2nd Gen Non-Engine/Transmission A/C evaporator replacement

[DBentley]

Got slow ac leak have had buddy but in some uv die after he did a vacume and recharge last week and its empty again. we cant find the die at any point under the hood. So I assume its the dam evaporator unit under the dash. I removed the glove box and looked but saw nothing. looks to me i need to remove the entire dash is this correct?How bad is this going to be for a shade tree mechanic like me. Can i do it in a day?do i need any special tools?

 

[JNailor]

My a/c lines rubbed together near the battery where they go into the condenser. The low side line got a pin hole and leaked out slowly. I didn't see it at first, as no oil came out and the area was perfectly clean. I actually repaired the line on the truck with some of that alumiloy rod you see on TV. I wrapped wet shop rags on the line on ether side of the hole to localize the heat and it worked fine. Charged her up and its been cool for weeks so far.

 

[knewman]

my 2001 had an ac leak we looked for few weeks for dye found none. carried to ac shop they put in what was supposed to be better dye found nothing. after week and half in shop found the strangest thing the compressor leaked at one point of the entire rotation only one point. had to replace compressor after taking the whole dash out twice once to check the evaporator again to fix blend door alignment. A 900. 00 nightmare

 

[DBentley]

thanks guys i will look at the lines a little better and cross my fingers and hope i dont need to take out the dash

 

[DBentley]

mabey a stupid question but can i bore a hole in heater box under dash to peek in and look for die with a lite and seal it up later?Or can i put some air pressure mabey 15 0r 20 lbs in the entire system and listen for leak. If so were is a good point to push in the air?

 

[DBentley]

just an update incase anyone else is fighting this ac issue like me. I took out the blower motor to try and get a look in at evaporator to see if it was the problem and bingo there was 4 inches deep of oily pine needles and crap built up in there and my fingers showed the die color when i put them under the uv flashlite. Now i know what needs to be done for sure and I will tackle it thu nite. Any one got any shortcuts or tips and what about special tools?

 

[B.G. Smith]

First thing to do is disconnect the batteries, both grounds (this is to prevent possible air bag deployment). Drain the coolant down below the head level to prevent extra loss when youi disconnect the heater hoses. Make sure the A/C system is discharges before disconnecting the A/C lines. (You will need the special tool to release the spring in the connections) Inside the cab, remove the glove box for easier access, remove the bolts and lower the steering column. Loosen the bolts at lower at lower edge of dash panel, I believe the holes in dash are slotted, (dash has to swing out to clear the A/C box when removing). Remove the bolts (under hood) holding the A/C system in place, disconnect controls and hoses and remove the box from under dash. With the unit out of truck, remove the fasteners from the two halves of the unit and open it up to remove evaporator. Follow mfgs. recommendations on adding oil back to system according to which components are replaced. Have fun. My brother in Wylie just did his 96 about two weeks ago, he had some help but said they did it in less than a half day? I have done the job on older truck but not that fast. bg

 

[Extreme1]

I did mine almost the same as BG. On the advise of a friend that owns a shop that does a lot of these, I left the large bolts in place on each side of the bottom of the dash. Lossened them up and let the dash pivot up out of the way. Used a bungee cord to hold it up when pulling the heater/AC box.



Edit: Make sure you have new o-rings for the connectors.

 

[Matt42]

Use A MoPar Evaporator

I just recently finished this job. There are a lot of good aftermarket parts available, but I found that the MoPar evaporator fit the best. The competition, although less expensive, didn't fit well, and the garter spring connection from the evaporator to the accumulator wouldn't go together in the orientation where it had to. After several hours of wrestling with it, I gave up, took out the dash (again) and bought a MoPar evaporator. It snapped together in less than ten seconds.



The MoPar evaporator kit I bought came with a plastic screen that appears to go into the cowl fresh air intake to keep out squirrels, flying pigs, pine needles and leaves.



Once you have the evaporator off, flush it out with paint thinner. If you get black particulate matter out of it, it may be time to replace some additional parts.



Don't even think of reusing the accumulator, particulate or not. By now, its dessicant will be saturated with water. In my opinion, the only part that really needs to be MoPar is the evaporator. I used a Modine condenser. The Modine condenser mounts aren't as stiff as OEM, so I used a foam rubber wedge against the intercooler.



I recommend against buying a set of Harbour Freight R-134a gauges. I did and was sorry. For $20 to $35 more, you can get a good set of Master Cool or Robinair gauges that won't have bad o-rings, which can create a venturi that sucks in air. (Yes. There is a story here. )



While you have the HVAC box off, also replace the heater core. You have to take the heater core out anyway, and it'll be nearly as corroded as the evaporator. I suggest a Modine unit with semi-flexible supply tubes. Once you have the HVAC box out, you will see why. Be absolutely certain that the heater core ground strap gets firmly reconnected!



You can get a lot of the parts by mail order. Look at http://www.ackits.com/. Be sure to read about the "A/C compressor black death. " They also have an interactive Q and A forum, which I have found to be reliable. It's here:

http://www.ackits.com/forum/index.cfm?NoCookies=Yes&forumid=1



I'll probably write up the whole job, when the cuts and bruises heal. This whole sorry mess started with a trip to Colorado in December, where we had the choice of being cold or being gassed by atomized orange coolant. We chose cold. The pinhole was so small that it didn't affect system pressure. The heater core, though, was pretty colorful from zinc and copper oxide stains.

 

[Dan_69GTX]

Hey Matt,



Where did you get the Accumulator for your truck? You stated the only OEM unit you used was the Evap.



I'm asking cause I couldn't find a new Accumulator for a 2001 - but from mopar. All other aftermarkets available to me weren't even close to fitting.



(the 2001 was in a roll over accident - cab was replaced - I was hired to redo the a/c system - hense I needed a new accumulator - rest of the parts were fine).



Thanks!

Dan

 

[DBentley]

Thanks guys im knee deep into removing dash now just came in for supper. What a mess of screws and what a pain removing the gear shift indicator cable. i assume the whole dash doesnt need to come out just up a few inches??

 

[B.G. Smith]

Originally posted by DBentley

Thanks guys im knee deep into removing dash now just came in for supper. What a mess of screws and what a pain removing the gear shift indicator cable. i assume the whole dash doesnt need to come out just up a few inches??

Yes, it just has to be raised from the bottom, it is pretty flexible, if your truck has the grab handle above the passenger side door, you may be able to tie it up if you don't have someone to hold it. bg

 

[DBentley]

Its out and on the shop floor now in 2 pieces. picking up the heater core and evaporator tommorrow. hope i remember how to put everything back together. thanks again for the help.

 

[Matt42]

Accumulator

Originally posted by Dan_69GTX

Hey Matt,



Where did you get the Accumulator for your truck? You stated the only OEM unit you used was the Evap.



I'm asking cause I couldn't find a new Accumulator for a 2001 - but from mopar. All other aftermarkets available to me weren't even close to fitting.



(the 2001 was in a roll over accident - cab was replaced - I was hired to redo the a/c system - hense I needed a new accumulator - rest of the parts were fine).



Thanks!

Dan

Try http://www.ackits.com/. If that fails, I dunno. The MoPar accumulator will be fine, but more money. Some dealer parts counters will give you a break on price if you ask. Ours cut $60 off the evaporator because my wife asked and seemed pathetic.

 

[DBentley]

Got the 2 cores in tonite. went real smooth. not as bad as I thought. About 2 hours to put together. Napa evap. and heater core fit very well. I can see I removed more from dash than i needed like the dash pod and headlite switch . . I could never keep this truck if I had to have everything done by a mechanic. As it is I spend a fortune on parts every month but i really do like the truck even with all its problems. TDR is great thanks guys for all the help.

 

[Forrest Nearing]

a lot of times a slow leak that's up high won't show that dye very well...



I was having the same problem w/ my truck... I replaced all the seals, pulled vac, and recharged it... still goin' strong. it was losing a charge after sitting overnight before.



it's rare that an evap core will develop a leak, but that's not to say that it doesn't happen of course!



Forrest