92'1stGen

I'd say that was definitely killing the systems ability to cool the cab properly. I trimmed the door to the evaporator out with a dremel and a cutting attachment with a depth gauge, (to prevent damaging the evap.), to get the main portion of the trash out. I then cut out two more doors, (labeled in red in the picture below), by the edge of the evaporator coils and in the duct just to the right of the heater core. I went ahead and removed the two panels (labeled blue in the picture below) so I could thoroughly clean inside these areas, as well as to remove as much of the dried up foam that runs along the top of the HVAC box as possible.

I also took each of the 4 vents off the system and reached into the tubes as far as I could and wiped out as much of the 20 years of dirt and dust build up as I could. On a side note, I noticed the tray on the bottom of the evaporator had a heavy layer of rust on it, but the evaporator itself looked fine and everything seemed to be sealed tight. After I was done I put everything back together and sealed up the doors with HVAC tape.

Now I wasn't expecting frigid temperatures from this thing as I haven't regularly used the a/c since 08', only heat out of the defrosters in the winter. The system itself hasn't been charged or checked since the summer of 05'. If I could at least get a decent breeze out of it, without foam pellets being shot at me, then I'd be happy. At least I'd know that I'd have a solid base to work with. But anyway, I took it for a drive through the neighborhood and back to the house, about a 3 mile round trip, and by the time I got to the end of the neighborhood to turn around and the a/c had pulled down to 67F on max in 95F heat. I thought that was pretty dang good. It wasn't frigid by any means, but it was enough to keep me comfortable in the cab and not sweat. This evening riding home at 9pm the a/c pulled down to 60F, and it was still about 90F outside.

Just thought I'd share my experience with cleaning out the HVAC.

MoPowa

holy!! That is nasty....you just convinced me to do this to my truck!

Charlie C

I think that I will do the same myself. The PO parked the truck under fir trees. I did clean the vent in front of the windshield and it was full of the fir needles.

JBradley500

i tried to do it another way this morning, and failed. taking out the air box isnt as easy as id hoped. got right to it and decided that i wouldnt mess with the hoses or anything and put it all back together.

sooty

TEMP SHOULD PULL DOWN TO 40* @ 90 AMBIENT TEMPERATURE, check sight glass for foaming, charge till clear

Onemoparnut

Holy crap thats alot of crap!!!

92'1stGen

When I would turn the defrosters on in the winter I would get one of those long leaves blown out of the suction grate every once in a while. I never expected to find that many inside the box though. When I would look inside the suction grate I couldn't see any of that stuff since it was so far to the left. Now when the fan is on max I can actually hear the air being sucked into the grate as I'm going down the road. Even though I could've completely cleaned the system by removing the HVAC entirely, I'm glad I didn't, because that's a big chore. I think as thorough of a cleaning as I was able to do will keep me from having to pull the HVAC, or at least pulling it anytime soon. I highly suggest doing this though, I'm completely amazed what a little cleaning has done to the whole system. It's awesome having a/c in this truck again.

Thanks, I'll remember that. I probably won't charge it this year, but it's definitely getting charge for next year. I actually think it cooled down faster to running temp then my 3rd Gen does, but it still wasn't as cold though.

The_Head

Is that a typical condition on these trucks or is the OP's case extreme?

BearKiller

Honestly, the "OP"s picture is actually a very mild case compared to many that I have cleaned.

Don't be surprised to find live snakes, lizards, or mice, either.


Actually, it would not be a bad idea to close all doors and windows and set off a "bug bomb" in the cab the day before doing this job; thus any creatures would be gassed to death and not run up your britches-leg or otherwise scare the whiz out of someone.

Bluedeviltorque

I like bear killers idea, since annoying creatures with more than two legs like to live in places like that around her. I'll have to drop a "bomb" in the truck before I go chop chop to the system.

Mike

ADMOPARMAN

I used Dzus fasteners to make a removeable door for mine.

BearKiller

By the way, what does the HV in "HVAC" mean ??


I thought HVAC was some form of central-air for homes.

Jim Lane

Heating, Ventilating, Air Conditioning

Grey Wolf

Do to the trees around here I clean mine out once a year....

BearKiller

For about fifty-cents/truck, Chrysler could have mounted a neat little clean-out door on these air-boxes.


Due to them opting to keep that fifty-cents to themselves, we get to saw our own hole and make our own cover.

Neat, huh ??