My intercooler for the a/c is leaking... well at least it was until it drained all the freeon now I dont use it because i dont like hot air in my face... so i took it to a local shop to see the damage and it was going to be close to 900 bucks in parts and labor. has anybody ever done this themselves before? From what i understand the intercooler is located behind the dash. How hard would this project be if I did it my self to save some labor cost? Or does anybody know of a site that offers an instructional in doing this?
Thanks!

 

Oh and I have a 2001 1500

 

https://dodgeforum.com/m_518807/tm.htm

Good luck with that. It's called the evaporator, btw.

Not sure of any write-ups about it, other than in the service manual.

 

It's a M A J O R job. Take video so you can remember where everything goes. I'd replace the heater core why you have it all torn apart.

Good luck

 

I changed mine on my 96 1500 and it took me about 8-9 hours total. You have to take the dash completely off of the inside of the truck and there is a plastic box that has the fan motor, heater core and evaporator in it. To remove the black plactic box, there are about 6 bolts that go through the fire wall. You also have to disconnect the heater core hoses and drain all of the 134a out of the system. GO AHEAD AND REPLACED THE HEATER CORE. If not, you will be doing this all over again when the heater core goes out a year and a half later, like what happened to me. Once it is re-installed, you will need a vaccuum pump to get all of the air out of the AC system, then fill it back up with 134a. You will also need to add a can of compressor oil, because you probably lost most of it when you let all of the 134a out of the system.

Other things to watch out for:
1) When disconecting the vaccuum lines remember which one goes on which connector. There are about 4 of them, each a different color. If you put them on wrong, the air will not blow out the correct vents. Such as defrost comes out the front, AC comes out the bottom, heat comes out defrost vents, Etc.
2) Drop the steering column under the dash to get it out of your way. It is only 2 - 10mm nuts holding it on.
3) Don't crush vaccuum line comming through firewall into cab. It will easily fall behind the black plastic box and when you re-install it, the vaccuum line won't have any vaccuum and your air vents won't work.
4) There is a bolt behind the PCM that hold the black box under the dash. Remove the PCM to get to the bolt, but don't remove the wires. It's just easier that way.

 

I'm not real sure what an evaporator is and what it does, but MY AC has been acting up a bit. It'll blow cold and I'll turn it down a bit. Once I turn it down to low, after a few minutes it'll seem like the blower is clogged or something. Hardly any air comes out of the dash at all. When this happens I switch it to blow on the window on high for a while and when I switch it back to the dash again it comes out fine.

Would a bad evaporator be causing this, or is it something else?

BTW: I have a 98

 

I can tell you it looks like a whole lotta work to get to it. My evaporator is stuck so its not letting all the cold air out, hence i have frozen pipes under the hood
. It does let some cold air in not alot but hey it keeps me cool. Oh yeah since my pipes freeze i turn it off and just run the fan while the pipes thaw. lol i havent even gotten an estimate from a shop since it works decent...besides its better to drive with the windows down to avoid a ticket for tints...