My Private War: Operation SLR Evaporator (56k)

[blindside.AMG]

So I thought I’d share a little SLR project with you AF guys since you’ve known me before I even went to SLR training. I think I mentioned in that other thread that I was going to be a “back-up” to the original SLR technician…turns out I was wrong. He didn’t want to work on the car anymore so I’m pretty much the only one who works on it. It has its ups and downs. I love the experience but the hours can be long and very unrewarding (pay wise) at times.

So about two weeks ago we had 4, yes 4, SLR’s come in at around the same time. One was an early ’05 model that had 900 miles on it. Whoever owns it never drives it, in fact it didn’t even have up to date registration on it. The car sat in a garage for pretty much the entire time so when I came in to the shop it had 14 recall/service campaigns. So that took a fair bit of time but campaigns are campaigns, I have most of them down to a science. Another came in with a “fuel malfunction” lamp indication on the instrument cluster…turned out to just be a simple A/C hose since it had almost no refrigerant in it. The fuel is cooled by the A/C system so when the fuel sensors saw the fuel getting too hot it throws up the malfunction light. The third came in for like 2 campaigns and a rattle from the engine compartment, nothing big, just a heat shield hitting an intercooler.

Then there’s THIS car. Came in with a “fuel malfunction” light on like the other. I figured it was another A/C leak before I even looked at the car and ended up being right. The only difference is that as soon as I turned the A/C on a strong refrigerant/oil smell came shooting out of the A/C vents. My immediate reaction was “oh fuck!”. That smell coming through the vents can only mean one thing….evaporator. So I did the usual pressure checks and leak detection tests and came to the conclusion that it was the evaporator which requires removal of….well, you’ll see. I tell my foreman and he agrees with the diagnosis. So he gets on the horn to MBUSA and calls for a technical assistance rep to come out and verify it, a job this big needs the MB The rep spent another 6 hours with me and the car and finally gave me the ok to do the job. So I now present to you how to replace an A/C evaporator on the SLR :

Day 1:

First off, remove the left side fender:



That’ll give you room to remove the left muffler and heat shields:

(exhaust already removed in this photo)


I just thought the carbon fiber looked cool here:



Now dig your hands into that tiny hole to remove the heater hoses to the heater core and then to the A/C expansion valve on the fire wall…yeah, it’ll hurt like hell:



Good, now remove the steering wheel and center console assembly:



Don’t forget the left seat, carpet, and trim:









And now the right side:



Spaghetti under the right kick panel:



And who can forget to remove the entire trunk trim to gain access to the battery cables?:





Day 2:

Started the next morning by removing the entire dash assembly.





It comes out complete with dash and heater housing together. It’s insanely heavy, takes at least three to remove it safely without damaging panels:






Shot of the backside:



Open shot of that birds nest we saw early in the right kick panel:



Now remove the heater housing from the dash panel:



Dash carcass:



And this little bastard is what all the fuss is about. Such a small component and a small leak causes all this commotion:



And a shot of the scene:




After I took that last shot the MB rep came in to check out the operation just out of curiosity. This is only the third on in the country ever done, yay, I feel so lucky. Anyways, I ended today by installing the new evaporator and even got the dashboard put back in the car. Did a vacuum check to make sure no more leaks are present. The A/C system is now holding refrigerant and the car is ready to be put back together. I’ll update you with more pictures after work tomorrow. Hope you enjoyed.


Mods, this is posted here so everybody can see it. Move it to technical or SLR forums if you feel necessary.

[Oz]

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[Moppie]

Originally Posted by Oz

!

Yip.

Looks like a good reason to buy a Honda.

[ericn1300]

i hope this one is covered under warranty, could you imagine the bill for that?

[blindside.AMG]

Yeah, it's covered. Labor would cost around 50 hours is what I'm predicting. There's no set time for something like this...however long it takes you is what MBZ is going to pay.....+25%

[Toksin]

Fuck that, looks like a good reason to buy a new pair of shoes.

Great thread bro

[Andydg]

Wow! That is really impressive!

[93rollaracer]

To change on my car:
Unbolt compressor
Bolt on new compressor
The end.

Fast cars are awesome, but goddamn that's a big hassle for the AC.

[beef_bourito]

i wonder if the owner has any idea about any of this work.

[106spazzy]

Lovely pics, cheers

[blindside.AMG]

Update:

Spent Day 3 putting it all back together. Got all the wiring sorted and most of the instrument panel and center console assembly installed. First thing on Monday is getting the exhaust system back in and then I take the A/C for a little test run.

It almost looks like a car again!!!

[mike@af]

Thats awesome. Whats even more awesome is this thread is perfect reference to build a full detailed model SLR.

[TexasF355F1]

Un-fricking-believable! That is awesome. You know it looks like so much confusing work. But I bet you'd make it look like cake.

So when you say "test drive the a/c", does that mean you get to take the car out?

[tonioseven]

This is a cool thread

[mikemechanic]

Cool thread. You got all us modelers interested.

As a Chrysler tech I got some questions. How are the MB's flat rate times? How do regular MB times compare to the SLR times? How is the build quality of the SLR? What kind of training do you have to do in the US to become a tech? Here in Canada we do a 4 year apprenticeship program is your set-up the same?

Thanks.
Mike.