2nd Gen Non-Engine/Transmission How to clean dirty evaporator ?

[Bill Lins]

A while back, someone posted about grunge building up in the bottom of the evaporator housing. Today I pulled the blower motor out & felt up inside to the coil- sure enough, mine is full of grunge, too.



Does anyone know if there is something I can spray the coil with to wash it down without removing the entire assembly? The idea is to stick a wand up inside the housing & spray-wash the coil, the fluid going out the evaporator drain. Do y'all think that'll work? Are there other items inside the housing that would be damaged by this?

 

[illflem]

Sounds like a labor saving idea Bill. Only thing I'd recommend is keep the pressure down, too much will bend the fins shut possibly compounding the clogging. I cleaned out a GMC at work by closing all the vents but one and hooking up a 180 mph leaf blower up to it. It worked very well but I was dealing with leafs.

Get a Geno's clean cab filter, well worth it.

 

[Dennis Garrett]

One time, I had my central AC at home serviced. They went outside and cleaned the unit too. They had a pump spray can with a cleaning solution of some kind, and they sprayed the whole thing down between all the fins, and let it set for a while, then rinsed it off with a hose. I was amazed at all the crud that came out of it. You might call a heating/cooling shop, and see what they use for that. You might be able to get in there with an air nozzle & blow it out too.

 

[Snow man]

I would think a degreaser would work,let it sit,then after you hose it out,run the fan /heat for a while to dry out the evap case. then look in and see how clean you got it,if its still bad,repeat.

 

[scotmartin]

Go to an Residential Appliance or HVAC parts dist. They will sell you a gallon of Evaporator cleaner. It must be mixed with water and sprayed on the evaporator. It is safe and non-toxic. DO NOT buy CONDENSER cleaner. It is much more harsh and the smell in your truck could knock a buzzard off of a S&%@ wagon. The proper cleaner will be self rinsing, assuming that you run your AC for a while. If not, simply rinse it with water.



Scot

HVAC Instructor SJDC

 

[Berrigan]

Never did a car but have done hundreds of fan coils using simple green mixed with water, an air compressor. and a toilet bowel brush. Be careful and dont bend any fins and rinse well with clean water.

 

[lschultz]

Bill thats a pretty good idea. Are you sure your not from up North



I have nothing against them Northern boys. After working around them for years well you know how they are:--)

 

[heliopilot]

FYI word to the wise DO NOT use Simple Green on aluminum!

the US Air Force used to wash their planes with it until the found out it was etching the metal. Simple greens bottles and instructions no longer refer to it's use on aluminum products.

 

[Bill Lins]

Thanks for all the responses. I already tried compressed air- no joy. I wish I had known about the filter back when the truck was new- I intend to put one on after I get the coil cleaned out. I'm going to get some evaporator cleaner & try it- I'll let y'all know how it works out.

 

[Ron Bissett]

I do not have the vent filter but do have a screen in place to keep the leaves out . Bought some aluminum screen cut some peaces after removing the plastic crow el cover and gasket and plastic screws turned it over and cut peaces to fit the vent holes made them larger than the vents bent them over double to fit and used galvanized wire U I cut from a role from wally world the Us are about two inches long pushed through vent bars through screen twisted under screen I used at least three U's on each section when finished turned over and sprayed from the top side the U's and screen Just sprayed the hole vent part ,Paint was gloss black . works fine a filter material could be included between the screen as there is plenty room . when reinstalled looks OK and the wire and screen can not be seen with the black paint on . cost a roll of screen at Home depot about Three dollars . and wire from wally world about One dollar and change . works for me. Ron Bissett in Louisville Metro. Oo.

 

[Berrigan]

Originally posted by heliopilot

FYI word to the wise DO NOT use Simple Green on aluminum!

the US Air Force used to wash their planes with it until the found out it was etching the metal. Simple greens bottles and instructions no longer refer to it's use on aluminum products.

News to me, Ive never seen any aluminum deterioration from it but I guess it could be. I guess my point is an auto evap gets cleaned rarley if ever. Any general purpose cleaner will work for a once evey 10 year cleaning. Its just plain old dirt and dust and you dont need to spend big bucks on a high dollar specialty cleaner. Just my red neck 2 pennies.

 

[Wiredawg]

I use Liquid Lysol and Radiator Hose

Mine had smell in AC so I placed 2 ft of radiator hose (5/8" I think) with hose clamp on evaporator drain on passenger side of firewall. I mix about a quart of warm water with a couple of table spoons of Lysol liquid. Pull the evaporator drain hose where it's facing up and carefully poor warm Lysol mixture in hose. Let sit overnight. Drain the next day. This will clear up any crud, kill germs and deoderize smell.



I live where all kinds of leaves are sucked into air vents. I remedied overall problem by installing vent filters from Genos. they work great.



Hope this helps,



Wiredawg

 

[jmeehan]

Genos vent filter

I've a question for those of you living where it snows. Does the snow getting packed along the lower edge of the windshield from the wipers affect the vent filter any? I've thought about a vent filter but figured the snow would pack into it worse then the open vents. Thanks

 

[Ron Bissett]

Re: Genos vent filter

Originally posted by 85CJ

I've a question for those of you living where it snows. Does the snow getting packed along the lower edge of the windshield from the wipers affect the vent filter any? I've thought about a vent filter but figured the snow would pack into it worse then the open vents. Thanks

Yes but the heat from the motor soon melts any snow or ice ,also there is plenty air that comes into the system from under the hood in the in-trim time ,then the force of the fan in the system will draw the air from the vent and quickly open the normal vent area. Ron in Louisville Metro KY:-{}

 

[illflem]

About the only difference between the stock grill and the Geno's setup with snow that I've noticed is that the clean cab filter is easier to sweep off.