I've just been told the evaporator on my Xantia 2.0 litre petrol turbo needs replacing, as it has a leak which was dectected from an aircon test using dye in the system.
I was originally told by a Citroen Specialist Dave Stott in Middlesbrough (don't trust him as far as I could throw him) that it was the condenser. £200 spent and a new condenser later, the gas has leaked out and now i've been told by an independant specialist that it's the evaporator.
I don't fancy shelling out megaloads for a specialist to do it. I've spent too much already!!! I know where the evaporator is (behind the Pollen Filter) but I don't know how to get it out from all the plastic housing it sits in. I could really do with some advice on how I can get it out. No information is available in the Haynes Manual.
Has anyone done this before and/or can share some advice?
If I need a specialist to do this, how much is it likely to cost?
Thanks in advance.
How do I remove aircon evaporator
Moderator: RichardW
Spliffy,
I really think that you need a specialist to carry out this work unless you have the correct tools and air-con knowhow. Did the independant specialist find a leak in the evapotator housing itself or is he just guessing?
If the original garage mis-diagnosed the problem then you should be able to get them to fix it properly at little or no cost to yourself. WhenI get parts changed at the main stealers, which is very rarely, I get them to put the parts that they have replaced in the boot of the car. At least I can then make sure that they have changed the correct part!
You could always not use the air-con and just open the window!
Richard
I really think that you need a specialist to carry out this work unless you have the correct tools and air-con knowhow. Did the independant specialist find a leak in the evapotator housing itself or is he just guessing?
If the original garage mis-diagnosed the problem then you should be able to get them to fix it properly at little or no cost to yourself. WhenI get parts changed at the main stealers, which is very rarely, I get them to put the parts that they have replaced in the boot of the car. At least I can then make sure that they have changed the correct part!
You could always not use the air-con and just open the window!
Richard
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Kowalski
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I would expect that an air-con specialist would use some sort of electronic leak detector to find the fault and that the Citroen specialist has guessed at the evapourator because it's in front of the radiator and can get damaged, I wouldn't expect a non-air con specialist to have the correct equipment to find a leak on an air-con system.
The special air-con tools you'll need to recover the refrigerant are a recovery cylinder a vacuum pump, a manifold gauge set and a set of quick couplers. No doubt you'll need some scales to measure the amount of gas you get out, and some new gas to put in, I'm finding these things are difficult at best to track down and even more difficult to get cheaply.
If you open the system to atmosphere, after removing any remaining gas (although if it has got to the point where it needs a regas, it probably has little gas in it) you will have to replace the dryer bottle too, these are £35ish.
If you were able to strip down the dash and get the air con specialist to do the air con work, i.e. opening the system, replacing the leaking parts and regassing that'll be as cheap as you can get the job don. I think that you may have to take the dash out to get to the evaporator but I'm not sure of that.
The special air-con tools you'll need to recover the refrigerant are a recovery cylinder a vacuum pump, a manifold gauge set and a set of quick couplers. No doubt you'll need some scales to measure the amount of gas you get out, and some new gas to put in, I'm finding these things are difficult at best to track down and even more difficult to get cheaply.
If you open the system to atmosphere, after removing any remaining gas (although if it has got to the point where it needs a regas, it probably has little gas in it) you will have to replace the dryer bottle too, these are £35ish.
If you were able to strip down the dash and get the air con specialist to do the air con work, i.e. opening the system, replacing the leaking parts and regassing that'll be as cheap as you can get the job don. I think that you may have to take the dash out to get to the evaporator but I'm not sure of that.
<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by Kowalski</i>
Citroen specialist has guessed at the evapourator because it's in front of the radiator and can get damaged,
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">
The evaporator is behind the dash and the condensor is in front of the radiator
Citroen specialist has guessed at the evapourator because it's in front of the radiator and can get damaged,
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">
The evaporator is behind the dash and the condensor is in front of the radiator
Have a close look at the T/X valve and the fittings attached to it; they would leak 1000 times to an evaporators leak once.
It seems that with specialists; every engine problem is diagnosed as a "computer" and every gas leak as an evaporator and neither are usually very accurate.
The evaporator is usually a bit hard to gain access to, so too many of these "easy way out" types find it's easier to tell you it's a massive job so as to get away with slack work.
Any tradesman worth his salt will insist on accessing the entire system if there's a leak so that he can test the entire system and stand more than a lucky guess chance at where it might be.
The tell tale is an oil stain if it's either a long term leak or a major one.
I get the feeling these guys are working on the principle that if they replace the lot they must get the leak; that's about on par with replacing the engine for a tappet rattle.
Alan S
It seems that with specialists; every engine problem is diagnosed as a "computer" and every gas leak as an evaporator and neither are usually very accurate.
The evaporator is usually a bit hard to gain access to, so too many of these "easy way out" types find it's easier to tell you it's a massive job so as to get away with slack work.
Any tradesman worth his salt will insist on accessing the entire system if there's a leak so that he can test the entire system and stand more than a lucky guess chance at where it might be.
The tell tale is an oil stain if it's either a long term leak or a major one.
I get the feeling these guys are working on the principle that if they replace the lot they must get the leak; that's about on par with replacing the engine for a tappet rattle.
Alan S
<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by alans</i>
Have a close look at the T/X valve and the fittsing attached to it; they would leak 1000 times to an evaporators leak once.
It seems that with specialists; every engine problem is diagnosed as a "computer" and every gas leak as an evaporator and neither are usually very accurate.
The evaporator is usually a bit hard to gain access to, so too many of these "easy way out" types find it's easier to tell you it's a massive job so as to get away with slack work.
Any tradesman worth his salt will insist on accessing the entire system if there's a leak so that he can test the entire system and stand more than a lucky guess chance at where it might be.
The tell tale is an oil stain if it's either a long term leak or a major one.
I get the feeling these guys are working on the principle that if they replace the lot they must get the leak; that's about on par with replacing the engine for a tappet rattle.
Alan S
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">
Have a close look at the T/X valve and the fittsing attached to it; they would leak 1000 times to an evaporators leak once.
It seems that with specialists; every engine problem is diagnosed as a "computer" and every gas leak as an evaporator and neither are usually very accurate.
The evaporator is usually a bit hard to gain access to, so too many of these "easy way out" types find it's easier to tell you it's a massive job so as to get away with slack work.
Any tradesman worth his salt will insist on accessing the entire system if there's a leak so that he can test the entire system and stand more than a lucky guess chance at where it might be.
The tell tale is an oil stain if it's either a long term leak or a major one.
I get the feeling these guys are working on the principle that if they replace the lot they must get the leak; that's about on par with replacing the engine for a tappet rattle.
Alan S
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">
Check this out.
If you blow up those thumbnails, it will show the poblem, the T/X and where to find it.
This is of course on a BX but may be a guide to help you find it as I doubt a 306 would be all that much different.
They used to locate them on the firewall years ago, but these days it's usually somewhere near the heater matrix cover.
http://www.aussiefrogs.com/forum/showpo ... ostcount=9
Cheers,
Alan S
If you blow up those thumbnails, it will show the poblem, the T/X and where to find it.
This is of course on a BX but may be a guide to help you find it as I doubt a 306 would be all that much different.
They used to locate them on the firewall years ago, but these days it's usually somewhere near the heater matrix cover.
http://www.aussiefrogs.com/forum/showpo ... ostcount=9
Cheers,
Alan S
<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by alans</i>
Check this out.
If you blow up those thumbnails, it will show the poblem, the T/X and where to find it.
This is of course on a BX but may be a guide to help you find it as I doubt a 306 would be all that much different.
They used to locate them on the firewall years ago, but these days it's usually somewhere near the heater matrix cover.
http://www.aussiefrogs.com/forum/showpo ... ostcount=9
Cheers,
Alan S
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">
Check this out.
If you blow up those thumbnails, it will show the poblem, the T/X and where to find it.
This is of course on a BX but may be a guide to help you find it as I doubt a 306 would be all that much different.
They used to locate them on the firewall years ago, but these days it's usually somewhere near the heater matrix cover.
http://www.aussiefrogs.com/forum/showpo ... ostcount=9
Cheers,
Alan S
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">
I replaced the evaporator of my ZX '95 2 years ago. It was I think 4 years ago when the A/C of my manual ZX 1.4 engine started to show some problem. I had it filled with gas for 2 years at twice a year since I didn't use the A/C during winter. But I finally had it thoroughly checked when on the next day I had it filled with the R34 gas the A/C was again off.
First the mechanics tried the bubble test. When they could not find any leak under the hood (or within the engine area), they suspected that it was the evaporator. To be sure, they dyed the system and tested it with the laser light. They later announced that they are sure it's a leak in the evaporator. Since they were busy that time, they said they will remove the dashboard later, and for me to come back later.
As I was readying the car for a stay over to the shop, cleaning around and removing some personal items, I started removing the bolts and nuts. I ended up removing the dashboard myself! It was indeed a fulfilling effort. The evaporator later appeared with so much oil and dust around it. I got a used replacement from the junk yard so I was able to save a lot. Since then, I the A/C has never given me a problem. Good luck to you.
First the mechanics tried the bubble test. When they could not find any leak under the hood (or within the engine area), they suspected that it was the evaporator. To be sure, they dyed the system and tested it with the laser light. They later announced that they are sure it's a leak in the evaporator. Since they were busy that time, they said they will remove the dashboard later, and for me to come back later.
As I was readying the car for a stay over to the shop, cleaning around and removing some personal items, I started removing the bolts and nuts. I ended up removing the dashboard myself! It was indeed a fulfilling effort. The evaporator later appeared with so much oil and dust around it. I got a used replacement from the junk yard so I was able to save a lot. Since then, I the A/C has never given me a problem. Good luck to you.