got an 03 3500 a/c evap core is bad. is this common? and how hard is it to replace . I know the dash need to come out but how long (hrs) is it going to take ,NONE of the shops around hear want to touch it> so im going to dig in

 

what are your symptoms? is the floorboard wet or do you hear freon leaking inside the cab?
There is a common issue with the drain plug getting clogged, either debris or critters making it a nest. I had a mud wasp make mine a home.

 

I keep loosing A/C charge it takes about 3 weeks and I have no A/C I put diein it and cant find a leak under the hood, leak detector only makes a sound in the cab

 

If you're going so far as to pull the dash.....SPEND THE $200 ON THE HEATER TREATERS AND DO IT WHILE IT'S APART!!! I took my time and R&R'd the dash in about 9 hrs. It's not hard at all and a digital camera will be your best friend if you find that you have a handful of screws left over in the end .

 

ya I was going to do the heater treaters even though my doors still work. 9 hrs? out and in ? I have been told up to 30 hrs, (hard to believe) ,camera ...good idea this has been a great truck 200,000 miles and very few problems at all

 

I can't find the link but there is post that has PDF from a guy on the TDR that give you the step by step insturction on removing it all to fix the door problems. It had AC in the title and about 3 year old. I used it and it took about 5.5 hours to take the dash off but it was my 1st time and being careful. Putting it back together took about 3 hours. It isn't hard just a lot of bolts and plastic to remove. If you have stick remove the shifter and plastic console 1st, will make it alot easier and then you can just put the dash in the front seat and should give you enough room.

 

thanks for the info .the 03 is an auto well I guess I will be looking at a long day

 

Well this doesn't sound all that fun. Once your done with the Heat Treater on that one, we might do the blend door in the 05. My co pilot would appreciate it. Maybe order both kits at the same time if you haven't already to save the shipping. Thanks.

 

No, should take nowhere near 30 hours. In fact, Dodge warranty only pays around 2.5 hours to change that evaporator. All in all, I personally find it to be a lot more agreeable a job than changing a transmission or brakes.

 

Just take your time and mark all of your electrical conections and do the camera thing because there are some screws that are hard to find and you will forget where they go. Once you have the dash laid back in the front seats it's just a matter of removing the plenum box and seperating the 2 halves....everything else is pretty much self-explanatory.

Just have some patience and you'll appreciate every minute of it in the end. You stated that your doors still worked but I promise you, they are on borrowed time!!!! You're doing the right thing by fixing this world-wide problem. Chris at Heater Treater is awesome to deal with and he will answer every question you might have.

 

Rebel,
When you finish, let us know how things went and if you had to replace things you weren't expecting. Also how much did you have to spend, how many hours, etc.

Art

 

Well,
To get to everything and see it, the dash top has to come off and there are screws that attached the defrost hoses to the dash top that are a pain. I used a 1/4 drive air ratchet and a 7mm mid socket to get most of them out then, broke the two in the middle (it was just easier). I had the whole dash apart and back together in 7 hours.

Smitty

 

I have had the the HVAC box out of my truck many times. Unfortunately, I'm very good at it as a result of experience. I can tell you without a doubt that the dash does NOT need to be removed from the truck in order to remove and install the HVAC box. The dash must be unbolted and the column dropped. The passenger side of the dash can be pulled back far enough to get your upper body in to undo the HVAC box mounts. As well, the only electrical connections that need to be disconnected are for the HVAC box itself. Everything else for the dash can remain intact other than the brake switch and OBD port connector. Both can remain connected but must be unclipped from their respective mounts to allow the dash to get pulled backwards.