Replacing the A/C Evaporator

[STEVE P]

This is a request for a friend but as his mechanical skills are next to nil and I will probably get involved helping him I thought I had better see what kind of job it is.

My friend has a 2011 RWD MK7 and the Evaporator unit in the heater box is obviously leaking as he had had it topped twice and you can smell refrigerant through the vents in the cab but no sign of a leak in the engine bay and the Evaporator was replaced last year.

What is involved to remove the heater box to replace it, the dealer has said ''about £1k'' so they either dont want to do it or think it is a big job.

My guess either part or the hole dash needs to come out but has anybody else done it? Any tips?

Thanks in advance

[v8dave]

Your right with your guess that the whole dash has to come out.
Gear shift cables need disconnecting.
Steering column has to come out.
Water and air-con couplings in the engine bay need separating.
Some of the dash fixings are hidden until decorative panels are removed.
Lots of wiring to disconnect.
Lots of screws to find.

[amlav]

Yep . Do able but Big job.

[STEVE P]

Looks like I will have to avoid this one then if I can, no wonder the dealer wanted £1k then.

I had a look on Autodata this morning and they are claiming it is a 3 hour job I know there times can be taken with a large pinch of salt but I would like to know where they get that time from when it is obviously at least a days work.

Thanks for the help

[kanny]

HI There,

I like the determination here to do a job and save yourself the grand! haha how did it go?

I have a quick question for you chaps who know your way around the A/C and especially evaporator in transit mk7's.

Back story is that I bought a 13 mk7 AWD for event work. AWD has been great towing trailers through the mud many security guards though I was a really great driver as everyone else got stuck in the mud!

Anyway now I had it a season I want to make it in to the ultimate crew event wagon for next season. There is a number of retrofits I'm going to do and one of them involves the A/C... I was reading the manual to find out that A/C draws in FRESH AIR over the evaporator and dries it. That's why the A/C comes on automatically when you put the selector switch to "de fog windscreen". But...

When 4-6 crew get in to the cab after the pissing rain all wet it would be amazing to be able to put the A/C on RECIRCULATE and for the A/C to then suck the air from the cab, cool and dry it over the evaporator and then back to the cab HOT. and so on and on.

Can anyone please tell me: Does this happen when you put the A/C on RECIRCULATE? If not... is it possible to reroute the RECIRCULATE intake air over the evaporator to make this possible?

Or am I just wasting my time? I expect people will just say, "suck in fresh air across the evaporator and it does the same job". true I suppose, but I just think it would make sense to to recirculate because all the moisture we want to condense out of the air is already inside the van..

thanks to the great British weather!!!

[knobby1]

HI There,

I like the determination here to do a job and save yourself the grand! haha how did it go?

I have a quick question for you chaps who know your way around the A/C and especially evaporator in transit mk7's.

Back story is that I bought a 13 mk7 AWD for event work. AWD has been great towing trailers through the mud many security guards though I was a really great driver as everyone else got stuck in the mud!

Anyway now I had it a season I want to make it in to the ultimate crew event wagon for next season. There is a number of retrofits I'm going to do and one of them involves the A/C... I was reading the manual to find out that A/C draws in FRESH AIR over the evaporator and dries it. That's why the A/C comes on automatically when you put the selector switch to "de fog windscreen". But...

When 4-6 crew get in to the cab after the pissing rain all wet it would be amazing to be able to put the A/C on RECIRCULATE and for the A/C to then suck the air from the cab, cool and dry it over the evaporator and then back to the cab HOT. and so on and on.

Can anyone please tell me: Does this happen when you put the A/C on RECIRCULATE? If not... is it possible to reroute the RECIRCULATE intake air over the evaporator to make this possible?

Or am I just wasting my time? I expect people will just say, "suck in fresh air across the evaporator and it does the same job". true I suppose, but I just think it would make sense to to recirculate because all the moisture we want to condense out of the air is already inside the van..

thanks to the great British weather!!!

Thread was started well over 5 years ago....best you start a new one with your issue...they tend to get lost in old threads.

The person you're replying to hasn't been back on here for well over 12 months.

Lord Knobrot

Lord Knobrot.

[metalworker0]

Don't know, RECIRCULATE when on a non AC, results in windows streamed up if its cold . AC will condense the air ..so may work . probably take a fair time to do it from cold engine though.



all the best.mark

[kanny]

Hi Mark and Sir Lord Knobrot,

thanks you for your answers. It's ages since I checked in because van is off the road and I went away for a month!

But in the end. I still got the van , and it will still have problems so inevitabally.. I will always come back!

Lord I will try to take your suggestion and figure out how to start this on a new thread... I'm a newbie so when I tried last time I didn't manage it.

Cheers, Kanny