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  #1  
Old 12-01-2003, 03:50 PM
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replacing a/c evaporator coil - Big Job?

ok, so its official, my evaporator coil is leaking, and the shop wants $1800 to replace it, they say its a 16 hour job and of course their going to charge too much for the part. i think im going to take it to an a/c specialist shop that was recommended to me, but im also wondering if i could do this job myself.

i have a service manual, and i looked throught it briefly on this topic and apparently you have to remove and replace the wheel, inst cluster, and dash. im guessing this is the biggest part of the job. ive never taken a dash off before, mostly im worried about not being able to get it back on right. advice from anybody whose done this job before would be very helpful.

id like to know if its possible to do this in a weekend (doubt it). maybe a long weekend! id also like to know if you guys think i can actually do it with the little experience i have.

if you could recommend some tools id need, that would be great.

and about the part, there are three evaporators for sale one fastlane, all cost much less than my shop wants, but the OE one is twice as much as the others, and apparently it comes with the valve attached, at least thats what it says. is it worth it to psring for the OE part? the $ not really a problem, but why spend extra if i dont need to.

thanks alot.

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  #2  
Old 12-01-2003, 04:07 PM
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There's lots of info about W124 evaporators in the Tech Help section. Here are some examples:

Great Evap Thread

Another great thread
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  #3  
Old 12-02-2003, 01:09 AM
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Grdenko,

Are you sure its the evaporator leaking? It might just be where the hoses and valve connect to it. Just because a freon sniffer detects freon in the air stream, doesn't mean the evaporator itself is leaking.

I replaced my evaporator twice and it still leaked because it was a connection, not the evaporator itself. The freon detector will detect freon but does not always detect where the leak is. The leaking freon will disperse quickly and the detector will start beeping but you don't know from exactly where. Check for leaks around the connections with soapy water and look for bubbles.

P E H

Last edited by P.E.Haiges; 12-02-2003 at 11:56 AM.
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  #4  
Old 12-02-2003, 10:44 AM
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thats possible, but in either case, i still have to take the dash off, right?

the shop did a nitrogen test, they loaded up the system to operating pressure with nitrogen so they could see the leak. but since you cant really see the evaporator, it could be a connection.
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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
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  #5  
Old 12-02-2003, 11:04 AM
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The evaporator connections on a W124 are on the engine side of the firewall, up there behind the brake booster. You don't need to remove the dash to access them, but they're still not a lot of fun. You need pretty small hands and a good deal of patience.

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