Replaced the A/C evaporator in my wifes' 400E this weekend and just have a few thoughts. Was NOT as bad as I anticipated. After all the horror stories, I was anticipating a major hassle, but ended up thinking that anyone with an average mechanical ability could handle this job. One of the keys is not to rush into it and start breaking things,,,, there is a method to their madness. Take lots of pictures,,,, I had my laptop beside me during reassembly and it was invaluable. Got the evaporator from Phil at Fastlane and it looked like a quality unit and saved me about $500 over the dealer price, since theirs' includes the expansion valve. Did have to tweak the end to get it to line up with the lines outside the firewall but wasn't a real big deal. If you have never bent aluminum tubing before it will make you sweat blood, but I have learned these aluminum parts will take a lot of tweaking with no issues. One of the most technical jobs was swapping out the evaporator and heater core from the box,,,, lots of little clips and fasteners to keep track of and make sure everything is connected when you are done. The old evaporator was definately leaking, as it was covered with oil and dye when I took it out. Prying the box out of the car might make you wonder if you missed a bolt but if you get the 5 out, Mercedes put some pretty good caulking around the seal to the firewall and you have to coax it quite a bit to break the seal. Putting the box back into the car could be done with one person. I had someone watch outside for me, but I really could see what was going on and didn't really need him. The dashboard was a bit stubborn coming out as the defoster ducts go right into the ducts on the dash and are sealed pretty good and getting it back together took some slow going also. Did have to drop the steering wheel down, 2 bolts and 2 nuts, to allow the box to clear the ignition switch, but did not pull the wheel itself. Passenger side airbag was incredibly easy, one bolt and 2 wires, these would be real easy to steal. Also took the passenger side seat out and the wiper assembly,,, about 25 minutes for both. Probably don't have to remove those items, but made the job a little easier. All in all it took about 18 hours, and on a scale of 1 to 10 for toughness, I would give it a 5. It was a lousy weekend and I had nothing better to do so I saved myself some BIG bucks. I would not hesitate to do it again and if you think you can do it,,,, you probably can. Will be glad to help anyone else who feels brave.
01-16-2005, 06:20 PM
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