Aircon evaporator blocked

[Donncha]

Hey guys, I have a 2011 D4D Hilux with what I believe is a blocked a/c evaporator rad.  Blower works in all 4 stages but is weak in each stage. Drain off plug is free and drops a lot of water but somehow still holds water in the duct under the drivers footwell and when I turn a sharp corner it spills it out the duct and on too the clutch pedal and floor and when I turn the other direction it spills out onto passenger side footwell.  Doesn’t look like an easy task to remove the evaporator and just wondering if there is any quick or easy solutions. Thanks 

[Jwaye2]

There is a product called Viper Evap+ which is designed to clean evaporators without removing them. Basically just spray it on to the evaporator and start the vehicle and it self cleans, but if its as bad as you made it sound it may not do much and it only comes in a 4L bottle and you need a foam gun to spray it with so probably end up costing almost as much as just getting someone to clean it out properly.

[campbeam]

Just did a quick internet search. Not sure if it is in the following URL but you could potentially have a blocked drainage pipe. Water in the footwell is a sign of this.

This makes sense because after the A/C has been running and you park the vehicle, there usually is a pool of water under the vehicle

 

https://macsworldwide.wordpress.com/2010/07/12/the-evaporator-is-an-important-part-of-your-car%E2%80%99s-ac-system/

[Tony Prodigy]

I wonder if the OP is aware it has a cabin filter ??

It's most likely blocked to buggery, hence his poor airflow and It is also possible that the drain point could be gunked up. It's hard communicating with one hit wonders who drop in for one question then you never hear back from them again...

[campbeam]

21 minutes ago, Tony Prodigy said:

you never hear back from them

It makes you appreciate those that make the effort to report back and advise what the end solution was and say Thank You. 

I do not mind helping anyone who ends up contributing to the knowledge base of this Forum. I learn and re-learn so much from this Forum. 

[Tony Prodigy]

Just now, campbeam said:

It makes you appreciate those that make the effort to report back and advise what the end solution was and say Thank You. 

I do not mind helping anyone who ends up contributing to the knowledge base of this Forum. I learn and re-learn so much from this Forum. 

For sure Ash. I'm always happy to help with what knowledge I've gained over the years. It does bother me too when someone knocks on the door here asking for help, then when we go off to have a think about a solution and come back, they're gone..

It is a little disrespectful actually, but who knows what circumstances OPs like this find themselves in, but for the least part, acknowledge the time someone has taken to assist. 

Not much to ask eh ?

[campbeam]

4 minutes ago, Tony Prodigy said:

for the least part, acknowledge the time someone has taken to assist. 

These days, I make a deliberate effort to be polite and considerate.

I call it payback for my past immature dumb behaviour over all of my younger years,

Something I never had was a self-entitled attitude.

No problem to social distance from lots of people with bad attitudes and behaviours.

 

[Tony Prodigy]

Just now, campbeam said:

These days, I make a deliberate effort to be polite and considerate.

I call it payback for my past immature dumb behaviour over all of my younger years,

 

 

I can concur with that. Been there too mate.. Age is a good cure for that I think. I look back at you my younger days and there is plenty I wish I could change but can't, so trying to be deliberately polite and considerate is a great start. I have also distanced myself from certain types of people who are kinda still stuck in a time warp of bad habits. I've long since moved on being a family man now and trying to lead by example for my little guy and also a young apprentice I have under my supervision where I work.

 

[Just0]

I have a 2007 hilux twin cab ute.

I've been getting annoying remarks from the missus about her feet getting wet.

I reckon it could be a blocked drainage pipe from the aircon. As there has been very little water under the car like usual.

How hard is it to get to and fix.

Never had a Toyota before and really have no idea where to start.

I've looked at a few google pages but always get American cars and solutions. 

WTF is a Vigo?

 

Any help from you guys (non-gender specifically intended) would be greatly appreciated. 

Cheers in advance.

 

[Tony Prodigy]

37 minutes ago, Just0 said:

I have a 2007 hilux twin cab ute.

I've been getting annoying remarks from the missus about her feet getting wet.

I reckon it could be a blocked drainage pipe from the aircon. As there has been very little water under the car like usual.

How hard is it to get to and fix.

Never had a Toyota before and really have no idea where to start.

I've looked at a few google pages but always get American cars and solutions. 

WTF is a Vigo?

 

Any help from you guys (non-gender specifically intended) would be greatly appreciated. 

Cheers in advance.

 

Depends how blocked it is. You can try shooting some compressed air up the A/C drainage hose that hangs underneath the car. That's what I call a reverse flush. It should dislodge whatever is covering the drainage exit at the bottom of the evap drain. I've no idea what your heat exchange box looks like so if you wanted to try and get in from the inside, you'll have to investigate this yourself unless someone else here has done it before. 

After you've shot the air in, you can shoot some all purpose cleaner up there if you like if you have a big enough syringe or something capable of squirting the liquid up there.

A dirty evap coil can lead to a blocked drain because the cabin filter may have been neglected or missing in some cases. The filter serves two purposes really. One is to clean the incoming air from dust/dirt and leaves and two, to keep the evap coil fins from closing up with dirt. If the fins get clogged, air cannot pass through the coil and the refrigerant cannot boil off effectively reducing your A/C cooling efficiency.

 

[ActionJackson]

Hi everyone, this is my first post but I thought I should get this info out there.

I had similar issues with my 2005 Hilux. It hasn't got the factory cabin filter so debris over time clogs up the evaporator.

This lead to poor cooling and a weak blower fan discharge as the first symptom, then the dreaded aircon trips off on hot days.

I had bubble free fluid in the receiver drier window up until the aircon amplifier trips the power to the compressor clutch. 

At that point I had no fluid in the window. (had gas checked and was confirmed ok)

This lead me to investigate further finding my Evaporator extremely clogged.

I removed:

1) Glove box (for access)

2) The blower fan. (simple to do and much needed clean required for me)

2) Partially removed the Blower housing (enough to see/reach the lower half of the evaporator)

(There is a spigot that the housing sits on and it needs to be lifted up off the spigot prior to lowering down)

Once access was gained I used a workshop vac and compressed air to clean the evaporator and enclosure in situ,

(surprisingly high amounts of gunk/leaf matter removed with roughly 80% blocked fins to start with)

I also blew out the drain line and all of the ducting as far as possible.

From there just restore the access gained and the results were fantastic. 

Twice the airflow and much cooler flow. 

(total time under 4 hours and could be quicker if you knew what you were doing)

Hope this helps people.....

 

 

[Tony Prodigy]

13 hours ago, ActionJackson said:

At that point I had no fluid in the window. (had gas checked and was confirmed ok)

I'm staggered how Toyota didn't bother with a cabin filter for the Hilux of that generation. It's pure contempt in my opinion, that it would be deemed unnecessary because it's a utilitarian vehicle, and such people are not worthy of filtered cabin air ??

Back to my point...
What you saw in the window would have been a full sight glass. The liquid drier ( which has the sight glass) will still indicate as full because if there's icing up occurring at the evap coil, this means the refrigerant isn't boiling off and is remaining mostly as a liquid and as such will back up.

During normal operation, you will tend to see some bubbling in the sight glass due to varying demands in load, or it can be slightly undercharged. 
Car refrigeration systems are what they call a critical charge and they have to be charged to an exact gram. Anything over or under will affect efficiency.

13 hours ago, ActionJackson said:

This lead me to investigate further finding my Evaporator extremely clogged

I applaud your effort to correct something that should never have occurred in the first place. I'd try and custom fit a filter if there was room enough to do it so prevent having to do this procedure again.

 

[TIDYWAZZA]

May I add a note re keeping A/C clean & free from bacteria build up ?  In my cars & our 32 motel air conditioners we use Simple Green  Air Con Cleaner. Completely safe with alloy & associated parts. Foams up has no toxic smell & rinses away itself.  Easy to use very reasonable in price you can even buy 750ml pump packs from Bunnings Warehouse.

[ActionJackson]

On 12/9/2022 at 4:46 AM, Tony Prodigy said:

Back to my point...
What you saw in the window would have been a full sight glass. The liquid drier ( which has the sight glass) will still indicate as full because if there's icing up occurring at the evap coil, this means the refrigerant isn't boiling off and is remaining mostly as a liquid and as such will back up.

It was certainly empty at my point of observation. I saw a few drops of oil slowly pass the window like a snail along the base of the pipe.

not sure what that meant for my system at that time. But now it’s still blowing cold and hasn’t tripped off yet.

Now I know how to remove the blower in around 10 minutes at a guess I’ll do it again and wash it thoroughly with simple green.

[CONROD]

Just a thought can you remove the Blower Fan and stick a length of garden hose in there with the other end in the end of the wifes vacuum cleaner and give it a good clean out, no responsibility accepted if the wife catches you