NASTY evaporator !

[ah1988ford]

Pulled this out of our e-150, the a/c was smelling like wet dog/mold ....I think this may be why lol.
The blower motor housing was full of a hard mud like substance cleaned all of that out, the evap is beyond cleaning I tried,I cant see sunlight through it,gonna have to replace it. I am suprised the air was coming out of the vents as well as it was, it blew lightly and was slightly cool and smelled like

The a/c system isnt as scary as I thought it would be, knock on wood I havent put it back together yet.

 

[chris142]

Do you run the system on "vent" or "recirc"?

 

[ah1988ford]

Both, my father is the one who drives it so idk which one was used most. But the vans dont have a cabin air filter so all the garbage gets sucked up and cought up in there. Its not healthy. The rear a/c was fine everything back there was clean, I would have thought the rear would be worse than the front since that where all the dirt cement and manure goes.

 

[chris142]

IMO that could only happen with it on vent.

 

[smolkin]

Have you tried using HVAC coil cleaner on it? The foaming stuff we use at work would clean that up, might take a couple rounds though.

 

[ah1988ford]

I tried the foaming stuff for window units, it helped but didnt get deep inside the evap I tried compressed air and a hose, some 409 and lysol and there is still alot of gunk left on the surface and deep inside.
My father is a "perfectionist" so if it dosent look steril he wont let me put it back in lol.
Idk how leaves got in there though, mabey because it was on vent ?

 

[itsacrazyasian]

Looks like a E series with the little 4.2l V6!!! I still service a bunch of them. E250 extended wheel base hi top vans with the little 4.2. Kinda funny seeing a full float sterling axle with the v6.

FJC sells a product that you can regularly foam the evaporator up. I use it mostly on chrysler evaps since they are the worst with buildup. I've used it many many times on Ford products since they seem to be involved in dusty/severe conditions without cabin filters. It comes with a applicator tube, it'll squeeze in at the top of the evap inlet (by where the plastic meets the aluminum evaporator tube). One can per application. It'll foam like crazy and carry the dirt off. Wait an hour or so to let it do its thing and stop foaming, run the ac and let the condensate wash it all down. You should see the gunk that comes out the drain tubes.

 

[WhiskeyBottle2]

Cleaning the Evap

Pulled this out of our e-150, the a/c was smelling like wet dog/mold ....I think this may be why lol.
The blower motor housing was full of a hard mud like substance cleaned all of that out, the evap is beyond cleaning I tried,I cant see sunlight through it,gonna have to replace it. I am suprised the air was coming out of the vents as well as it was, it blew lightly and was slightly cool and smelled like

The a/c system isnt as scary as I thought it would be, knock on wood I havent put it back together yet.

Mine was like that...I boiled it in water and vinegar for 6 hrs....After the liquid came to a boil I slowly dropped the evap in...turned the heat down to a slow rolling boil for 6 hrs...She came out clean...You will have to add water and vinegar often to keep it submerged...

I used a 60/40 mix of water and vinegar...

 

[ah1988ford]

Right on the nose 4.2 lol, I look at it than the idi and I laugh....until its time to replace something than words come out.
I will try boiling it with vinegar, I dont have anything to loose I know it removes rust pretty well.

 

[Dave 001]

Why not use a pressure washer?

My '88 E350 was terrible for pine needles and leaves in the air intake. Every fall I had to pull the blower and clean it out. What a pain.

 

[riotwarrior]

Nasty is right....dirt and debris gets lodged in there and when it warms up after being used and turned off, the condensation I guess that can build then turns to a slurry that then gets worse and worse....yeeash...

Don't worry the truck cabs don't have a cabin filter either....that I"ve been able to locate

*****