pyr0smurf Posted August 20, 2006 Report Share Posted August 20, 2006 it's unbeleiveable how hard it is to find any good information about this particular problem. Basically what happend is the freon leaked out, and I got the warning code on the dash, so I took it to a shop and the sniffer alerted on the evaporator, to which they could fix for me if I shelled out $1700. So I decided to remove it and re-install the new one myself, the only problem is I can't figure out how to get it out! I can't get the primary blower shroud thats located under the hood off because it hangs up on the cylinder head and if there is a couple bolts on the bottom of this bulkhead/shroud thing I can neither see them nor reach them., So I opted to try and get at it from inside the car under the glove box, removed the heatercore cover and thats as far as i've gotten with it so far. Can somebody PLEASE enlighten me on this procedure? I bought a haynes manual but it wasn't much help so I thought I'd give this forum a shot. Thanks all Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ranger Posted August 20, 2006 Report Share Posted August 20, 2006 I know this isn't what you want to hear, but I don't think the HVAC box on the firewall can be removed with the engine in the car. Others have discovered that when it began to deteriorate with age and tried to replace it. Haynes & Chiltons manuals are rather useless, as you have discovered. A FSM will give you much more info. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BodybyFisher Posted August 20, 2006 Report Share Posted August 20, 2006 Hmm this might be another thing for me to replace when i do the ISS. Its the only component I have not replaced on my AC system, as it is I am planning to replace the plastic HVAC cover that becomes brittle.. Just a note, my radiator shop does AC work, while I was there, they were doing two evaporator jobs. The mechanic did say her has done evaporators on Northstar cars, and if I ever needed to do it, he could do mine... That would never happen as I dont let shoe makers work on my car when I can help it. But I thought I would mention that. Does your car have the two dog bones at the top of the radiator support holding he engine? For some reason I dont think you do.. Pre-1995 - DTC codes OBD1 >> 1996 and newer - DTC codes OBD2 >> https://www.obd-codes.com/trouble_codes/gm/obd_codes.htm How to check for codes Caddyinfo How To Technical Archive >> http://www.caddyinfo.com/wordpress/cadillac-how-to-faq/ Cadillac History & Specifications Year by Year http://www.motorera.com/cadillac/index.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pyr0smurf Posted August 20, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 20, 2006 I know this isn't what you want to hear, but I don't think the HVAC box on the firewall can be removed with the engine in the car. Others have discovered that when it began to deteriorate with age and tried to replace it. Haynes & Chiltons manuals are rather useless, as you have discovered. A FSM will give you much more info. I was affraid of that, but was actually expecting to hear that. Is it possible to retrieve the evaporator from inside the car? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BodybyFisher Posted August 20, 2006 Report Share Posted August 20, 2006 I do not believe so, you can get the heater core out from under that dash but not the evaporator.. Pre-1995 - DTC codes OBD1 >> 1996 and newer - DTC codes OBD2 >> https://www.obd-codes.com/trouble_codes/gm/obd_codes.htm How to check for codes Caddyinfo How To Technical Archive >> http://www.caddyinfo.com/wordpress/cadillac-how-to-faq/ Cadillac History & Specifications Year by Year http://www.motorera.com/cadillac/index.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pyr0smurf Posted August 20, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 20, 2006 Hmm this might be another thing for me to replace when i do the ISS. Its the only component I have not replaced on my AC system, as it is I am planning to replace the plastic HVAC cover that becomes brittle.. Just a note, my radiator shop does AC work, while I was there, they were doing two evaporator jobs. The mechanic did say her has done evaporators on Northstar cars, and if I ever needed to do it, he could do mine... That would never happen as I dont let shoe makers work on my car when I can help it. But I thought I would mention that. Does your car have the two dog bones at the top of the radiator support holding he engine? For some reason I dont think you do.. Yes it does have the dogbones, grey in color. Why? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BodybyFisher Posted August 20, 2006 Report Share Posted August 20, 2006 Sometimes you can remove the dog bones (torque struts) and tilt the engine forward to gain some room near the firewall... Doing that in conjunction with removing the coil pack assembly, etc, maybe gain you enough room. See this tool: At etoolcart.com http://www.etoolcart.com/browseproducts/En...---THX419X.HTML At Lisle tools http://www.lislecorp.com/tool_detail.cfm?detail=864 Pre-1995 - DTC codes OBD1 >> 1996 and newer - DTC codes OBD2 >> https://www.obd-codes.com/trouble_codes/gm/obd_codes.htm How to check for codes Caddyinfo How To Technical Archive >> http://www.caddyinfo.com/wordpress/cadillac-how-to-faq/ Cadillac History & Specifications Year by Year http://www.motorera.com/cadillac/index.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barry94 Posted August 20, 2006 Report Share Posted August 20, 2006 Hi, I replaced the evaporator in my '94 STS several years ago. Service manual said to remove the engine, I did not do this. It's possible on an Seville (STS) to do without removing the engine. Here is the basic procedure. - Remove or disconnect the two top "dog bones" (engine mounts). - Remove the cooling fans. - The sub frame is attached to the body using approx 5 bolts on either side. - Loosen the two front most bolts (left and right sides) until they are a few threads from being removed. - Loosen the next pair about 10/20% less than the first pair. - Do this procedure (10/20% less than the previous pair) until you get to the rear most pair, which will only be loosened a few turns. This causes the frame to "slant/tilt" lower in the front than the rear. As the frame drops in the front (due to the loosening procedure), the engine will tilt forward. Mine almost touched the rad. (Reason for removing the cooling fans). You now have much more room to remove the fan motor and housing assembly. It's still a tight fit, however it can be done. Hopefully this procedure will work on your Deville. Barry 2008 STS V82016 Colorado Z711970 Corvette LT-1 Coupe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ranger Posted August 20, 2006 Report Share Posted August 20, 2006 Using the engine tilt method will get you about an inch or two without loosening any lower mounts, not sure how much you need. Also FWIW when I did the blower motor on my '97 Deville, I was able to tilt the engine with a small turnbuckle that I had on hand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pyr0smurf Posted August 20, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 20, 2006 Wow this sounds very promising. Phew! what a releif. Thankyou guys so much for help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn Delwood Posted May 12, 2012 Report Share Posted May 12, 2012 Greetings everyone, I'm wondering if anyone has any update on this particular issue. I might need to go through the same procedure and I would appreciate knowing any success stories with the evaporator core replacement. Thanks a bunch. Glenn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockfangd Posted May 13, 2012 Report Share Posted May 13, 2012 You know I would like to make a set of threaded studs to replace the subframe bolts while dropping the frame so you can control how much you lower each corner. and you can lower it further without losing alignment. GM FAN FOREVER Nice, clean, luxury= fine automobile Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KHE Posted May 14, 2012 Report Share Posted May 14, 2012 Are you positive the evaporator is bad? Most cars of that vintage have issues with the compressor case seals leaking. While the electronic leak detector went off when the probe was stuffed down the vent, that may be a minor leak (that could take years to leak down enough to cause a low refrigerant message) and the major leak could be elsewhere in the system. I would hate to go through all the work to replace the evaporator only to not solve the problem... Kevin '93 Fleetwood Brougham '05 Deville '04 Deville 2013 Silverado Z71 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn Delwood Posted May 14, 2012 Report Share Posted May 14, 2012 I took it to a GM dealer and they diagnosed it that way. I guess I should take it to a specialized AC shop first? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KHE Posted May 16, 2012 Report Share Posted May 16, 2012 I took it to a GM dealer and they diagnosed it that way. I guess I should take it to a specialized AC shop first? There can be a very slight evaporator leak that would take years to leak out enough refrigerant to cause a problem coupled with a larger leak that could be the real culprit. Bottom line is you want to be absolutely sure the problem is the evaporator before you go to the expense and work replacing it. Kevin '93 Fleetwood Brougham '05 Deville '04 Deville 2013 Silverado Z71 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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