'99 AC Evaporator replacment help

Hi Gang,

Time to replace the AC evaporator and when I'm in there I might as well change out my aging heater core as well!
I have been having recurring loss of coolant issues with my '99. I have a friend with a shop evac and charge it, put dye in it, and in two or three weeks it looses the charge. The dye was not showing up anywhere after two attempts. Next, we put a can of AC stop leak in it - we were thinking that it must be a very small leak in the evaporator... Charged it up again and in a half hour the truck made a bad noise and spit AC oil and dye out the drain. Guess it's time to replace the evaporator. Question: I have the FSM and I've searched around here. I'm just looking for conformation that I do indeed need to pull most (all) of the dash including the column. Any tips, tricks or pointers would be most helpful!

Many thanks...

Yes you do. There are several threads with pics on here too for reference.

OK, looks like the threads no longer have the pics.

Here's one that's a PDF.

http://buckeyejeeps.com/stuff/XJEvapReplacement.pdf

You don't need to pull the column but you do need to remove the steering wheel. Stick out your tongue the right way and you can work around the column.

The only tip I can recommend is to memorize where the hundreds of screws go......

I did this on my 99 sport... twice.. do the heater core while your in there.. It seems like solid hell but once you start tearing it apart there is no stopping that train. Don't drag this project out just dedicate a day to it and you should be able to get it done in less than 8 hours. It took me a little less than that and I had no idea what the heck I was doing.

You have to remove the steering wheel. It is easier to just remove the column instead of pulling the wheel off. When you have the wheel off TAPE IT SO IT CANT SPIN you can mis align the clock spring inside of the steering wheel and then you will have no horn or airbag or cruise control because the ribbons inside of it will break (thats a 150$ derp)

get some decent ac disconnect tools and buy some universal orings for when you get the ac lines off..

Another tip is get some foam padding with adhesive to put around the evap core to make sure air flows through the core and not around it. When you take the old one out all of that will be rotted into nothing and chances are over the years its all been blown in little pieces at your face anyways.

Get a helper.

Rent or get a loaner ac vacuum or just spend ~80 and have a a/c shop properly charge your ac system.

In the end you would of saved your self over 1200 in repairs.

profit.

I've been dreading the job for about a year now and just haven't had a chance to do it. I found a local old Jeep dealership that said they'd do it for $500 cash if I bring the parts. I think that's way more worth it than my time and frustrations.

Thanks Guys! My heater core has been sub par at best for a few years now, so yes, I will replace them both. The .pdf is great! Many thanks!

Hi Gang!
Update and a question. Everything is out and HVAC box is apart and cleaned up awaiting reassembly. Can anyone tell me what the grey foam filter sheet that is on the downstream side of the evaporator does?
Thanks...