94 explorer ... evaporator core

[exploredeez]

hi all,

sometime last year i had to replace my compressor (the pulley froze) and i went ahead and replaced the dryer as well and it worked great for months. now i have a leak in my evaporator core and am wondering how hard it is to replace. how do i get to it? and what all is involved? do i have to pull the dash? any help would be greatly appreciated as i live in houston and it's starting to warm up down here haha..

casey

[cprause]

Originally Posted by exploredeez

hi all,

sometime last year i had to replace my compressor (the pulley froze) and i went ahead and replaced the dryer as well and it worked great for months. now i have a leak in my evaporator core and am wondering how hard it is to replace. how do i get to it? and what all is involved? do i have to pull the dash? any help would be greatly appreciated as i live in houston and it's starting to warm up down here haha..

casey

I need to know the same info. My evaporator sprung a big leak in a hurry and the weather is telling me I need to replace it soooooon.

Besides being cramped for space, is there any tricks or problems to look out for?

[Maniak]

I haven't pulled mine, but I did look at the instructions to do it when I re-did our A/C(I skipped changing it, I just blew it out with flush)..

If I remember correctly, you have to remove the cover which is under the hood and it comes out from the engine bay, not from within the vehicle. I got the info from a combo of haynes and chiltons books (I no longer trust either, so both have to have the same info before I believe it).

~Mark

[cprause]

I just don't want to have to take part of the dash out to find a couple of hidden screws. I changed one of these on an old 74 Ford wagon years ago and it all came out under the hood. It was a real pain, but it was eventually doable. This one looks very similar - cramped and hard to get to, but it has to come out under the hood. Just getting over some health issues (herniated disc) I am being careful what kind of jobs i tackle.

Charles

[ChasAld]

Originally Posted by exploredeez

hi all,

sometime last year i had to replace my compressor (the pulley froze) and i went ahead and replaced the dryer as well and it worked great for months. now i have a leak in my evaporator core and am wondering how hard it is to replace. how do i get to it? and what all is involved? do i have to pull the dash? any help would be greatly appreciated as i live in houston and it's starting to warm up down here haha..

casey

How did you determine the evaporator has a leak?

Not really that hard to change a on 1st. gen. Explorer. While you have the system open consider replacing all the o-rings with new ones - not that expensive.

If you do change the evaporater core it would be a good time to convert to r134a if you have not already done so. If you do the 134a conversion be sure to change the complete system to a compatable oil.

Before you charge the system pull a good vaccuum on the system for a few minutes and check for leaks (system will not pull a vaccuum and maintain said vaccuum if it is leaking).

Also be wise of federal regulations regarding the discharge of freon into the atmosphere.

Charles

[cprause]

Originally Posted by ChasAld

How did you determine the evaporator has a leak?

Not really that hard to change a on 1st. gen. Explorer. While you have the system open consider replacing all the o-rings with new ones - not that expensive.

If you do change the evaporater core it would be a good time to convert to r134a if you have not already done so. If you do the 134a conversion be sure to change the complete system to a compatable oil.

Before you charge the system pull a good vaccuum on the system for a few minutes and check for leaks (system will not pull a vaccuum and maintain said vaccuum if it is leaking).

Also be wise of federal regulations regarding the discharge of freon into the atmosphere.

Charles

I went to an A/C shop and they used a sniffer to find the leak in the evaporator. I had used the professional A/C bubble solution and could not find any problems. It cost me $25 for the guy to put freon in the system and find the leak. I found a local guy who sold me a new evaporator for $85 and the receiver/drier for $30 and the orofice tube for $2 and GAVE me a whole package of O-rings. I'm just trying to figure out how much time to allocate for changing the evaporator. Any ideas?

Charles P, Houston

[ChasAld]

Originally Posted by cprause

I went to an A/C shop and they used a sniffer to find the leak in the evaporator. I had used the professional A/C bubble solution and could not find any problems. It cost me $25 for the guy to put freon in the system and find the leak. I found a local guy who sold me a new evaporator for $85 and the receiver/drier for $30 and the orofice tube for $2 and GAVE me a whole package of O-rings. I'm just trying to figure out how much time to allocate for changing the evaporator. Any ideas?

Charles P, Houston

At todays prices $25 was not a bad price.

Just to change the parts above, I would guess about 2 hrs. at most, but that depends on a persons mechanical abilities & tools & interruptions.

If you do your own evacuation and charging you are looking at more time.

Obviously, the more you do the more time involved.

If you have never done A/C repairs consider buying a book on AUTOMOTIVE A/C from the parts house - they are about $15-$20 and can answer alot of questions you might have as to what and why.

Does your system have r12 or r134a freon? I'm not sure when Ford made the change - the '96 ranger I once owned had r134a. My '92 Explorer has been converted to 134a but my wifes '91 Explorer still has r12.

Good luck with your repairs.

Charles A, (east side Lake Houston)

[ma96782]

Ford Evap R/R

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/...d.php?t=103936

So, I figured I'd post and let everyone know how it went. It's been almost a month now and my AC still works perfectly. Flushing ended up being fairly easy. Flushing/evacuating/refilling took about two hours. The hard part was installing the new evaporator. That took 6 hours plus. If anyone else has the misfortune of having to replace the evap core I can offer the following advice:

#1 Get a Haynes book. It's directions are mostly correct.

#2 When the book says to remove four bolts holding the assembly to the firewall, it actually means the nuts attached to the 1.5 inch posts coming out of the firewall. You will need long sockets to get them out. One is inside the car. You just have to remove the carpeted piece that covers the heater core. Two are right on top in the engine compartment. One of those is between the blower motor and the evap box, the other is next to the distributer. The last nut is WAY on the bottom at what looks to be an impossible location. Relax, if you go under the car and reach around the radius arm and frame rail you can easily get to it.

#3 Remove everything in the vicinity of the evap box. Haynes doesn't mention this, but it's nearly impossible to get the evaporator out if you don't remove the two heater hoses. It also makes things a lot easier if you use duct tape (or something less ghetto) to hold back the vacuum lines, wiring harnesses and various hoses. I have a KKM intake so I didn't have to worry about air box, but I can imagine it would have to go too.

#4 Once you get the darn thing out, replacing the evaporator is simple. Something like 18 bolts hold the halves together. The new one just drops in.

#5 Install the orifice while the evaporator is out of the car. When you install it, lube it up with some AC Ester oil. It will slide in more easily. Don't let the oil touch your skin. It itches like a son of a !!!!!

#6 When you received the new evaporator, It should have come with some nifty little disposable plastic pipe caps. After you install the orifice put them back on. You really don't want to accidentally get engine gunk inside when you reinstall.

#7 I found that the easiest way to install the evap box is to slide it in as close to the distributer as you can at a 45 degree angle. You can then move it left while at the same time tilting it upward. The post that goes into the cabin should just drop into place.

#7 Putting the evap box back in is a pain no matter how you go about it. Don't get frustrated and force it in. The little pipes running out are fragile and break off easily. I accidentally bent one.

#8 Now you flush, evacuate, and fill according to Glacier991's directions. While you have the hoses apart its a good idea to replace all of the O rings.



I was lucky because when we flushed my compressor it came clean after 1 or 2 blasts. If you have metal fragments in the orifice you are toast no matter what. According to what I've heard, A small amount of black gunk is normal. In my case the screen on the orifice was about 90% clean. If I'd had the money I would have replaced the compressor too. The jury is still out on whether my fix will stand the test of time.
__________________

What’s the secret to getting the AC evaporator out:

A: I'm thinking you're talking in the heater box, take the engine side of the box off, (2-10mm nuts, and a few 8mm headed screws) near the bottom is a screw that holds the accumulator tiedown loop, once the side of the heater box is off, the evaporator lifts out, there is some foam in there that sometimes hangs up and makes you think it's still bolted (tough foam!) just pulled my AC out last weekend, 92 explorer sport.
on top of the intake is a bolt and strap that holds one of the lines. nothing else that I remember seeing.
The complete system can be pulled out without opening it up, My other one was fully functional and I pulled it and instaled it in my friends x, I don't like or use air, so always pull it.

Aloha, Mark

PS...don't forget to add PAG oil.