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Too late for me; maybe not too late for you.
My ’98 V70 T5-M is now in my indie shop having the evaporator replaced. This is major surgery. My technician has field stripped the front of the cabin as well as a good bit of the engine compartment. It looks like a terrorist bomb went off in there. No one wants to go through this, if it is at all preventable. And the word from my tech is that it may have been preventable.
He showed me the failed evaporator. Apparently some leaf detritus had collected on the cooling fins which led to moisture retention which led to corrosion and metal failure. Leaf material is not supposed to get that far into the system. And then he showed me the cabin (pollen) filter housing. There is a rubber sealer around the filter opening. He found a portion of that sealer folded under the filter. This permitted the entry of leaf material. He explained that the sealer should remain outside the filter to seal it from such entries of foreign matter. Seems like a simple thing … but it probably led to a premature evaporator failure and will end up costing me a ton of $$$.
For the record, I have never changed this filter myself; it has always been done by my indie shop, but by a different technician. From now on, I think I will do it personally. Too much is at stake.
On the plus side, the degree of removals has permitted the repair a number of small “gremlins” which I could not previously get at, and which were not worth that level of removal. Also, since the entire dash must be removed, including the instrument cluster, this is a good time to relamp. I know, facia and instrument cluster removal are not that difficult, but why not take advantage of the opportunity?
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Dave in Virginia
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Just to provide some closure, here is the final damage:
Parts: Accumulator, evaporator, A/C pressure switch, R134A, etc. abt. $700
Labor: $960 This is in Norfolk VA. My indie's hourly rate is in the $60s. By comparison, the local dealership rate is $107.
Add some sales tax, and the grand total was $1695.64.
For that sum, I have received a partially refurbished A/C system AND a valuable lesson.
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Dave in Virginia; 1998 V70 T5(M): IPD MOTRONIC+ ECU Upgrade, Sport Muffler, IPD Strut Tower Brace; VDO Boost Gauge, IPD Anti-Sway Bars, Rocha ABS Control Unit, Koni FDS Struts and Shocks/// 1988 245 DL Wagon// 1967 MGB Roadster
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Did your indie mechanic take some of the blame? I hope so.
But, now you know why we like to DIY on smaller projects. When you do your owm work, hopefully you work slower and check that you do it correctly. Still, we make mistakes, even when we self check.
Replacing your own vacuum lines after 8-10 years of use is a good idea, just be careful and work slowly. Taking a cola or coffee break is a good idea, but only at a good break point, and keep that cell phone off - it will record missed calls or take a message for you.
As for cabin filters, it is a little difficult to only take 2 screws off and work in the dark. With just a little more time, you can take out more screws and verify that the intake shelf is clean as well as the area between the blower and filter.
What's the rush, you don't get paid by the hour. Your pay is in the satisfaction of doing a job right.
Klaus
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I still miss my 164 and my 854T. Just driving a V70R :)
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Hey Klaus, you of "be sure to change your cabin filter" fame. Is the cabin filter the one that I installed a box for on my '95 854T? Passenger side top of firewall, take some screws out and pry up the plastic panel? For the record, I never got around to putting a filter in the box ): Did they provide the box in my year? Kudos to you, by the way, for pointing this out to folks.
Anyway, just getting ready to receive my '98 and didn't want to retrace Dave's steps. That blows, so to speak.
On a related note to Dave's situation with access once ripped apart, I spoke with the current owner tonight, and he did the entire emmissions system when he had the intake off, and all the vacuum lines. Excellent.
Don
'05 V70 46.6K 2.5T auto going on autotrader tomorrow
'98 S70 57K T5 auto arriving this Saturday
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Don,
Quick question - You didn't like the V70?
Jim
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93 850GLT 108k, 90 244DL 281k and running well again :)
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It is a nice car, but no I didn't like it compared to my 850. I can't get comfortable in it - I'm tall. The gas and brake pedals are too close together, the seats aren't as comfortable as the 850 seats, and the door panel has a slope to the inset at the back - this causes pain to my elbow when I try to rest it there like I did with the 850, which is squared off. I don't like the way it handles either. I miss my 850 with the body lean that feels like it is going to tip over, yet grips the road like fly paper.
Part of the problem is I just don't need it. It is a horrible waste - I have driven it 1500 miles in 7 months. It was the stupidest thing I have done in a long time, other than speculating on Sirius stock.
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Don just needed a trunk to hide all of his money :)
Klaus
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I still miss my 164 and my 854T. Just driving a V70R :)
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Don,
The 1995 850 did not come with a cabin filter, much to the chagrin of the owners who have had the evaperator fail.
Your new car "should" be OK, but it is easy to check.
Your T5 has been brought up to "stage 0". That is a lot of work, and I noticed all of the silicone vacuum lines (red) that he installed. You have a beauty of a car and very fast :) Take good care of it, and bring it up to red line once in a while in 2nd gear to keep it happy, and a smile on your face as well.
When the temps get below zero in PA, keep that car in the garage. The reverse flow intercooler might just get iced up. But that is OK, because the rest of the time, that is the way the engine is supposed to work. I only wish I had the money to spend on my 1998 R. All it takes is about $5,000 in parts and a couple houndred hours of labor.
Keep it waxed, wash the inside of the windows, and have legal fun :)
Klaus
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I still miss my 164 and my 854T. Just driving a V70R :)
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Klaus - you explained this (cabin filter) to me three few years ago. I'm sorry for the bad memory. I had the best intentions to put the filter in, as I was very pleased to have functional A/C. I was put off by the cost of the off the shelf filter, as I recall. That car's A/C never had a problem in 13 years.
I'll ask the previous owner about the element.
Thanks for the tip on the new car - I didn't know that. I don't need to make any more expensive mistakes (:
Don
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