AC blows hot, so I took my 93 300D to the local MB dealer and he said I have a
Evaporator leak, and it would cost $1000 for parts and $1500 for labor (a 16 hour job). So I have done a search and I will do it myself..I guess my wife will have to get a ice pack to carry with her..

gee wiz...

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2000 Ford 7.3 Powerstroke 4x4
2006 Mazda Tribute
1983 Black 300 D (donated to charity)
1993 Teal 300 D (160K) Sold
"I love the smell of burnt diesel fuel in the morning, it smells like ....VICTORY"

Semper Fidelis
USMC 1973-1976

Two words... Digital Camera....
A couple of brave souls have done this job....and posted lots of info about it... I think I brought forward the one DMorrison did in the last couple of days...

Now , they may be correct that you have an evaporator leak.. but you might want to check and see if it might just be the fittings at the evaporator. This can show up as a leak with the new ultrasensitive leak detectors when probes are placed in the vents .... and it really does Look like the leak is in the evaporator...

How much would it take to get you to sell the old bag of bolts and be done with it?



Ken300D

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--------------------------
1982 300D at 351K miles
1984 300SD at 217K miles
1987 300D at 370K miles

never, no thanks!

__________________
2000 Ford 7.3 Powerstroke 4x4
2006 Mazda Tribute
1983 Black 300 D (donated to charity)
1993 Teal 300 D (160K) Sold
"I love the smell of burnt diesel fuel in the morning, it smells like ....VICTORY"

Semper Fidelis
USMC 1973-1976

Now I did a little moaning and groaning while doing this exact job on on mine about three weeks ago. In retrospect, it was a tough job, but one I would tackle again if needed. I think the determining factor here is the $3000 quote from the garage and the $800.00 I spent in parts and my own labor. It is a time consuming adventure. Take it slow, do not get frustrated, and don't tear apart more then needs to be torn apart...I made this little mistake.

Take leathermang's advice and make sure it isn't the connections at the expansion valve. It is quite a pain to get ot the valve, but worth the effort to check before tearing the entire interior of your car apart...especially since you will have to remove the valve if it does turn out to be the evaporator.

If you have any questions, this one is still fresh in my head. Feel free to ask any questions you may have.

Mike

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Mike

'80 300D
'84 300D
'85 300D
'87 300D

Please see my post regarding considerable savings on parts for this job

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Regards,

Albert
aldedmon@yahoo.com

Did this job in January on the 400E. If you have average mechanical abilities, patience, and an average set of tools, it can be done. Ours is still blowing cold air today which makes me believe that the repair will last for a long time. Most technical part is separating the box once you get it out of the car. Take your time. And don't forget to hook up the drain lines after you are done. I posted a few pics in January of the interior with the box out,,,, scarey looking deal,,,,,
Here's a link to my post.
Did the evaporator this weekend !!

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95 SL500 Smoke Silver, Parchment 64K
07 E350 4matic Station Wagon White 34K
02 E320 4Matic Silver/grey 80K
05 F150 Silver 44K

I have not done the evaporator, but I've removed the dash and gone almost all the way to the evaporator.

I have almost always done things with minimal aftermarket service manuals, but I would HIGHLY recommend the factory CD for this job.

It does take a lot of time to do this job, but it's not the "Depths of #&++" job that some folks think that it is.

Recently I was just about ready to tear into mine and replace the evaporator when I investigated the expansion valve further. You can't see it very well because it is tucked under the cowl, but I could see a slight amount of dye, so I pulled it off and sure enough it was leaking like a sieve. It was my leak.

The area between the bulb at the top of the expansion valve and the block is a common leak. Check it closely.

Good luck,

Thanks guys, I will check the fittings at the evaporator as suggested and I may see if a shop around here uses the "Cryoseal" at www.autopowerguard.com, before I rip the dash out.

Thanks again..

__________________
2000 Ford 7.3 Powerstroke 4x4
2006 Mazda Tribute
1983 Black 300 D (donated to charity)
1993 Teal 300 D (160K) Sold
"I love the smell of burnt diesel fuel in the morning, it smells like ....VICTORY"

Semper Fidelis
USMC 1973-1976

A while back when I was driving a Ford Taurus I took it to a repair shop for the AC and they told me it was the evaporator core.
I took a day off from work and ripped the whole dashboard out and found there wasn't any leak in the core after all.
The moral of this story: Dont believe everything that people tell you.

Danny

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1984 300SD Turbo Diesel 150,000 miles

OBK member #23

(\__/)
(='.'=) This is Bunny. Copy and paste bunny into your
(")_(") signature to help him gain world domination

That is what I'm thinkin too

__________________
2000 Ford 7.3 Powerstroke 4x4
2006 Mazda Tribute
1983 Black 300 D (donated to charity)
1993 Teal 300 D (160K) Sold
"I love the smell of burnt diesel fuel in the morning, it smells like ....VICTORY"

Semper Fidelis
USMC 1973-1976

Sublettm, Was this the one you talked about taking to your lab and checking ?
How did it test out ? I assume from the high parts figure that you had to buy a new evaporator ?

Man that picture is scarey to me..I have done alot of repairs on my cars and trucks over the years, but I have never taken out the dash in a car, I'm afraid I would not get it back in correctly......and I am backing of the cryoseal, not to many people recommed it here..

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2000 Ford 7.3 Powerstroke 4x4
2006 Mazda Tribute
1983 Black 300 D (donated to charity)
1993 Teal 300 D (160K) Sold
"I love the smell of burnt diesel fuel in the morning, it smells like ....VICTORY"

Semper Fidelis
USMC 1973-1976

I am SOOooo glad you are not using any sealants. They are BAAaad news. There have been MANY a/c systems COMPLETELY destroyed by this junk. If there is air in the system it solidifies EVERYWHERE, meaning that EVERY single component in the system is destroyed.

That doesn't even mention what it does to refrigerant recovery machines.

I am not a believer in outlawing products unless lethal. I think there is such a thing as personal responsibility, but if I had a magic wand to wave and make only one a/c product disappear from the face of the earth, refrigerant systems sealant would be the one.

Replacing that evaporator is not as bad as it looks AS LONG AS you have the factory documentation. Even then, don't dive in until you are SURE that the evap is the problem. Since it is a somewhat common point of failure I think some techs are too quick to point at it as the problem.

Good luck,

i considered doing this job myself a couple years ago, but i had neither the time nor the tools and space to do it, had my indie do it, think i paid $2400. $2500 sounds like a really good deal from a dealership.

while youre in there you should replace the vacuum elements that control the vents, they go out at about this age and theyre cheap to replace while you have the dash off. replace the expansion valve too.

you should get the OEM evaporator, apparently the afrtermarket ones make alot of noise.

ive got the CD's, if you want the relevant pages from them i can e-mail them to you.

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1991 300 D 2.5 Turbo, 220k
also in the family:
1981 240 D 185k
1991 350 SD 185k
2006 S 500
2005 SLK 350