He is going with manual control, so no pods needed.

Oh, those (vacuum) pods. Thanks Rich. I only need the one on the right of the box for the Recirc/Fresh flap I think. Even that one, I'm not sure about, I prefer fresh 99% of the time, unless I'm behind a stinky car or something. I'm a contact lens wearer, and recirc just dries my eyes out way too much. I'd actually prefer this to be controlled manually too? Any ideas there?

My idea of a perfect climate control system: slide lever or knob for temp, fan switch for blower, switch to turn on the AC compressor, switch to change fresh/recirc., selector for where the air goes ideally, two places at once, and that's it.

Like maybe one of those old Mercedes Benz Diesels?:D:D

Exactly like that Brown NA donor Euro car I'm using...that sucker smelled like you were following a 1969 Blue Bird bus. But actually, a gasser that's not running right will choke me out even worse than that.

OK...so pulled the heater box apart on the 83 US spec car. Wow, what and interesting process, little things like this remind me why I'm so impressed with German engineering.

I think the heater core looks pretty good:

http://i57.tinypic.com/25rjivm.jpg

The evaporator though...er, I don't know doesn't look good at all, what do you guys think?

http://i58.tinypic.com/xnvomb.jpg

http://i59.tinypic.com/2q9xdoh.jpg

http://i58.tinypic.com/2zhh1ud.jpg

Even the pile of rust left behind in the box after removal, not a good sign I'd think?

http://i61.tinypic.com/1scn83.jpg

I'll tear apart the box from the 1982 Euro car tomorrow (the manual box I'll be keeping, and putting in the US car). But, since nearly all things have been better on the US car, I'm not holding out much hope either evaporator can be used.

I think if I'd gone as far as you have I'd replace the heater core as preventative maintenance.

At least take it to a radiator shop and have it pressure tested (or find a way to do it yourself). If it passes, I see no reason not to use it. Is the heater core the same in both cars? If they are not, then you have found the answer as to which one to use or replace with new.

There might be some confusion, I think the heater core from the 83 US car is good, it at least looks good, I'll be getting it pressure tested, if the shop says, it's good to go, I'll go with that one in the manual box from the 82 Euro car which is what I'll be using.

The evaporator above was the one from the 83 US car, I really don't think it's even worth pressure testing. BTW does anyone know what pressure testing should cost for these things????

Yesterday, I tore apart the manual HVAC box
 

I sure hope I can get this thing back together, I know I need to reassemble it quickly so I don't forget.

I've cleaned all the pieces of it, as it was all coated with a sticky dusty layer of goo. Inside the blower casing there was this caking of oil and dust, is that normal, I'm trying to figure out where the oil would have come from.

All in all the evaporator from this car does seem in much better condition, (which is strange, as the corrosion found in other areas would not have indicated this would be the case) maybe the AC went out pretty early in this cars life, and no-one bothered to fix it? I did live most of it's life in Portland, so AC might not have been all that important.

I think I can test this evaporator and see if it's ok to go with. Or would you guys recommend just replacing it? The cost for a new one is $200 which is a lot, but I'd really like to NEVER tear this thing out again.

Manual Box all torn apart, pieces cleaned, getting prepped to re foam the flaps. At least some of them...

http://i58.tinypic.com/wi6j5.jpg

Pieces all cleaned up:

http://i61.tinypic.com/2jf1306.jpg




Is there any way to test this thing here?

http://i60.tinypic.com/2s191jb.jpg


The evaporator from the Euro manual AC car. What do you guys think, test it? Or replace it? The evaporator posted in the previous pictures was from the US car, and it was I think truly beyond hope.

http://i60.tinypic.com/50h3yt.jpg

http://i61.tinypic.com/f20dgx.jpg

Have fun putting together the Chinese mystery puzzle called the heater box :P

I still have a few extra clamps left....i said hell with it...its together good enough :D

Does anyone have one of these?
 

HELP!...I need one of these little circle inserts for the HVAC control panel.

The left one is pretty bad too, but I think I can salvage that one. The right one though, I don't even have the crumbled pieces to put it back together.

http://i60.tinypic.com/2mhyhra.jpg

http://i58.tinypic.com/23h7iah.jpg

Testing a heater core is quite easy, and usually free at my local shop (yours may or may not be). However, testing an evaporator is a different story. I am not sure how one would test one other than doing it the same as a heater core, but maybe with more pressure? A close examination of it should reveal any leaks. It is clear that the one from the US car is toast, and only worth it's scrap value. If need be, I am sure I have at least 2 evaporators from parts cars that I have saved, and I can have a look at them if you would like...Rich

EDIT: The vacuum pod you can test with your vacuum tester (every 'Benz owner should have one). You can also test the solenoid by applying vacuum to the supply port on the valve, and applying 12v to the solenoid. If the pod does not hold vacuum, it would need replacing.

OK, so I took the heater core and the evaporator to the local(ish) radiator shop. They took a look at them closely, and said: OK, these are fine, I could dunk them in the bath, but honestly that'll just cause some corrosion, and there's nothing wrong with these, they are in better shape than most of the stuff we take brand new out of the box.

There's no oil residue at all on either piece, no corrosion, there is still oil dripping out of the expansion valve, so I know there's oil in it. So, it's a leap of faith for me, but I think I'll just put them back in the car.

Sounds good to me except for the "I could dunk them in the bath, but honestly that'll just cause some corrosion" . How would that be possible? The "bath" is just water and a chemical (baking soda?) to neutralize the acid used for soldering. I doubt it would have any adverse effect on the cores unless the fluid got inside somehow (not likely)...Rich

Yeah, I wasn't too sure about that either, but it wasn't a very clean tank...so, it wasn't difficult for me to agree. ;-)