Well looks like the AC had a case of the black death. I am getting ready to change the whole system from condenser to evaporator. Everything looks pretty easy except the evaporator. Anyone know what all has to be done to replace the evaporator? Does the whole dash have to come out or can you get to it from under the dash?

 

If the evaporator doesn't have a hole in it I would just flush it and change everything else.

 

Really no way to flush it properly after a Black Death situation that I know of. Better to just replace the complete system.

 

Not quite so. The recommended repair for a Black Death failure is a "firewall forward" replacement, everything "except" the evaporator. The evaporator is, luckily, not destroyed with this failure mode.
Because of it's location in the system and it's operating temp, the crud doesn't bond to the inside of the evaporator. Very little contamination actually reaches it, thanks to the screens on the orifice tube.
Of course, you can replace it for peace of mind, but it's not necessary. I "think" you can remove the evaporator case from under the hood. I really don't remember.

By the way, kudos for wanting to do the repair "right". Many folks would try and shortcut the repair by flushing and reusing certain parts. (It's "only" the AC, right?) That often leads to disappointment and wasted money. Black Death is really ugly.
Best of luck.

 

Well I figure if I am into it this far might as well replace the whole setup. I have heard that you can possibly get by with a good flush of the evap but again I look at it and think that is is probably the hardest part to change. That being the case then might as well do it the first time and not take the chance it could contaminate the rest of the new system.

Be nice if I could take it out without removing the dash but most of what I have see calls for dash removal or at least pulling it away from the wall.

 

I like the way you think. "It's my truck, the part in question is the hardest part to get to, if I don't replace it I'll probably be sorry (Murphy's Law says so), so I might as well just do it and save myself some possible grief down the road".
I can relate. Mr. Murphy and I are twins that were separated at birth. I could write a book! Toms Law is "It WILL go wrong, so be prepared".

I've never had to replace an evaporator with a BD failure. If your truck is the "earlier', 96, 95, ..." body style, you can do it from under the hood, The "later", 98, 99, ..." trucks require removal of the instrument panel. I can never remember when the body style changed on the mid-late 90's trucks, but you should know what I mean.
Do a search for "Black Death" at Automotive AC Information Forum - ACKITS.COM. Most regular posters there are MVAC pros. Maybe even post your question there. They will most likely tell you to flush the evap. and leave it alone.
Like I said, there's good reason to replace the evaporator just for "peace of mind". If it's not a difficult job, it may be worth the effort just to know you did it.. If you have to pull the IP, you need to consider if you are being duly cautious or just overly fearful.

Tom

 

Ive repaired hundreds of these systems and NEVER replaced the Evap and rarely replaced the condenser. I replace accumulator, compressor, orifice and flush 99 percent of the time and that works fine. If it has an inline muffler in the system that muffler may be clogged and you could replace that if the system is REAL bad. If factory warranty doesnt require replacing all components you can be pretty sure you dont need to. They dont like to replace components repeatedly either on their dime.

 

I've got a 96 f250 with the same problem. What parts do I actually flush? Just the removable lines?