740 Heater Core materials

[lobster740]

After a few weeks of fun and head scratching I have managed to remove the heater core from my 1990 745GLT. It’s a Volvo unit with part number 1308450.
Can anyone clarify what materials these were made from? Are they all aluminium or are they brass / copper?

[Laird Scooby]

Originally Posted by lobster740

After a few weeks of fun and head scratching I have managed to remove the heater core from my 1990 745GLT. It’s a Volvo unit with part number 1308450.
Can anyone clarify what materials these were made from? Are they all aluminium or are they brass / copper?

Could be all/any of the above (except copper) in any combination or even plastic end tanks and aluminium or brass core.

Are you planning a repair and that's why you need to know the materials? Although i'm big on DIY repairs, i'm not sure a heater matrix is something i'd consider unless it was near new and had failed because of a defective solder joint when new.

Simple reason being it's a big job to pull the matrix out (you already know that though!) and if it's failed through age in one part, there's a better than average chance it will fail somewhere else in relatively short order. If so you'll be doing the job again soon so i'd say fit a new/reconditioned one instead.

Sorry if that's not what you wanted to hear but it's the best advice i can offer at the moment.

[Clan]

Originally Posted by lobster740

After a few weeks of fun and head scratching I have managed to remove the heater core from my 1990 745GLT. It’s a Volvo unit with part number 1308450.
Can anyone clarify what materials these were made from? Are they all aluminium or are they brass / copper?

They always used to be fully brass , they probably changed to aluminium/plastic when the 850 came out in 1992 . what colour is it? silver/grey core is aluminium , dark bronze is brass .

[lobster740]

From having a gentle rub over it, it looks like it’s all brass. This is good, as my local radiator specialist can re-core and recondition it. About £180 but that beats putting an aftermarket one with plastic ends in.

[Clan]

Originally Posted by lobster740

From having a gentle rub over it, it looks like it’s all brass. This is good, as my local radiator specialist can re-core and recondition it. About £180 but that beats putting an aftermarket one with plastic ends in.

Volvo are known for their high density heater radiator cores with lots of very fine fins and tubes per inch , make sure they use the same type of core otherwise you will only have a warm heater rather than a hot one :-)