I'm sure this is a long shot at best, but I was wondering if any of you guys had deleted the heater core and knew what radiator hose you could use to bypass the core. I know it'll be a lot easier to walk into the parts store and tell them, "I need a radiator hose for a 1974 Honda Civic" than to go in there and try to convince them that the one they want to sell me won't work and they'll have to look through the parts to try and find one that will fit.

I figured I'd take a shot at it. If you can point me in the right direction it will be greatly appreciated.

 

You do not need a special hose. A longer hose can be purchased by the foot of same diameter, or you can use the existing hose and just by pass back into return. I have deleted my heater, A/C, and core with all the controls. I have also added an inline water temp gauge at the back of the motor. Not the most ideal coolant route, but haven't had a bit of problem with this setup for two years now.

 

remove block outlet hose from copper inlet port.
remove heater core outlet hose from hard-line under manifold.
take block outlet hose and attach to hard-line.
the end.

 

Alright guys, thanks. I'll see what I can do. My block outlet hose looked like it could fit, but it was definitely pushing it. I'm gonna see if I can find something that fits a little better.

 

see item #17

http://bellsouthpwp.net/P/o/PopVII/Cheap%20Mods.htm

 

Older pic, and has since been tidied up a bit, but you get the idea.....

 

Flow through the heater core is critical to the life of the #4 cylinder if you havent done a coolant re-route.

 

How so? Water is still passing through all passages as before, just not through the core now. Path of coolant has not changed.

 

Aww yes, that's perfect, exactly what I was looking for.


Also interested in how this could potentially be a bad idea... Seems like it would only serve to free up a little water flow, if anything.

 

Because hot coolant from the #4 area gets pulled through the heater core where it loses a little bit of heat and into the water pump inlet.

EDIT: Oh I see your point now. What I am saying is true if you block off the flow from the rear of the head to the water pump inlet.

 

That makes sense...whew! Thought I was making a boat anchor there for a bit.

 

Well... the only drawback I saw (and why I didn't do it) is if you have an overheating problem your HCore is your "bailout route". Turning on the heater full blast drops a pretty crazy amount of temp from your coolant. Burping the car with it running w/ aftermarket radiator takes forever....

 

Yes...it is a drawback for sure. I do plan on upgrading the rad with a four core, and doing the real deal coolant re-route just before boosting. I only trust this setup currently in stock form only....
However, I have a vented cowl hood, vented fenders to the cowl, and a wholly bumper, sometimes I wonder if I am actually overcooling in some scenarios.

 

I used a 90* plastic elbow from the 'HELP!' section at Advance auto to bypass my core and it worked perfectly.

 

On your Miata? Why?
C

 

This is exactly why my car retains the heater core. It is the cooling backup system.

My car was built for track... but I won't ditch the core.

 

Very valid point.....but what about relocating core to say in engine bay somewhere so when it blows it won't cook the toenails and get pedals wet possibly creating an accident. Has had happened to people before, and caused some deep off track excursions.

 

hell the core itself should held shed heat regardless.

 

Because it was spraying my leg with hot coolant when the engine revved over 5k. I'm going to replace it with a new one but I was hoping to replace the carpet (with black) and switch to a 90-93 dash at the same time.

 

Now that I think about it... I wonder if mine is leaking into car. I know I slowly loose coolant... no outside drips... i haven't noticed wet inside though. But I do smell it periodically.

Ugh.. always something isn't it?