Hello everyone!
I will be replacing the heater core soon in my daughter"s 940 turbo and per FAQ the brass and copper one is the way to go.
From your experience which brand of heater core do you gentlemen recommend ?
Thank you in advance and may God bless!

Charles

I put in a spectre 2 months ago. The inlet and outlet pipes weren't an exact match for length and position, but I was able to get it in without too much fussing. Time will tell on its longevity, but its all metal and gets my recommendation for the time being.

Dear nyalex,

Hope you're well. Is this a copper-brass unit, or an all-aluminum unit?

For the item you installed, what is the maker's part number?

What was the make/model of the car the heater core was made to fit? I ask, because your comment suggests you had "to make it fit"?

Thanks for your help!

Yours faithfully,

Spook

It was all aluminum. Its a spectre 94734. I got it from Rockauto for about $60. The picture rockauto has shows a copper/brass model, but the actual spectre website shows it as it comes.

http://ecat.spectrapremium.com/products/94734

I put it into my NA 92 740. I also should clarify, I didn't need to modify the core to make it fit. It just wasn't quite a perfect re-creation, so I carved out a little of the foam/rubber grommet in the firewall that the heater core inlet and outlet fit through.

I'd say it gives out 90% of the heat the original did, and making it fit was maybe 15 minutes of extra work. Given the difficulty people are having finding all metal units, I'm very happy with this one.

Dear nyalex,

Hope you're well. An all-aluminum core will surely far outlast the aluminum-plastic units, simply because heat and time embrittle plastic. Heater core longevity matters, as it's so hard to access.

Thanks for the detailed report!

Yours faithfully,

Spook

I ran across this but could not figure a way to contact the seller!

https://swedishcarparts.com/parts/1252-1307236-volvo-740-760-780-940-960-s90-v90-heater-core

Worst case i will order the aluminum one.
Thank you nyalex and everyone for their help!

Dear Charles,

Hope you're well. On the page to which the link leads, in the far upper right corner there's a "sign up" link. I'd use that.

Some websites are set-up and/or maintained by extra-terrestrials, who do things in ways that no Earth-native would do.

Hope this helps.

Yours faithfully,

Spook

Approximately 7 years ago I replaced the leaking heater core in our 940 with an aluminum one with what I can best describe as bristles coming out from it to help transer heat. I just didn't put out enough heat. I took the leaky old one to a local radiator shop to see if they could repair it. They were able to get me a nice brass and copper unit from one of their suppliers. The brand might have been something like World or Standard but my memory might be very bad on that. It might be worth checking with a local radiator shop.

I took a leaky heater core i changed five years ago in my 940 for two radiator shops in my area and was quoted $280 and $300 to re-core it.
After checking and making phone calls they said the only available replacement now is the aluminum and plastic.
By the way i checked the receipt fore the one i installed in my car and it was vista pro all metal part #399235 of which i paid $72 five years ago. I should have bought couple more if i knew at some point they will be hard to find!
I guess for now i will bypass the heater core and keep looking for all metal one i can afford.
For curiosity i would love to know from you experience the longevity of the aluminum and plastic heater core?
Thank you gentlemen for all your replies!

Charles

As far as longevity, I don't have a good answer but I do have a good story. As I mentioned, the unit seemed rather cheesy- it had aluminum pipes and some kind of aluminum "bristles" that were supposed to help dissipate the heat but it just didn't put out much heat. I tried everything like new thermostats, new water pump (I actually found a restriction in the pump where the line went to the heater core), having it flushed, etc., but nothing helped. Flushing was the last thing I tried. I think the shop where I had it power flushed must have torqued on it and a day or so later it exploded where it apparently had cracked. It blew at 30 mph during "rush hour" on a major street in a mid-sized city. The cabin filled with steam and fogged the windows. I had several friends with me on our way to the Hilly Hundred bike ride over in Indiana. We rolled down the windows and somehow got to the right lane and into a parking lot. I sent a couple guys after antifreeze from the convenience store next door, let it cool a little and looped one of the heater hoses back to the other side to bypass the core and we were back on our way in under an hour and had a nice weekend. It's a miracle we didn't crash given that we had a total whiteout out for a while.

Irisius
Thank you for sharing your knowledge and story. Indeed it was a miracle you didn't crash after what happened!

Spook
Thank you i really appreciate your help and enjoy reading your valuable replies!

Charles

Dear Irisius,

Hope you're well. Your report confirms all-aluminum heater cores don't work as well as do copper/brass units.

Yours is an excellent suggestion, i.e., to go to a local radiator shop and ask them to find a copper/brass heater core. The worst result: they can't. And if they can, any extra cost is worthwhile, to get the peace-of-mind that comes from knowing the next repalcement is two decades down the road.

Thanks again.

Yours faithfully,

Spook

Approximately 7 years ago I replaced the leaking heater core in our 940 with an aluminum one with what I can best describe as bristles coming out from it to help transer heat. I just didn't put out enough heat. I took the leaky old one to a local radiator shop to see if they could repair it. They were able to get me a nice brass and copper unit from one of their suppliers. The brand might have been something like World or Standard but my memory might be very bad on that. It might be worth checking with a local radiator shop.

I just got a response from customer service at parts geek saying the heater core is aluminum and plastic.

I received an all-aluminum spectra core from parts geek about 10 days ago - unless somehow the plastic is evading my detection. Feels like metal to me. The parts seller might be mistaking a different core that they sell which is in fact metal and plastic yet (oddly) is offered for sale by the depiction of an all metal core; brass and something!!! I put mine in the car tonight and the tubes *seem* to fit okay but tomorrow I am going to inspect more closely. At this point it looks okay. The tubes are angled differently than the original yet somehow seem to align with the holes. I have a 95 940. In this thread is $150 all metal from ebay - maybe that is the best, really.

Dear Horatio,

Hope you're well. FCPEuro sells a heater core made by Nissens, which has an alumimum core but plastic side-tanks (as do Nissens radiators for 940s). Some posts in this thread report that all-aluminum heater cores do not transfer heat as efficiently as do the copper/brass units. In some areas, that might not matter.

Glad to hear that the Spectra unit fit correctly!!!

Thanks for your update: very heplful.

Yours faithfully,

Spook

Dear Charles,

Hope you're well. Thank you for the update. They should replace the photo.


See if this seller's photo also is out-of-date, or whether they actually have the item pictured: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Volvo-780-940-960-S90-v90-740-745-760-780-HVAC-Heater-Core-Ready-Aire-1307236-/191643801156 .

This item isn't cheap. But given how hard it is to replace a heater core, a long-life part is well worth it.

Hope this helps.

Yours faithfully,

Spook

Google Spectra Heater Core-still metal

Looks like there are no brass/copper heater cores available anymore.
What are your opinions on aluminum cores? How long do they usually last ?
Thank you in advance ?

Dear Charles,

Hope you're well. If the part pictured here (http://www.partsgeek.com/stdy3f3-volvo-940-heater-core.html?utm_source=shopzilla&utm_medium=pf&utm_content=hc&utm_campaign=PartsGeek+ShopZilla&fp=pp&utm_term=Volvo+Heater+Core ) is actually the part they will ship, then a brass-copper heater core is available.

It is entirely possible that their website photo could be out-of-date.

Thus, I'd be sure to message the seller and ask them to verify by direct inspection, that the item they ship is exactly the same as the item pictured.

If so, then this is the item to use. The Nissens heater core - aluminum heat exchange with plastic side-tanks - is not likely to last the 20+ years that these copper-brass units seem to last.

Hope this helps.

Yours faithfully,

Spook

Dear Spook,

I run across this same part on amazon and most reviews noted that this part is made of aluminum despite the picture.
I will message the seller as you suggested and make sure their part is brass-copper.
I don't like aluminum heater cores because they don't transfer heat like brass do and their longevity like you said especially it is not a fun job to do!
Good quality cars and parts are hard to find these days.

Thank you very much for your reply!

Charles

Thank you in advance!