The front a/c evaporator gave up the ghost on me over the winter in my 2010 caravan. It's a basic single zone a/c with no rear air and no cabin filter. Can anyone tell me if you can replace it without removing the HVAC box once the dash is out. Like pull the top off while still in the van. Or does the box need to come out completely and be benched to disassemble. Looking to save myself some grief. Guess I should consider myself lucky it went this long. Thanks

 

The case has screws around the perimeter holding the 2 halves together. It’s probably not impossible to separate them while still in the vehicle but the biggest hassle will be working against the windshield while trying to get at the screws against the firewall.

Considering there’s only a few extra steps to remove the housing as an assembly, I don’t think it would save any hassle - you’ll still have to assemble it in vehicle, and that’s more difficult than separating it.

Make sure the foam seal around the evaporator (and heater core, for that matter) is in tact or replaced - gaps around the perimeter of the evaporator will allow air to get past it instead of going through it - that can lead to reduced AC performance.

 

Thanks for the info bench it is. Sigh. Getting to old for this.

 

You’re welcome. Good luck. An acetylene torch will speed up the removal process.

 

Yah that or trading it in. Problem is as a retired Chrysler mechanic I can never give up on them. Used to just buy the junkers off the back lot and fix them up. Drove those all my life. Hard to break old habits I guess. My last van was a '97 and drove it to the scrap yard with 425,000 km on it. Salt finally killed it. Sucks getting old. Drives me nuts if something doesn't work. Thanks for your help.

 

O.K. Finally got my parts together. I've looked online but get various answers. What's the total refrigerant oil charge for my 2010 caravan (it has single zone front A/C no rear a/c).I'm replacing the front evaporator, expansion valve, condenser and the drier but not the compressor so I know I won't need a full charge of R134a Pag 46 oil. Have owned it since new so I know no extra oil has ever been added. Yes I can drain and measure the oil in each component but just want to get it done. Wasn't there a formula like total oil minus 1oz for evaporator, 1oz for drier and 2oz for condenser? The oil amount isn't listed on the upper rad support decal. Thanks. GumbyRT you there?

 

Sorry for the late reply - lots of stuff happening at home.

If you still need to know, the recommendation is to add 2 oz oil for front evaporator replacement, BUT that’s on systems with rear AC as well. I’m not finding specific info for front zone only.

That said, they also recommend adding 1 ounce if the system has been leaking, so maybe 2 ounces will be fine.

 

Thanks for info GumbyRT all good. Same problem I had hard to find specific data. I was guessing 4 oz between Evaporator, Condenser and Drier. Wasn't sure because I didn't know the total factory oil charge. All that's left holding oil is the compressor after repairs and hard to tell what's leaked out. Based on your advise I'll scale it down. Thanks again.

 

Here’s a screenshot of the oil balancing chart. If you didn’t flush/replace anything but the evaporator then you’re probably fine adding 2 ounces. They note different capacities but make no distinction between evaporator replacement if it’s front only AC, so one would think 2 ounces is acceptable, but if you add the additional ounce due to the leak (not in the chart but noted elsewhere in service info) it may be too much.