Easier solution to replace 124 Evaporator?
 

I have a link to a post where the 190 evaporator was accessed through the engine compartment firewall, rather than taking apart the dash.

I wonder if you could do this with the 124? The guy did his in about 3 hours.




http://www.2phast.com/190E/default.htm

Only the W201 (190's) were designed to have the A/C evap replaced that way!

Yes and as far as I'm concerned, not putting the 124 evaporator together like the 201 was a serious engineering blunder. I guess you don't feel that way until after you've had to take the dash off.

Merry Christmas,

Yep,
I had to replace mine last summer - I think I got a pretty good deal - it cost me $1950, + parts to change our the vacuum dampers (or whatever they are called - got that idea from this website. The shop said "great idea" and there was no extra labor). I bought this car last spring, and I am pretty sure the evaporator was bad when I bought it - every used car has a story. The fix has been great, and the auto climate system works fine ever since.
Good Luck,
John

With the heater box out, it only takes about five minutes to change all the vac servos. It takes 16 hours on most W124s to change them otherwise, since one can only be accessed by splitting the heater box, and that requires removing it from the car.

Just a hint to anyone getting (or doing) an evaporator replacement on a W124 chassis -- go the extra $200 and replace ALL the vac servos while you are in there! Much less pain than replacing them a couple months later when you decide they are shot! Also the right angle connectors on the switchover valve, too -- much eaiser out of the car.

It figures that the evaporator that fails commonly is the one that requries the most work to get out....

Peter

Yes, I did this job last summer, but not for the evaporator, but for pods. My evap continues to be tight. What I didn't do was replace the rubber elbows on the vacuum lines and I think I will have to pull the dash in the spring for that.

I didn't pull the entire heater box on mine. I was able to pull the top off the box, change the heater core and the pod that's inside without removing the box. I did have to loosens the retainers that hold the lines to the firewall in order to move the box rearward enough for access.

I did the job in the Texas heat in August. I put the car up about 1 1/2 or 2 feet on the lift so that I could stand or easily climb in and out of the car and I aimed a high volume squirrel cage fan through the car with all doors open. It was definitely a job that I didn't look forward to, but turned out easier than I thought.

When I do the elbows, I will only have to pull the top of the dash, so I think I might leave the steering wheel in place this time.

If I went back and read the thread that I had going at the time, Peter, or someone, may very well have told me to replace the elbows, but it went in one ear and out the other once I was replacing the pods, because the elbows were not brittle, but soft and pliable.

In fact, now that I think about it, Phil puts together all the pods for one money. It would be a good idea for him to add the elbows and sell it as a kit.

At least doing this job is not the big mystery that it once was.

Merry Christmas,