[xjguy98]

Well......I'm past the point of no return. Picked up all the junk I needed this morning and got started around supper tonight. I'll post pictures tomorrow but it took me about three and a half hours and I finally got the dash out. Actually that's a lie, it's still connected by one of the big body connectors on the left hand side. I removed the big bolt but I can't seem to separate the two halves so I left it and kinda swung the entire dash out of the way. I think I might have a problem with the clockspring because when I removed the steering column, the wheel rotated a bit so we'll see.

Only snag I ran into other than the body connector was when I tried to remove the steering wheel, one of the bolt holes for the puller was stripped so I skipped that step and left the wheel on the column......didn't end up being an issue tonight but if my clockspring needs to be replaced......I might have problems. Also, when the dash was resting on the shifter, I guess the weight was too much and I broke my switch panel but that's not a big deal either cuz I plan on getting one with 3 or 4 holes instead of 2.....no biggie.

I'm sure with all the tugging at wire harness connectors and moving stuff around that when everything goes back together, some stuff might not work but not too much I can do about that now is there? I think for the most part, it went pretty smoothly (knock on wood) The temp control cable wouldn't come off the blend air door bellcrank so I just disconnected it from the control head.

SOOOOO for tomorrow, it's drain the coolant, open up some A/C lines and hopefully I'll have the HVAC box on the bench by lunchtime. My plan for tomorrow is to have the accumulator, heater core and evaporator replaced and the HVAC box reinstalled by the time it gets dark....unless it rains again then it might set things back. Oh yeah, if I have time I'm gonna replace the other o-rings in the system (compressor and condenser o-rings) I figure since I have the system drained anyway, it can't hurt. So, for tonight.....that's where I'm at......long job for sure but not too bad so far. Pics to follow.....

[xjguy98]

Ok, so I started around 8 this morning, had a bit of trouble with the A/C lines and the heater hoses getting them disconnected but I managed to get the heater box removed as well as the accumulator. Threw the box on the bench and started to disassemble it. Got the two halves separated and removed the evaporator and heater core. Now for my question.....for those of you that have done this, what did you do with the chunk of foam that sits under the evaporator? Mine is in bad shape, the aft end is completely rotted away and the rest is all brittle and crumbly. Now I looked in the parts catalog and there is no such beast listed.....can I just turf it or is it required to control or block airflow around the box?

[AZ Jeff]

Originally Posted by xjguy98

Ok, so I started around 8 this morning, had a bit of trouble with the A/C lines and the heater hoses getting them disconnected but I managed to get the heater box removed as well as the accumulator. Threw the box on the bench and started to disassemble it. Got the two halves separated and removed the evaporator and heater core. Now for my question.....for those of you that have done this, what did you do with the chunk of foam that sits under the evaporator? Mine is in bad shape, the aft end is completely rotted away and the rest is all brittle and crumbly. Now I looked in the parts catalog and there is no such beast listed.....can I just turf it or is it required to control or block airflow around the box?

Its required to block airflow. Piece of closed-cell polyethylene foam (like in pool "noodles") is a good substitute.

[Gary2]

sounds like the same set up thats in the Dodge trucks . What I did was use weather striping with adheasive on one side that way it would stay where I put it .