90LS400Lexus Posted August 11, 2004 Share Posted August 11, 2004 I know it will be too difficult of a job for me to tackle, considering it is under the dash board, but I am wondering if anyone here knows what all is involved when replacing this part? How much of the instrument panel has to be removed? I am wanting to know, incase I do decide to have it replaced- I would like to know in advance of what all of my car will have to be dismantled. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ronsadvice Posted August 11, 2004 Share Posted August 11, 2004 i have 90 LS400 with 84K. Just had the same repair done at independent Lexus mechanic = $700. this included a conversion to the new freon system. Would not even consider doing this myself and the repair sure does make a huge difference. You could store meat in the car! Great for this high heat cycle. Good Luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
90LS400Lexus Posted August 11, 2004 Author Share Posted August 11, 2004 i have 90 LS400 with 84K. Just had the same repair done at independent Lexus mechanic = $700. this included a conversion to the new freon system. Would not even consider doing this myself and the repair sure does make a huge difference. You could store meat in the car! Great for this high heat cycle. Good Luck Thanks. Do you know what all inside the car had to be removed? My Lexus dealer quoted the prevoius owner a price of $800 to replace it on my car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
obergc Posted August 12, 2004 Share Posted August 12, 2004 I replaced the expansion valve on my 93LS and it involves removing the evaporator from the car. You have to remove the lower subpanel (easy job), the glove box (a little tougher because you have to deal with the passenger air bag connectors to the left of the glove box), the a/c ducting that passes through the area, disconnect all of the electrical connectors in the area and there is a major electrical junction point in that area. It is naturally pretty tight working in the confined space under the dash but I was able to do it without any problem. You also have a/c gas lines to disconnect in the engine compartment. It is actually easier than it sounds BUT, I would never, never attempt the job unless you have the shop repair manuals at your side. You need the shop manuals to tell you where all the hidden bolts, etc. are and I think that anyone who would try the job without the manuals would butcher the job. From start to finish, it took me slightly over one hour to have the evaporator sitting on the ground. Installation is more difficult than removal because of the confined space and having to guide the gas connection fittings through the firewall. To tell you the truth, $800 to replace the evaporator sounds like a fair price to me considering that you have to vacate the system, refill the gas, leak check, etc during the job. Are you sure that they're not talking about replaceing the expansion valve instead of the evaporator? $800 sounds too cheap for a new evaporator including labor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
90LS400Lexus Posted August 12, 2004 Author Share Posted August 12, 2004 Thanks for the reply. My car is a 1990, so it does not have the passenger airbag, which may possibly make it easier, hence the $800 price. To me- $800 sounds to much to me for simply repairing one piece of A/C on a 14 year old car, but perhaps not. I have been very hesitant about paying out that much money- especially considering that something else may go wrong with the A/C unit. I was wanting to know what all had to be removed, so I would know what type of shop I should take it to if I did decide- because they all have different capabilities. Thanks again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Banshee365 Posted June 13, 2009 Share Posted June 13, 2009 Is the procedure pretty close to the same for a 96 model Evaporator? The factory manual says to remove both front seates, side interior trim, steering wheel and both airbags, entire dash and dash support to get it all out. Is it possible to remove the evaporator due to a leak by just removing the passanger side airbag, glovebox, etc...? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
90LS400Lexus Posted June 14, 2009 Author Share Posted June 14, 2009 Wow, that is an old thread... I sold that car 4 years ago (never got the evaporator replaced) and now I am on LS #2, with ICE COLD A/C! :) So far anyway and its already been converted to R134a. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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