chrisaus

There's a lot of info in this thread; apart from that I've also bookmarked a few step-by-step guides I've found around the place:

http://mallcrawlin.com/forum/showthr...ousing-Removal
http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/f11/m...thread-592844/
http://www.jeepsunlimited.com/forums...vaporator-Coil

The second one had photos but they seem to have expired.
The third one had photos of how to pull back the dash without a full removal, though you need to be willing to risk bending/cracking it. I think you need to log in to see the photos at that site.

t_mb87

Awesome thank you!

Steelyblue2001

Hi All, hoping Ol' Blue or someone else who has received could send me the write up on how to do the evap replacement on a 2001 XJ. Thank you in advance!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

captainkeene

We just finished this job on my sons zj and when it was all put back together and recharged we started to get an er message on the atc. It was throwing a bunch of codes like 38 39 51 52 55. it seemed like the blender door was stuck halfway between cool and hot. I could hear the door moving when I switched it over to heat and I got lots of hot air but it would not fully go to cool. so after some research I found that after you unplug the actuator motor for the blend door it has to recalibrate itself. So you take the battery cables off and touch them together to make sure its discharged. You then turn the ignition on without starting the car or turning on the a/c. You will hear the blender door motor move back and forth for about 30 seconds and then stop. Start the car and check for any er codes. this fixed my issue and now we have cold air.

WMac

Can someone email me off list on how to start a new thread, that is, ask a new question. My email is: williammccy@yahoo.com. Thanks! WMac

Macho4x4

Hello, can you please send me the same instructions? Thank you kindly.

Macho4x4

I recently bought a 2000 XJ to fix up and use as a camping vehicle and all around Father & Son ride. The evaporator is bad, and differentials need to be replaced. I saw a few offered to message with instructions. Any help is appreciated. Cheers.

Macho4x4

First jeep with some fixin' needs. Joined the forum using smartphone so I apologize if I posted my request for help twice.

Kev R

Hi, just joined as having same probs as others with evap coil and would be grateful on the info on how to replace mines a 1999 rhd jeep cherokee limited auto 4l

Macho4x4

Re: 2001 Cherokee Sport A/C Evaporator


OOPS sorry. I guess I had a major brain fart.
Most people say you have to pull the dash, but it might be possible
to do it without that. I'm trying to remember exactly how the coil
is attached inside the housing. I converted one of my 86s over to
air and just got the housing and wiring and installed them. First
try to access it through the heater core access panel. You won't
loose any time doing this, since you will have to do it anyway.

Remove the bottom panel from the dash. It is held there by two bolts
at the bottom corners and Phillips screws along the top edge. Mine
also had one behind the ash dray. There are about a half dozen
metric hex head screws on the housing between the center section and
the fan motor section. If you remove these, the panel will come off
and you can see the AC and heater coils. If you cannot remove it
then, but I think you can, then you will have to take the dash and
steering column loose and remove three nuts on the engine side of the
firewall to take the whole housing out.

The good news is that you don't need to remove the whole dash.You will need to remove the lower panel.A few screws at the top, two screws at the bottom corners on both sides and the screws that hold the cruise cpu and tweeters if you have them.The rest of the project can be done by removing the screws holding the evap core housing and fan assy to the heater core housing.These screws point across the jeep.You will then have to remove three 10 mm nuts in the engine compartment that hold the housing to the firewall.If you have low heat issues, this is a great time to replace your heater core also.

Just did mine two weeks ago, yes it all has to come out. The heater core and all comes out as one unit. You'll probably want some "form-a-gasket" to replace the crappy foam seals around the various openings and insulation, or maybe even some "Great Stuff" (if you like that sort of thing). I cleaned the box pretty well with some anti-bacterial orange cleaner, usually some mold build up in here and this may help get rid of/prevent it from coming back so soon.

Also, you might want to put an additional screen (like window screen) in place of the cowling screen (the area below the windshield wipers). You can remove the cowling and place the screen under it so it looks nice). The standard screen in there is not sufficient for blocking debris from entering and collecting on the evaporator, which most likely contributes to the leaking evaporator.

When you're re-installing the dash and all of the connectors, it will be a good idea to leave everything loose while you verify everything functions correctly. Check everything out real good to make sure you didn't leave something disconnected that might be trapped behind a panel or something. Luckily I had nothing left undone, but I'm sure if I did button everything up I would.

Here is the official procedure, don't know if this helps or not:

1. Disconnect battery. This must be done to prevent accidental airbag deployment.
2. Using on A/C recovery unit, remove all R-134a refrigerant from the A/C system. See: Service and Repair
3. Remove the shift **** by pulling sharply upward.
4. Place the transfer case in low range. Pry the shift indicator bezel out of the console using a triin stick.
5. Apply the parking brake and place the transfer case in neutral. Remove the parking brake trim insert. Remove the console attaching screws. Lift the console up and disconnect the 4WD indicator lamp hamess. Remove the console.
6. Remove the passenger side knee blocker. Remove the single end screw. Remove the screws below the glove box. Remove the screw at the courtesy lamp. Remove the ash receiver and the screws behind it. Remove the instrument panel armature screw behind the ash receiver. Open the glove box and remove the screws behind it. Lower the panel and disconnect the lamp harnesses. For additional instrument panel service procedures to complete steps 6 thru 25, see Instrument Panel Service Procedures See: Instrument Panel, Gauges and Warning Indicators\Instrument Panel\Service and Repair
7. Remove the pod switch bezels on both sides of the steering column with a trim stick.
8. Remove the drive side knee blocker. Remove the end screw and screws located at the bottom of the knee blocker.
9. Remove the cowl top trim panel by prying it up with a trim stick. Remove the solar sensor if equipped.
10. Remove the "A" post trim panels.
11. Remove the remove the bolts that attach the lower instrument panel reinforcement to the instrument panel armature and remove the reinforcement.
12. Disconnect the park lamp switch.
13. Pull back the carpet at the transmission tunnel from the base of the instrument panel center bezel. Remove the nuts from the upper studs and bolts through the floor that secure the instrument panel center bracket.
14. Remove the bolts that secure the instrument panel center bracket to the drivers side of the transmission tunnel.
15. Remove the screws securing the Vehicle Information Center and remove it. Remove the screw fastening the mounting bracket.
16. Unplug the vacuum harness connector or vent tube on ATC equipped vehicles and the wire harness located under the passenger side of the instrument panel.
17. Remove the screws holding the passenger side kick panel, along with the screw from the kick panel shroud.
18. Unplug the antenna cable near the right cowl side panel.
19. Unplug the instrument panel wire harness connectors from the junction block at the right cowl side panel.
20. Remove the bolts that secure the instrument panel armature to the windshield fence.
21. Remove the nuts that secure the top if the instrument panel armature to the windshield fence.
22. Remove the bolts that secure the ends of the instrument panel to the cowl side panel.
23. Remove the nuts that secure the steering column to the brake pedal support and lower the steering column.
24. Remove the bolts that secure the instrument panel armature to the brake pedal support.
25. Place a protective cover on the seats. Lift the instrument panel off the windshield fence studs and maneuver the instrument panel out and lower it onto the seats.
26. Disconnect the refrigerant lines from the evaporator tubes. Make sure to install plugs or tape the ends of the lines and fittings to ensure that excessive amounts of moisture do not contaminate the A/C system.
27. Remove the vacuum line at the tee from the main vacuum supply harness. This line runs through the body with the upper refrigerant line. (if you have ATC there is no vacuum line, all doors are controlled by motors)
28. Disconnect the heater hoses from the heater core and clamp the ends closed to prevent coolant loss. See: Heater Core\Service and Repair
29. Remove the coolant overflow bottle.
30. Remove the Powertrain Control Module with connectors intact and set aside.
31. Remove the heater A/C housing mounting nuts from the studs on the engine compartment side of the dash.
32. Remove the heater A/C housing from the vehicle.
33. To Install the components, reverse the procedure stated above. Torque Specifications: Instrument panel center bracket to floor transmission tunnel fastener: 28 Nm (250 in. lbs.) Instrument panel to windshield fence bolts and nuts: 12 Nm (105 in. lbs.) Instrument panel to cowl side inner panel bolts: 12 Nm (105 in. lbs.) Instrument panel to steering column support bolts: 12 Nm (105 in. lbs.)


1) Both front seats (makes access to everything much easier)
2) Both lower a-pillar trim panels (or kick panels, whatever you call them)
3) The lower steering column cover/metal knee blocker
4) Remove the center bezel that covers up your stereo/heater controls/switch panel
5) Remove your headlamp **** by reaching up and pressing the release button on the inboard side of the headlamp switch. The **** should just slide out.
6) If you have tilt steering, set it to the lowest position and disconnect the rubber steering column surround.
7) Remove the instrument cluster bezel (held in by snaps and four screws)
8) Pry the rear edge of the top cover up to disengage the seven snaps.
9) Once clear, pull the entire top cover rearward and disengage the remaining four snaps.
10) Remove your shift **** (it helps if it's in 1-2, sit in the back seat, brace yourself and give it a good pull and it should come off. Don't punch yourself in the face while doing this)
11) Remove the shifter and transfer case bezels and unplug the light bulbs.
12) At this point, you can remove the two screws holding the front of the center console down. Open the console and remove the remaining two screws and the console should be able to be removed. It might take a bit of finessing to get around the parking brake handle though so be careful.
13) Pull the carpet (if you have carpet) back far enough so you can see the two lower nuts holding the panel center support bracket to the tranny tunnel.
14) Remove the two lower nuts and the two upper nuts and remove the bracket from the vehicle.
15) At this point in the FSM, it tells you to remove the steering column. From everything I've read, you don't HAVE to but I did. It was a pain and the next time I do this, I'll unbolt it from the bracket but I'll leave it in. You only need to be able to swing the dash out enough to access and remove the HVAC box from the firewall. Anyway....here's how to remove the column if you're so inclined.
16) I removed the airbag...don't know why...
17) You can pull the steering wheel off the column. I didn't because one of the holes for the puller was stripped so I left it.
18) Remove the lower shroud
19) And upper shroud
20) Unbolt the steering column coupler bolt from the intermediate shaft. You may need to turn the wheel in order to access it.
21) Disconnect all the electrical connectors associated with the steering column as well as the brake park interlock switch from the ignition cylinder. I removed the ignition cylinder as well but you may not need to. The interlock switch just clips in to the righthand side and drops away.
22) Remove the two vertical mounting nuts and the two horizontal mounting nuts from the steering column and support it as you lower it off the bracket. You can now pull the column out of the dash. Here's the dash with the column removed, the wiring harness on the left and the interlock switch and solenoid on the right
23) Remove the bolts from and disconnect the two big electrical connectors under the lefthand side of the dash. The rearmost one should be the gray one and the forward one should be the white one. I had trouble with the white on and left it hooked up so I couldn't COMPLETELY remove the dash. No pics of these because I was pissed off
24) Just to the left of the tunnel and under the dash as well is another big grey electrical connector. Remove the bolt and disconnect this, as well as the small yellow airbag connector that should be around the middle of the under-dash area.
25) At this point, you can switch sides and roll down the glove box. There's two rubber stoppers and if you remove them, the glove box will rotate clear allowing you to gain access to the rear of the HVAC box.
26) On the lefthand side of the glovebox opening, you should see the white vacuum connector. Disconnect the two halves. Also, you should see a big green connector for the blower motor. Disconnect this as well.
27) Reach under the righthand side by the fuse panel and disconnect the two halves of the antenna cable.
28) You can go two different ways with this next step. I tried the by-th-book method and it didn't work so I improvised. The book says the remove the temperature control cable from the HVAC box by unscrewing the blend-air door bellcrank from the door shaft underneath the dash. I couldn't get it unscrewed so I removed the heater control panel, separated the cable from the control head and routed it clear of the dash itself so it hung clear and out of the way. You can do whatever is easiest for you.
29) Loosen the left and right dash roll-down screws about 1/4" They're located right next to each courtesy lamp so they're easy to find.
30) Remove the four bolts that secure the upper-forward edge of the dash to the firewall. There are two on the left and two on the right.
31) After the bolts are out, remove the two nuts (upper forward edge) holding the center of the dash to the firewall. The dash won't fall away with these removed as the studs are still holding it in.
32) With some help (I did it alone and it was a struggle for me) lift the dash up off the two center studs and then pull it backwards to clear the roll-down bolts. Your dash area should now (hopefully) resemble this:
NOW, hopefully nothing was left connected and your dash should be out of the vehicle. If you forgot anything (or I forgot to mention anything) now's the time to disconnect or remove it. I found that bagging and labelling EVERYTHING (no matter how small) REALLY helped when I put everything back together. Grab a box for the parts bags and set aside a small corner for the bigger parts. The more organized you are, the easier the job will go for you because it's easy to misplace/lose things.

Anyways....on with the HVAC box. The FSM says to drain the coolant but you don't need to. Just make sure you have a small bucket or tupperware container to catch the small amount of fluid that will drain from the heater hoses as you disconnect them from the heater core.

1) MAKE SURE IF YOU HAVE REFRIGERANT THAT IT'S EVACUATED BY A PROPER SHOP. DON'T OPEN LINES AND LET IT ESCAPE....IT'S AGAINST THE LAW AND BAD FOR THE ENVIRONMENT. There I said it...
2) Using an A/C line disconnect tool (I paid $14 for my set at the parts store) disconnect the liquid line from the evaporator inlet and the accumulator from the evaporator outlet. Mine have never been done so they took about 20 minutes for both but they came out. Make sure you cover the lines somehow. I used a couple of bags with zip ties to keep crud out. The less contamination the better.
3) I was replacing the accumulator as well so after I disconnected it, I removed the old one and transferred the low pressure switch over to the new one.
4) Disconnect both heater hoses from the heater core (using a bucket to catch the drips) I couldn't get mine removed so I disconnected them from the other end, fed them through the firewall and reconnected them to the engine afterwards.
5) Between the evaporator tubes and heater core tubes, you'll see a small vacuum hose. Disconnect it from the tee-fitting.
6) This is the biggest pain I found for this entire job. Removing the five mounting nuts. You'll find one just outboard of the blower motor. The next two are holding the accumulator mounting bracket to the firewall. The next one is just to the right of the engine centerline and above the valve cover (on the firewall, looking forward) and the WORST is about 6" below it behind the cylinder head. I was able to use a 7/16" socket for the first four but the bottom one I had to use a long box end wrench and turn it a little at a time. Be very careful not to drop it as it'll end up on the bellhousing and you'll never get it back.
7) After you are able to remove the five mounting nuts, go back inside and gently pull the entire HVAC box rearward to clear the studs/drain hose from the firewall. This is what you should end up with:
Now it's time to break the box down and actually do what we set out to do. Replace the evaporator or heater core.

• Unplug the vaccum lines from the floor door actuator on the lower left side of the box as well as unplug the vaccum line from the recirc door actuator on the right side.

2) Disengage any vaccum line from any clips on the lower half of the housing.
3) Disengage the blower motor harness and relay from their holes in the upper half of the housing:
4) Unplug and remove the blower motor from the housing
5) Remove the foam seals from the blower motor surround and the evap/heater tube surround. I bought new seals ($60) so I didn't care what the old ones turned out like but I'm sure with patience, a heat gun and a scraper you could salvage both.
6) Pop off the two snap clips on the left forward side of the housing and remove the 14 screws securing the two halves.
7) After making sure everything is disconnected/removed, carefully lift the top half off the bottom half. It might take a bit of coaxing but it should come off easily enough. Set the top half aside.
8) After the two halves are apart, simply lift the old evaporator and heater core out of the housing. When replacing either or both of these, all the foam rubber seals need to be transferred over to the new part. Be careful when taking them off because I don't know of any part numbers for them.
For installation, just reverse everything you saw above. I used RTV sealant when I reinstalled the blower motor just to make sure it never leaked again.
When replacing the evaporator, be sure and add 2oz. of PAG100 oil to it before you seal everything up. With the accumulator, I added 4oz.

After the HVAC box is installed and hooked up, simply re-install the dash. I used EricsXJ's idea about adding adhesive felt to all the points where I thought two trim pieces would make contact just to tighten/dampen any contact and reduce noise. Driving the Jeep around today it seemed a lot less prone to those "cracks" that are common with our Jeeps. It took a bit more time to do all that but I think it was worth it. When are you gonna have your dash out again right?

Once you have everything semi-installed and connected, start the Jeep up and check for any problems. My heater core leaked so I need to pull everything apart again and sort that out. As well, my turn signals for some reason don't wanna work but I think it was related to all the pulling and tugging I did with that one connector on the left side. Check your lights, stereo, heater controls, steering (if you removed the steering column) gauge cluster...everything. If something doesn't work, fix it. After you have EVERYTHING working and buttoned up, get the A/C system evacuated again and recharged. Get them to leak check it and if there are leaks, well, get them fixed. I'm not at this stage yet but hopefully in a few days I can sort out the heater core and have my A/C back and blowing cold again.

If anyone has any problems or questions about how to do this, feel free to PM me and I'll get back to you as quick as I can. It's a daunting task to be sure but once you've done it once, it's not so bad.

NOTES:
my buddy and i just replaced the heater core in my jeep, and we ran into the same problem. put everything back together, and then it leaked, so we took it all apart again and had to get a new core. the first time we took everything apart, but the second go around, we left the steering column and just unscrew the dash and were still able to get the hvac unit out. it was a lot easier the second timebut i hope to never do it again.
I didn't remove the steering wheel from the column. I removed the whole column. The 2 shafts just slip together near the steering box. That avoids removing the airbag and using a puller on the steering wheel.

AutoZone has that spring lock tool for disconnecting the refrig lines for $10. When you reassemble the lines, make sure you push them together so they lock, then put the clip on. Napa has a seal kit which includes new springs.

All from Napa in Mechanicsburg, PA:
Evaporator- $125.
Heater core- $70.
Refrig line seal kit- $10.
Accumulator- $40.
The dealer has a foam/seal/insulation kit for the heater core.

Auto parts stores have the o-rings for the AC lines.

All I'll add, you don't really need to remove the seats, steering column or dash completely. I was able to easily get the box out by just dropping the column. You can pull the dash far enough away from the fire wall to get the box out.

Its always a good idea to totally clean out the box while you are in there...replace EVERYHING, and add some extra screening to your fresh air intake to keep crap from getting down there and causing future havoc with your evap core.
Just completed this. Thanks for the write up and pictures.

A couple of things to note:
- used the lower heater hose to connect to thermostat housing creating a loop minus the heater core. This allowed me to continue driving without adding an elbow connector.
-I too had the sweet smell in the cabin over the cold months. I thought it was the heater core leaking a small bit. I didn't think freon had a smell. After getting the Evap core out, I smelled the styrofoam that the Evap sat in(mine was not as bad as the pictures. it had the same sweet smell. Could be a reaction of the oil and styrofoam that makes the smell.
-I used a blacklight to inspect for freon leaks. Aparently there was dye in the system. The only area that lit up was on the Evap core. All other areas were good.
-Wear safety glasses when disconnecting A/C lines. PAG100 burns the eyeballs. Yes I checked for pressure first. There was no pressure on the system yet it still shot out the accumulator.
- ACkits.com is full of usefull information.
- Replaced, EVAP core, heater core, Accumulator, liquid line w/orifice tube.
- checked the new heater core by hooking it up to the heater hoses before installing in the cabin. New Heater core from Rock Auto looked horrible, but it had no leaks.
- Lots of work, lots of money, not sure if it's really worth it....................
- Washed all the dash parts berfore reassembly. looks good and it's cool now.

Dont hack or cut stuff just do it the right way and take out the dash. You don't have to remove the steering column, just take the two nuts off and lower. Take off the turn indicator cause it might break when the dash is slung up and out of the way. Just did mine this weekend and got to add a kill switch and 10 gauge wire through the firewall for an amp. Didn't have to completely remove the center console either, just slide it back and pull the e-brake all the way up. I did not pretest the heater core (would have been a good idea) and it did look like crap out of the package and there was not enough room to add the foam strips on the sides, oh well. I ended up cutting my heater core hoses(they would not come the frick off) but they are still long enough to re-use, wewt saved $35 bucks there. I bought my evap from techchoiceparts.com full made-in-china cheap-skate product, hopefully it work, there ebay page has all positive reviews, probably swap it out again in a few years for one that costs more than $75, oh well.

Finished this process a few weeks ago with the help from this write-up and a Haynes Manual***(FSM is more thorough but more time consuming and difficult to navigate for this repair)... a couple of things.

Definitely take your front seats out….It takes 10 minutes and you will appreciate the extra room you have to maneuver around.

Since the blower only comes in contact with air, I would not seal it with any rtv or other bonding agent, less you want to deal with it if you ever have to replace either coils again.

If you have an auto transmission (I think manuals just have a release tab) there is a key release cable that runs from your shifter to your steering column, it is connected to your steering column via a tabbed harness...the purpose of this is to keep your key in the ignition while your transmission is in any position other than park. Mine was a PITA to get out. **I would recommend after you have access to all of your harnesses on the steering column, throw your key in the ignition, turn your key to start so you can move your shifter, put the car in reverse, N, or Drive, and then take the cable out of the harness, it puts tension on the cable and pulls the spring in the harness and makes taking it out much easier….and it will keep you from thrashing the tab and rest of the harness…which I did and had a nice little duct tape repair to deal with**

The biggest problem for me was taking out the steering column. I ended up pulling out the column with the linkage past the coupler bolt, clear into the engine compartment….it made it more difficult to put back in, but it worked.

I would recommend keeping all of your fasteners organized and labeled.

Put the right amount of oil in the AC components you replace....too much and you don't get the optimal cooling effect...too little and you can damage your compressor.....I asked an HVAC tech and he said a generic number is 2 oz for every component you replace. Don't take my word on it, do some research and put in the recommended volume***also if you’re AC system has been stagnant for awhile or infiltrated with ambient air, you should replace the dryer/accumulator. There is a desiccant bag that can bust and send desiccant into your line, destroying your compressor.

Replace both hoses and all the clamps to your heater core....it'll cost you $25 and you won't have to worry about whether or not your hose is going to leak at the clamp.

Make sure you tighten all of your wiring harnesses properly during assembly....One of my harnesses was not tight enough and I ended up spending another 30 minutes trouble shooting the problem.

All in all, it was more labor than technique, this write up definitely helped....take it slow the first time and after you do it once (god forbid you have to do it again, or help a friend) you could probably have the job done in half the time.
Here are a couple of links for those of you looking to do this.

Quality ACDelco Evap Core Made in USA Not China

97+ Cherokee

Rightnowautoparts.com

Proliance Heater Core a good bit more heavy duty than the lil OEM one.

Rightnowautoparts.com
OK THREE CENTS worth this time. The larger heater hose is 11/16" and NOT 3/4" That might be why people are having leaks at at the firewall with that hose because they are putting on bulk 3/4" hose.
The cut rate chain parts stores like Advanced Autoparts and Auto Zone only list the shorter heater hose that's 5/8" for the 4.0L XJ
NAPA has them both of them.

kegirten

Mine is out too! 2001 Grand Cherokee Limited 4.7L Anyone have video or step by step instructions. I don't want to spend $1200 for this repair!

martin4jc

Anyone have the instructions on how to replace?

BucklenutZ

I could use the instructions for a 2000 XJ, a very special thanks to you!!

D

blueseasons

I have to ask this. I have seen a product in auto parts stores that is designed to
repair leaking A/C Evaps. It is "stop leak" for evaps instead of radiators or heater cores. One introduces into the system the same way you charge the A/C
system. It would likely work , or not work as well as any radiator stop leak product and depending on the size of the leak in the evap.

A leaking evap cooler is not as critical as a leaking radiator or heater core as it won't leave you stranded or ruin the engine if it doesn't work.

Isn't this product worth a try before one removes the dash? Anybody have any experience with it, good or bad?

dave1123

My only thought was will it damage the compressor? That's the most costly part of the system.