The freon has leaked out of my 97, and it looks like the evaporator is where it's leaking. Any suggestions on how to remove it and where to buy a new one?

Doug

Doug you can get one at any parts house.. But first I'd make sure of how aggressive the leak is. A 97 would have had time to slowly leak down to too low to make the system run. I might risk a puund or so of freon and see what happens.
Big Jim

Big Jim,

I was unable to log-in on my old user name, DougsJeep. I need to seek help from a moderator for that problem! I can be reached at ccrall@aol.com

Back to the Jeep, it will leak out a full charge of freon overnight, under 12 hours. My neighbor came over with a freon sniffer and found freon coming out of the heater/AC drain on the right hand side of the fire wall. My best guess is I will have to replace the AC evaporator.

Any idea how the unit comes out? My guess is to disconnect the heater & AC lines first, and go from there. You ever been in these woods and have a to-do list.

thanks for the help
Doug

Yeah Doug I've been there in the dark! I'm sure it is like all others I've R&R'd. You'll have to remove from the inside! I suggest pulling down to it and making sure you have the correct replacement one.. Then and only then pull the a/c lines and as quick as you can put the lines on the new one..
I HATE to get much air into the lines as then the system must be vac'd out for a while to get the moisture out.
I'm not sure if the heater lines must come off or not. Properly engineered they should stay intact.. But I'm not so sure about the MOPAR engineers in this department.
It is hard to buy a vaporator without buying a dryer too. If you have access to a vac pump the dryer usually isn't needed.
Big Jim

Thanks for the reply Jim,

I had to replace the AC compressor a few years ago, I did just as you said. I kept the lines open for as short of time as possible to keep as much moist air out as I could.

The AC shops told me for them to replace the AC pump they would also have to replace the expansion valve and dryer, which was information I ignored, the AC system worked fine before the pump lost it's idler bearing. I think the AC shops just like getting the extra bucks by replacing as much as they can get away with.

Doug, What kind of Jeep is it?

Marty,

My freon leaky jeep is a 97 wrangler

I do commercial refrigeration for a living. the same principle applies to air conditioning. DO NOT LET AIR INTO THE SYSTEM, IF YOU DO HAVE IT PROPERLY EVACUATED AS AIR BECOMES MOISTURE AND MOISTURE BECOMES ACID AND ACID DESTROYS COMPRESSORS, PLUGS DRIERS AND IS HARD TO CLEAN UP AFTER ALL THIS HAS HAPPENED. IT IS BEST TO EVACUATE AT THE TIME THE SYSTEM HAS BEEN OPENED.

On a '97 TJ, you will need to remove the dash (as an assembly) to get to the HVAC housing. The housing will need to be removed to access the evaporator coil. Removing the dash is not too hard on a TJ, I would recommend getting a copy of the '97 factory service manual and following the procedures in it for best results. Remember that the dash was installed basically as a complete unit on the factory assembly line, and that it removes in a similar way.

bill grinder is right, you will need to completely evacuate the system, if you don't have the training and tools, it's best to take it to an A/C shop to have it evacuated and recharged. If the leak has been bad enough to have no pressure in the system for any period of time, or if you leave it open too long, it's best to replace the receiver/drier (or accumulator) when you replace the evaporator coil. More than likely, you will need to add some oil to the system, too. The part number is under the hood on the A/C system warning/spec label.

How many miles on your TJ?