beachnut Posted August 30, 2005 Report Share Posted August 30, 2005 Well, I just found out the evaporator is bad on my 850 and needs replaced. The guy that's doing the work is a really good friend who owns one of the best AC shops in this area ... but I have a few questions for Rich or anyone else experienced/knowledgable enough to chime in ... TIA.1) An easy one I think ... he's going to charge me $591 for the job. It actually came out to $791, but he's knocking $200 off for me. He said the labor is 8 hours. Sound like a good deal? Any opportunity for me to DIY here and save some money? I'm pretty mechanically inclined, but I've never attempted an evap r/r.2) I talked to his lead mechanic and he told me he doesn't have to pull the dash completely apart, that he can take out the glovebox and the whole underside of the right dash to get at the evap. This seems to fly in the face of everything I've read here about this job. Does this sound possible?3) If indeed it does become mandatory to remove the entire dash, would this be a good opportunity ro replace the black plastic strip up against the windshield? Mine is cracked in several places, including the slot where the keyless antenna fits making it not snap correctly into the dash.I guess my biggest concern here is the removal of the dash, or according to what they say, the partial removal. Either way, I always worry about stuff like that and them getting it back together correctly, etc. I guess somehow I feel that if I do a job myself then it will get done right, but then again, they do this stuff everyday and I don't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
connorb850 Posted August 30, 2005 Report Share Posted August 30, 2005 1) Is that $591 for the job complete, or just for labor? If that is complete, its a really good deal.2) You have to take the whole dash and the heater/air conditioning box completely out to do the job. What your mechanic said is true about a 960 but not the 850.The evaporator goes where the red circle is.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beachnut Posted August 30, 2005 Author Report Share Posted August 30, 2005 Thanks for the pics Connor ... THAT IS INSANE!!! Did you do the work yourself? He quoted me $591 for the entire job. I just have this huge fear of stuff not working right, electrical connections left undone, and squeaks galore.b_t_w, are you able to replace that black strip up against the windshield? I don't think I see it in your pic :shrug: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
connorb850 Posted August 31, 2005 Report Share Posted August 31, 2005 Thanks for the pics Connor ... THAT IS INSANE!!! Did you do the work yourself? He quoted me $591 for the entire job. I just have this huge fear of stuff not working right, electrical connections left undone, and squeaks galore.b_t_w, are you able to replace that black strip up against the windshield? I don't think I see it in your pic :shrug:←My dad and I worked on it last June. He does like 5-8 evap replacements at the shop a year at $1200 each. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
connorb850 Posted August 31, 2005 Report Share Posted August 31, 2005 ...and I did not replace the black strip, mine was in good shape. But yeah if you want to replace it that would be a good timeAlso you should have the heater pipe coupling replaced when you do the evaporator, part # 3522035. It is attached to the heater box and it goes through the firewall to connect to the heater hoses. It is plastic and is known to break Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bay13 Posted August 31, 2005 Report Share Posted August 31, 2005 Actually that black stip is part of the dash, you can't get just that, you have to get a new dash. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orange850t Posted August 31, 2005 Report Share Posted August 31, 2005 Actually that black stip is part of the dash, you can't get just that, you have to get a new dash.← Yes, I used some clear silicone adhesive to put the sensor back in the hole. Yes it is insane. Yes it could probably be done in 8 hours but not if you've never seen it before. Hey my old evap looked just like that................ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beachnut Posted August 31, 2005 Author Report Share Posted August 31, 2005 Actually I don't care how long it would take ME to do it ... I can just drive my V70. The mechanic at my a/c shop was saying 8 hours is how much time THEY allow for the job. I may have to call him back and talk to him about his misconception of not having to remove the entire dash. Based upon what Connor said, it sounds to me like they've never done an 850 before and are confusing it with the 960. That may increase the price somewhat unfortunately. Just an interesting sidenote ... they told me that some of the Mercedes Benz models call for upwards of 28 hours for the evap job! I'm still debating whether to do this on my own. It seems to me that the job is fairly straightfoward, but the reason it's considered difficult is due to the sheer complexity of keeping all the electrical connections straight and knowing how everything goes back together and which screws go where. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tp_taylor Posted September 1, 2005 Report Share Posted September 1, 2005 The connectors are basic a game of matching up. With the screws, I just bought a box of the snack baggies and when I took something apart that was relative to a part, I marked the bag that part. To avoid pulling the steering wheel, I just pulled the whole steereing column out (after marking the linkage). May not be the quickest but I didn't have availability to a puller. I had to pull my complete interior out because the car got flooded with 3' of water. So I decided to do the evap swap at the same time. Not HARD hard, but time consuming. If you have mechanical aptitude, you can do it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beachnut Posted October 27, 2005 Author Report Share Posted October 27, 2005 The INSANITY has begun Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orange850t Posted October 27, 2005 Report Share Posted October 27, 2005 The INSANITY has begun Shoot if your that far your golden. Good job. I found it took me 4 hours to get it apart and 50 min to screw it back together. Not counting stops to figure out what needed to be done next. Funny thing is it took me more time to get the quick release fittings apart!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beachnut Posted December 28, 2005 Author Report Share Posted December 28, 2005 Wow ... two months later and I finally have the interior back together Not sure if everything works yet though since I have the motor seriously torn down and parts out for polishing. All in all, I replaced the a/c evap, all the air box foam gaskets, heater core, heater hoses, center console, shifter legend plate and slider piece, shifter boot (got a suede R one, w00t!), glove box, pulled the service light from my cluster, re-taped almost all of the dash wiring with fabric tape, wired and installed my triple gauge pod, and put 3m foam and felt strips everywhere I could. Tightened everything down with loctite where appropriate. Not a single bolt left over either. What a long, strange trip it's been! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VolFan Posted December 28, 2005 Report Share Posted December 28, 2005 I am holding your polished pieces ransom untill you come to Nash Vegas and do mine. Scott that is seriously %$^&%ing awesome!That has to feel good to complete a task as intimidating as that! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ziddey Posted December 28, 2005 Report Share Posted December 28, 2005 poking christ Darn youre the poking man monkey Darn stuff monkey wow Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
r850glt Posted December 28, 2005 Report Share Posted December 28, 2005 I could have helped ypu do that job in less than a day, right here in Fl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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