Jeep Wrangler TJ Full Electric Conversions

Has anyone ever had to replace an evaporator?

RedTJ

RedTJ

TJ Enthusiast
Original poster
Joined
Dec 21, 2016
Messages
100
Location
Suffolk, VA, United States
I noticed a few drops of bright green liquid on my driveway and traced it to the little round drain for the heater box on the firewall. I guess it's time for a heater core which is quite a tear down. From what I've read, I need to remove the dash which means removing the steering column. If there is some way around removing the steering column I'd love to hear it.

While I'm in there, I will take the opportunity to replace the lazy blend door actuator that has been giving me problems, but I also thought about replacing the evaporator for the AC. The AC works just fine, but I thought it would make sense since I'll need to open the system anyway, it's an 02 and I doubt it's ever been done. But, I don't remember anyone on this or any other forum saying they had to replace it so I'm tempted to leave the original in place. Any advice would be appreciated.

2002 TJ, 4.0L with auto trans and A/C. 164,000 miles
 
Mine was leaking. Go to an auto store and get radiator stopleak or anything of the like. Stopped mine from leaking and mine was spitting coolant out of the feet air con vents .
 
Thanks for sending the link. That's a good write up. I printed it out so I can have it with me when I get started. For some reason, having a laptop out in the shop just doesn't seem right to me.
 
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RedTJ said:
For some reason, having a laptop out in the shop just doesn't seem right to me.
Click to expand...

I agree with you. I can't get used to a computer in the shop. It's got to be printed out in order for me to take it seriously.
 
Well that wasn't as bad as I thought. I used the write up from @JFjeld. The only difference was that I opted to not remove the steering column due to the risk of messing up the clock spring. I unbolted the column supports and let it rest on the seat. Then I used some bungee straps to tie the dash up on the roll bar. That gave me enough room to get the heater box out. Separating the upper and lower halves took a little time. There's several screws holding it together and I took a lot of pictures so I can get it back together.

The heater core looks like a mini radiator. It has plastic ends and metal fins in the middle. As for the evaporator, it looks ok, but dirty. There was some leaves and other built up crud over the years. I can clean that. I thought of replacing it since I'm in there, but I've never heard of anyone having to do that on a TJ so I'll probably keep the old one. While it's apart, it would be easy to do an LED upgrade on the instrument cluster. I'll look over this forum to see if anyone has posted on that before. If not, that's a topic for another thread.

Thanks to all for the guidance. This is what forums like this are made for.
 
I finally had some time today to start getting the Jeep back together. I got the heater box back together with the new heater core. I'm so proud of myself for getting it back together without any spare parts. All I can say is take lots of pictures. I ordered a Mopar part which I don't usually do but it's a big job and I don't feel like doing it twice. While putting the whole thing back together, I hung the dashboard on the bolts directly below the windshield and I noticed a thick ground cable coming from the dashboard and going nowhere that I know of. It seemed logical that it would fit on one of the four bolts below the windshield, but now that I look at it, It seems redundant. Does anyone know where this goes? I attached a picture. Let's hope that works.
 
Got a picture of that part that you don't know where it goes?

I will admit, the heater core job on a TJ is way, way, wayyyyy easier than if you were to do it on a modern vehicle (let's say a BMW 5 series). These new vehicles have dashboards with massive wiring harnesses and so many nuts and bolts to remove, you'd just drive yourself insane!
 
I think I uploaded an image. I hope this works

20170223_171311.webp
 
Back on the road. Getting everything back together was a real puzzle but eventually it all came together. While I had it torn apart, I upgraded the cluster with LED lights. they come in all different colors so I chose green. I also replaced the heater hoses. Maybe I should have replaced the blower motor, but I didn't have one handy and wanted to get it back together. The old one is working fine anyway. The evaporator was over $200, so I used the original one. My advice to anyone who is tempted to try this project is to take lots and lots of pictures and hang onto the hardware. There's lots of little screws and nuts. labelling and bagging them with sandwich bags probably would have been a good idea, but with all the pictures I took, it wasn't necessary. Also, lots of plastic trim pieces have to come off and if they are laying in your garage or driveway, they are very easy to step on. I put mine in the back seat and put the fasteners either in the holes they go in or whatever crevice the part had. One last point is that it is not necessary to remove the steering column. I did some research on this job before I got into it and learned that there is a potential to damage the clock spring so I thought it would be at least worth a shot to get the heater box out without removing the column. Remove the column support nuts, lower the column, and let the wheel rest on the seat and then remove the cover and multifunction switch so they don't get scratched up by the metal parts of the dashboard when you move it out of the way. I used bungee cords to hand the right side of the dash on the role bar. That gave me plenty of room to get the heater box out. If you are impatient, pay someone to do this.
 
TJGoldenEagle said:
Mine was leaking. Go to an auto store and get radiator stopleak or anything of the like. Stopped mine from leaking and mine was spitting coolant out of the feet air con vents .
Click to expand...

From my work in the HVAC industry, I can tell you to not put any kind of "leak seal" or any other fix-it-all product into your AC system; you don't want any of that stuff in your compressor or your filter drier.

It's the same deal with "fix a flat" sealant. It just is a bandaid.
 
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Sorry...haven't been on this site for a few months. Glad the heater core write-up was helpful to you. I ****GASP**** sold my TJ. Still offroading and hitting the mountains, but this time in a new truck.
 
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