work then you have a disassembled vehicle with nothing to stick back in. I guess I would just tape off the evap pipes and block the heater core hoses until I got the new, really expensive heater core. It would be nice if the $28 core fits even if that blocked off hole needs to be unblocked. Since Rock Auto makes no distinction on the build date, I'm guessing that the $28 TYC core will fit, one way or another.

The FSM shows taking the entire dash apart but it really doesn't look like too bad of a job. Three-four hours total (not including the AC charging)? The various youtube videos show much quicker methods. If those don't work then you can always fall back on the FSM way.


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## elaric (Aug 9, 2009)

I'll let you know. 

One concern I have is the airbags -- if I'm gonna mess around with the dashboard, I'm going to have to work out how to discharge the capacitors after disconnecting the battery, so that I can disconnect the airbag.

Not real interested in having my head 4 inches from the airbang ;-)
when it decides that the banging is an accident in progress.

I'm not holding out much hope for the newer tubes (post Jun 2000) to fit.
I'm seriously afraid that the plenum and other interior parts are in the way.


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## elaric (Aug 9, 2009)

By the way -

I'm thinking of just bypassing the thing for now - or certainly getting the necessary parts.

Does anyone know what the ID of the heater core tubes is? 

I want to make a simple elbow - I think one side would be 5/8, but I'm not sure if both tubes are 5/8, or whether one is 3/4


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## elaric (Aug 9, 2009)

By the way Roader -

I'm thinking it is the same core no matter who you get it from --
It's the tubes that change, and for SOME @#$%$%@%^!!!!! reason, you CANNOT get just the tubes
for the pre Jun 2000....

Otherwise I'd try to get one of the $40-$60 cores from someplace, and the tubes to fit the pre-June 2000...
but the only way I see to get those tubes with the extra bends in the lower tube is to buy the WHOLE $280-$390 core and tubes!


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## smj999smj (Jan 1, 2006)

The heater hoses should both be 5/8". As far as the air bags, just disconnect the battery for 10 minutes and leave it disconnected while you work on the car. When you remove the air bag module, place it some with the back side down and someplace where it will not get knocked off onto the floor. They really aren't that bad; I work on them all the time. You'll probably need a special socket to remove the bolts, which is usually a T-50 tamper proof torx.


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## Roader (Nov 9, 2014)

Your CARiD link:

TYC® 96089 - Nissan Frontier 2000 Front HVAC Heater Core

CARiD's link when you put "TYC 96089" in their search box:

TYC® 96089 - Front HVAC Heater Core

Same price, same dimensions, CARiD says both fit 2000 Frontier, all models.

The dimensional drawing shows that it's 195mm wide and it looks like the centerline spacing of the two tubes is about half of the width, or 98mm or about 3-7/8".

I just measured my 5/2000 and the tube centerline is ~ 2". The centerline from the top tube to that bottom blockoff plate is ~7".

If it were me—and I plan on keeping this truck another five years or so and I may well have to replace the core—if that $28 core tubes don't fit, I'd think seriously about drilling another hole in the firewall so that it did fit. It would be worth ($366 - $28) $338 to hack the truck up a bit, considering it's 16 years-old.

But I'm a cheapskate.

Edit: 16mm OD for the tubes according to the drawing, so 5/8" ID hose.

Edit: I was typing while SMJ was posting the hose size.

Edit: Slightly off on the heater core width. Corrected.


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## elaric (Aug 9, 2009)

I'm the same kind of cheapskate, honestly! 
Just can't imagine a really good reason to spend THAT much more money, if some workaround can be done to use the simpler style of lower heater tube.

Have you taken apart the dash yet? I investigated a bit under mine, but really can't tell much at all from below,
about whether or not there is room behind the plenum for the alternate setup of heater tubes
that began to be used in July 2000.

Seems like drilling a hole in the firewall is easy enough --- the bigger issue is whether the plenum or anything else inside the dashboard would be in the way. That S-shaped curve in the lower heater core tube for the pre-June trucks 
has got to be there for a reason --- I fear it's because it's going around something -- and the something-or-other was later modified to allow for the simple curving tubes after July.


Right at the moment, I've just bought the materials to bypass the heater core in case the cracked nipple on the upper tube lets go at some point.


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## Roader (Nov 9, 2014)

Good pic's here:

http://www.clubxterra.org/forums/showthread.php?t=34433

And here:

http://www.xterranation.org/showthread.php?731-DIY-Replace-heater-core

It looks like there's room to go an inch or so lower on the bottom tube.

I've taken the cluster & heater control out but not the entire dash. When I have jobs like these I just block out an entire Saturday, print out the relevant pages of the FSM, keep track of the different screws in an egg carton, and take my time.

The thing is, Rock Auto lists the same heater cores for 1998, 1999, 2000, and 2001. I'm not saying they can't be wrong but it seems unlikely. And $28 (plus shipping) wouldn't be much of a risk.


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