1999 evaporator replacement help request..

Thanks for any help fellow XJ owners,

I am going to replace my evaporator this week. The ac is no longer holding refrigerent, although the system works fine when recharged, it only lasts a day or so before leaking out.

I am assumming its the evaporator since a read so many posts on the 97 year models and up being bad.

Does anyone know who has the best procedure for changing the evaporator, I have a fsm on cd, and I am getting the 1984 to 1997 haynes Manual. I heard there is a alldata website, but you have to pay for that and I don't know it they are any good.

Should I replace any other parts besides the evaporator and does anyone know which is a good quality one to use. I am leaning towards a four seasons one.

When I am done do I have to take it be evacuated and recharged or is this something I can do if I got the equipment. I know autozone rents tools for free, you just purchase them and return them for a refund when your done, if its a tool in renting inventory.

Thanks for any help I just want to make sure I replace all the right
parts, and add the right amount of oil.. ect

Also the last time I recharged it I used some refrigerent with sealer, should that be a concern.

Any tips would be great and appreciated.....

Best regards

Jeff
:repair:

Look here-
http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=912711
Be sure the leak isn’t somewhere under the hood before you go messing with the evaporator. If you open any of the lines you should pull a vacuum on the system before refilling it.

Before you start this repair you want to make sure it is the evap because it is a very time consuming job. Have you added dye to see if that's where the leak is?

I have had to do this to both mine and my wifes XJ's. First time took me about 2 days, the second time went a little faster.

My first recommendation is to remove both the front seats. Makes it much easier to get under the dash to remove bolts and things. Didn't do it on the first XJ but on the second one it saved me loads of time and wear on my lower back.

Be methodical about the disassembly and I recommend putting the screws/bolts for each component in a baggie and taping the baggie to the part. Again, first XJ I didn't do that and ended up with a handful of leftover bolts and a bunch of rattles afterwards.

Both the haynes manual and FSM suck for this job but have one or the other (or both) to refer to on what needs to come out and in what order.
the answer to that is everything comes out. You will be looking at your fire wall when it is all said and done.

Some tips:
-You don't have to drain the radiator, just disconnect the heater hose from the heater core at the fire wall. saves time and radiator fluid.
-You don't have to remove the steering wheel from the steering column. Just pull the whole column.
-Go to your local parts store (autozone, O'Rileys, etc) and get the a/c line disconnect tools. They are about $8 for a set of 4 different size discs (Black, white, red & blue) that allow you to remove the fittings to the evaporator on the engine side of the fire wall.
-There are five bolts that hold the 'evaporator box' (big black box behind the passenger side dash that holds the heater core and evaporator) that go through the firewall. During assembly this box is put in prior to the engine being installed so it is a bitch to get to the bottom most bolt. I had to have my wife get that one out cause my hand wouldn't fit and I'm not a big guy.
-When you get this box out you will see colored vacuum lines (Red, Blue, Yellow, Brown, Black) that go to vacuum bulbs: MARK EACH LINE WITH WHAT BULB IT CONNECTS TO! Use tape around the line and write in marker on the bulb, these are what control your settings on your control panel and if you mess these up those setting will be off.
-The evaporator sits in a styrofoam sleeve that will probably be quite brittle, be careful when you remove it because you have to reuse it.

You may even think about replacing the heater core while you're in there because the evap and core sit right next to each other. You don't want to have to do this disassembly twice.

Let me know if you have any questions, I'd be happy to answer them.

Good Luck!
Mitch

Somebody did here a while back, year or so, and took full pics of the procedure of before, during after, coming apart and going back together.... I'm dreading it.:wow: