The soft rubber is on the outside. Mine was actually a little dried out as well and it crumbled in a few places, but I just used some duct tape over those spots and along the line I cut when I put it back together. I did not remove the hard plastic; I just removed the screws and separated the two halves on the front side. As I mentioned, I used a bungie cord to pull the half that faces the engine inward toward the engine.

 

Thanks will try similar approach

 

Thanks that makes a lot more sense to me now. I think I know what I have to do to get the evaporator out now.

Does anyone have suggestion on if I should also replace the orifice tube($20) or use my old one? I am assuming the orifice tube is in the bottom line of the old evaporator and I will have to pull it out with pliers and place it in the new evaporator. Also is it suggested that I replace the accumulator while I am at it for another $23? I hear people suggest replacing it all the time when a compressor goes out. My system just has a small leak that has not revealed any dye with a visual inspection. I can smell an oily smell from the vents so I am certain it is a leaky evaporator. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

 

Yes, I would definitly replace the orifice tube. They are very inexpensive.

Also, you always want to replace the accumulator every time you open up the system. It has a desicant bag inside that draws moisture out of the system. It can only absorb so much moisture. Keep the caps on it until you are ready to make the connections and hook up the vacuum pump to keep it from drawing moisure out of the outside air.

 

Finally got my AC going again! Hopefully without the leaks. It is still not easy to change the evaporator, but I think by just opening up the box and prying the plastic back saves a lot of time.

When I did mine I removed all but one screw on the outer plastic case. I think I could have gotten away with leaving some in place. I also did not need to cut the outer box. I zip tied a bar clamp to one of the screw holes on the top and zip tied the other end to the front drivers inner fender. I kept tightening the bar clamp until I had enough room to remove the evaporator. I heard many loud cracks and pops as the plastic flexed but it did not break.

 

It seems you weren't happy with the way it got charged to begin with, so the shrader valve problem probably wouldn't have mattered. For commercial ac there is a toolto replace the valve without having to empry the system.
In your case, i think a shop can reclaim and install the shrader valve, then recharge very easily.
Cost shouldnt be to bad. I know after doing the work yourself you dont want to spend more for something simple. I know i just did a lot of ac work, thought i had to pull the evap due to broken orrifice. I eventually got the orrifice out, flushed evap and condenser, installed new evap tube, orrifice, hoses, accum. Put everything back, pulled vacuum and its not holding, i brought the car to mechanic, he said he will try and fond the leak and let me know, i may have damaged the evap trying to remove the broken orrifice. I will rely on a mechanic, they have that $4000 machine. At least to decide my next step.
I could have added my own leak dye, but since i just did all that i didnt want to add more stuff into a system i just meticulously cleaned. The system lost vacuum in 10 minutes so i was told that its a big leak, so a small pressurization, should come up as an aubible leak and may need an ultrasonic leak detector to find. Who knows the mechanic may add dye anyhow.

 

Well since the first shop did not give me a reason why my AC was not cold I took it to a different shop. There the AC tech says the compressor is bad and that is why it will not get cold. He gave me a good quote on replacing the compressor so I am going to have him do that work. It should all work at that point and I will not have to worry about leaks or weak compressors anymore.

 

A rebuilt is about 180 for the part, usually a rebuilt delphi harridon hr 6. Rebuilt by 4 seasons. I have read that those compressors are known as body leakers. Some other companies make compatible compressors, more expensive that have 10 cylinders and pins that hold the compessor together to prevent binding and leaks. You know it leaked if there is black grease and oil all over the mounting bracket.
Its worth just letting the mechanic do it if you can limit the cost scope of work. Good luck

 

Trick to remove stubborn Expansion Tube. With collector removed, 90 psi air pressure on exit tube of evaporator will blow the expansion tube out.

 

any way these pictures can be emailed to me? I am having the same problem & would like to see how hard the job could be. thanks