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DIY cleaning evaporator helps ac cooling!!!

79K views 38 replies 22 participants last post by  marketmaster 
#1 · (Edited)
First: You will need to remove the glove box. There is two tabs on the bottom of the glove box. all you do is slide the tabs out. And then open the glove box. red arrows is where you'll find the tabs. ofcourse the glove box is already removed on this picture. dont mind my ipod,usb, and ps3 wires. i had them stored in my glove box.



next you will need to remove the glove box framing. total of 6 screws required to be removed.



I removed on extra one here didnt know which screw it was. But just follow the arrows.



Next: You need to remove the fan. 3 bolts to remove the screw. arrows in red. i believe its a 5.5mm that i used. I used a nut driver but a socket will do if you got one that small. ok you will also need to remove the one screw thats holding the wire in place. blue arrow. if you dont remove this you will have to force the wire out of the way. i choose to remove the screw instead dont want to break anything. this is a size 7mm. and last for this fan remove the fan harness. yellow arrow.



If you try to use a mirror and flashlight you might not have any luck looking in there. very small room to move around. Once the fan is removed you will need to look or take pictures in the fan mount housing you should be able to stick your hand in there and feel the evaporator. This is how my evaporator looked like when i first started. with all this dirt it blocked most of the air being blown through the evap. i cleaned my evap about 14 months ago and installed a cabin microfilter and it still got this dirty.



I went to home depot and bought this ac flow evap coil cleaner. i used this cleaner because it has a hose and i can insert just the trigger in there and spray with the bottle not in my way. got to remember there isnt that much room. i never used the spray can i figured i couldnt clean the evap good enough with the spray can because of room issues.



1st attempt to spray clean the evap. depending how dirty your evap is. is how many times you need to clean it. i sprayed mine twice.


keep spray til you think you got everything.


I let it set the first time for about 10-15 minutes then with water. I used a spray nozzle on the end of my hose. but make sure your water pressure is not to high you might bend the fins. also, when you have the hose in your vehicle becareful not to spray the inside of your vehicle. the ac evap has a drain so when you spray with water it'll drain underneath the truck. after my first water spray it was still kind of dirty so i did it again.



This was my second attempt spray. I got most of it.



and finally this is as clean as I can get it. But my ac works about 20 degrees colder. i used to keep it on high just to get enough air to cool me down but now i can adjust to low and my mada is cold.



Before you attempt to clean your ac. take a picture of the evap since its hard to see. get a small camera and angle it just like i did and see if its dirty. most likely it'll be pretty dirty causing your ac to be clogged like mine.
this took me about an hour to complete. not including the 30 minutes after to run the fan to blow the evaporator clean. the spray cleaner says you dont have to spray it down with water but it is recommended. if you dont choose to flush the evap down with water make sure you blow the evap for 30 minutes so the cleaner can dissolve.

also, try this on your own risk. dont blame me if you break something. blame yourself if not pay someone to this for you.

if you dont know how the ac evap really works. i'll give you a small lesson. refrigerant moves through the evaportor and since its made of metal i think aluminum i forget. it will stay cold as you blow your hot air from the car through the evap fins and it'll come out the other side cold.

if you need anymore information pm me or reply to this forum. i get on this forum every once and a while. have fun. you might get frustrated when doing this project. but, just relax and remember its worth all your effort. my evap got dirt because at one point I didnt have a cabin microfilter in. And thats how I bought the truck
 
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#33 ·
Thanks for the DIY! I'm going to do this this weekend - my A/C reeks when it cycles and the evaporator gets damp.
 
#35 · (Edited)
Bump. Great pre-summer maintenance how to. Just did this after about 2 yrs since the last time. Was smelling a bit when ac turned on but now it's fragrance free cooling. This time tried a mixture of about 8oz hot water, 3 drops of Dawn detergent and 3-4 tbs of isopropyl alcohol in a spray bottle.

Black Metal Black-and-white Monochrome

** note: image is flipped 90* left for some reason.
 
#36 ·
Bump. Great pre-summer maintenance how to. Just did this after about 2 yrs since the last time. Was smelling a bit when ac turned on but now it's fragrance free cooling. This time tried a mixture of about 8oz hot water, 3 drops of Dawn detergent and 3-4 tbs of isopropyl alcohol in a spray bottle.

View attachment 21114
** note: image is flipped 90* left for some reason.
Holy crap that is CLEAN now.
Some handywork to do over the weekend :)
 
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