AC Evaporator replacement & squeaky fan thing

Well, I finally got around to changing out the Evaporator in my '01 XJ. I bought the Jeep in October with inop AC and figured I'd better get it done before it gets 100 degrees around here.

The evaporator was $130 ish with tax at Napa, the only other thing I bought was a set of AC line disconnect tools for $10. This thread gives a brief outline of the steps required to swap out the evaporator and was pretty accurate. I also had access to a service manual which was very handy. There's room to simply lower the steering column for clearance rather than removing it or the wheel, and once I swung the dash out of the way I secured it with a tie-down out the door and to the roof rack.



The swap went well, while I had the heater box out there was some serious cleanup to do. The fan was not squeaking, but it did at some point!

There was another one of these buggers wedged up against the evaporator, along with some other debris. It was the dirtiest place I've found on this Jeep yet! Yuk.

I got the AC serviced this afternoon for $50 by a guy at work that does it as a sideline. He's got all the right equipment and he pulled a 30 psi vacuum on it for 45 minutes before filling it. The 1.25lbs of refrigerant recommended was about perfect. I definitely wanted a good vacuum on this since the system has been depleted for so long.

BTW, I never noticed the fan being loud, but it's super quiet now that it doesn't have a dessicated mouse carcass throwing it out of balance.

Doug

man thats pretty disgusting...was there ever a smell? HA

Poor little guy. He just wanted to run in that wheel once!

No smell, I guess he was fully dried out before I got the Jeep. I'm sure it wasn't pleasant though!

you don't have an electronic copy of the fsm by chance? I am getting ready to do my evap as well. I just got quoted 825-1200 to get it replaced. I don't really have that kind of money but being in Vegas it gets a little warm in the summers.

duntov, Sorry for the long wait for a reply, but I was on a mission and just got back to the States today.

It's not a hard job and well worth doing yourself. I have the FSM digitally, if I can remember the website I'll PM a link to ya.

Hey there.

I'm in Canada, where the heat has just recently hit. It gradually but very quickly went from cold to warm in just a few weeks.From what I can see, a lot of people are replacing the evaporator, which apparently is the cause most of the time. I have two small kids, so I want to keep it cool when the 100 degree days hit, and want to have it as low cost as possible. You know how certain it is that the evaporator is bad, or some kind of troubleshooting I can do "without AC equipment" before I get the system drained and/or diagnosed for certain. I have a 99 XJ.

Jasorono said:

Hey there.

I'm in Canada, where the heat has just recently hit. It gradually but very quickly went from cold to warm in just a few weeks.From what I can see, a lot of people are replacing the evaporator, which apparently is the cause most of the time. I have two small kids, so I want to keep it cool when the 100 degree days hit, and want to have it as low cost as possible. You know how certain it is that the evaporator is bad, or some kind of troubleshooting I can do "without AC equipment" before I get the system drained and/or diagnosed for certain. I have a 99 XJ.

Click to expand...

Check to see if you have any refrigient in your system.

I went without A/C for over a year, and I finally added oil, refrigent and "O' ring sealer. It's been working great for the last 3 years.

I was told by my mechanic that those "O" rings are good for about 2 years.

my dead mouse smelled like pee. smells a lot nicer in the jeep now that he isn't in the squirrel cage

thanks Muddroy,

I have a mechanic here that'll check for leaks for about 50bucks. So Ill do that