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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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#2 ·
Excellent post gt-Leo! My ac is not bad in terms of efficiency but it gets a little smelly when I cycle it on and off. Will definitely be doing this soon...
 
#3 ·
Smell culprit



If you have a smell from your vents. This is the main culprit. This is just dust and dirt and when it gets moist it stinks. Some people where doing the lysol trick. But all that does is cover up the smell. When the lysol goes away the smell returns. Clean it the right way. It should last you about 2 years before you have to clean it again. But a 10 dollar fix is better than a dealer or ac shop with 500 - 1000 dollar fix. It'll last the same amount of time.
 
#7 ·
04

i have an 2004 armada SE 4x4. I only have 82K miles on it. Not much but you got to realize how much you use the a/c and heater on the car. Every time I drive that car either the a/c or heater is on. So over the life time of my car we are blowing crappy air through the a/c. Also, Like I said before I just cleaned this thing about 14 months ago. Take at look at yours and you'll be amazed how dirty it is. If you've ever seen a split type a/c. Shine a flash light through the fan blades and you will see how dirty it is. Even though the filter is cleaned often dust and dirt still get through.
 
#11 ·
No



no the front coil is only for the front vents. The rear vents have there own. which is in the right rear side of the panel. What year is your armada? I believe the 08 they changed the way the rear panels have the heater core and the evaporator.

For the first generation armada's The rear heater only blows on the rear right side panel. and the top vents are for ac only no heat.

For all armadas after that i believe starting 08 i forget what year. The a/c and heater blows from the top vents.

So I really can't say what might be your problem without knowing the year. What you can do though is turn on your front and rear ac. wait about 5 minutes. go outside your car and right above the exhaust tip the ac lines should be right there for the rear. put your hand on the refrigerant piping. one should be cold and one hot. big piping cold small piping hot. if thats the way it is then its your controls either the evaportor shutter motor or the red/blue temperature setting knob.
 
#12 ·
overview

aight this is an overview on what you'll be spraying. This is a view from the standing in the front of the vehicle. but you'll be in the passenger side. The yellow arrow is where you'll be inserting the ac coil cleaner thats the hole where the fan is mounted. the yellow mesh that i put on the picutre is what you'll be spraying. the hole is about 3 to 4" so just put your hand in there and figure out where you'll be spraying.

 
#13 ·
GT-Leo,

I couldn't wait until the weekend so I took out the fan tonight...man you were not kidding about the lack of room! Unfortunately my evaporater was clean as a whistle:



I've got about 40K on my 2007 with the in-cabin microfilter changed about once a year. I was going to clean it anyway but I figured I would do more harm than good by dragging my marring rubber hose inside the truck.

I sprayed lysol in it for good measure to kill any bacteria.

I'm bummed as I thought this was the solution to my problem but it looks like I'm SOL. More importantly, I wonder if there is a breach in your system that is causing yours to get so dirty?

Any other thoughts on what could be my issue?
 
#19 ·
Yup just checked mine too (2009 SE with 28,000 miles) mine is also clean. The dealer insists they checked everything. All I know is the last two summer it was fine and now...lukewarm air...ugh. Im ready to trade it in...its waaay to hot here. its 110-120 all summer.
 

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#20 ·
Djbdb, I know there is a recall on QX56 and I believe Armadas as well, which affects the 2010 model where solenoid that controls the motor between cold air and hot air coming into the cabin is being changed out, I know you have a 2009 but it might be worth a try.
 
#22 ·
should've

I should have placed this in the how to section. I forgot they had that section as I normally just check out the problems section.

This problem that I posted is for vehicles that ran without a microfilter for a while. best symptoms for this is if your problem are.

-smelly vents
-ac blows strong then after a while air is hardly coming through the vents even though fan setting is in high.
 
#24 ·
#26 ·
wow, thanks for google for ending me up for this site, and such very useful thread ..

thanks a lot mate for this one, looking forward for this one ..

i've nissan Armada 2010 from around 2 years ago, and really find it hard at afternoon, only four days ago know my AC cooling would be better when i need to wash radiator by water to perform better, hopes this would finish the problem at all.
 
#27 ·
Nice thread. Gonna check my evap can this weekend.


V/R,

Andre
 
#28 ·
yes, thanks for taking the time to take and post all those pics, I hope this service resolves my wet dog smelling A/C upon start up hehe.
I am going to replace cabin filter, get the A/C service from the dealership and check my evap coil.

Have a great weekend!!

Oh, BTW does anyone know what the AC service is at the dealership or is it a rip off?
 
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