Replaced my blower fan and now I'm getting serious!!

[sammy]

you might consider getting one of the vent covers that would stop alot of the junk getting into your system .

[a1991zr1]

i will tear mine done tonight sounds like a shitty but inexpensive fun project lol i will let ya all know

[Torchred96]

You won't be sorry. I'll tell ya right now, just cleaning it with a vacuum, air compressor, sprays etc won't do it.. In fact, when you get it apart, try to blow air through it after you clean it. I couldn't feel a difference with the before and after until I punched through the fins with a small, flat file about .030" thick. I put the file in a pair of vice grips for better punching power..you shouldnt distort the fins much at all, but you will be surprised how many are just clogged, even after cleaning.

If you do use the file idea, I assume you know you have to go between the vertical tubes or you will spring a quick leak. I had a bunch of metal filing that I had to wash out after the procedure.

Put a light behind the evaporator..if you cant see light through it, you won't get much air either .

There are two screws on the evaporator box that have to be gotten from the bottom..they are the only two. I had to take off the metal cover that covers the fuel filter and use a small wrench to reach up and get it with my left hand while lying on my back..It's slow, the the threads are coarse so it comes out fast. The 1" or so square cross memeber has to be unbolted.. It's 5 bolts, but all are easy to access (there's three under the right side hood latch..I didnt see that one. Take out the washer bottle and unplug it. Once you get all the nuts and bolts off the right half, the cover will come off, but it needs a little persuasion to get over the frame rail and the heater tubes..Just be careful not to break anything and only bend as you need to..take your time.
The heater hoses have to come off..sprayed with wd40 to help. I left one hose on the radiator tank

I know this sounds like a redneck cure..but it worked and worked very well.. Last night I said I got about 50 percent more air...That was before driving it and getting the extra air and RPMs. The improvement is far better than you will imagine. !!

[-=Jeff=-]

Evaporator info:

a Doc and a PDF from PurpleC4

http://vettextc.net/jeff/Evaporator/

[Torchred96]

Jeff..are you Purplec4? If so, thank you so much for the inspiration to tackle this job. It was really a piece of cake with your pics and instructions.

Like I said in a previous post...my evap was so clogged I opted to punch through about 70% of the fins with a thin flat file and took out the screens on the opposite side. The result is a flow of air that is even better than my 96's was. I hope that other people who think their z's ac are just weak from the factory try this simple cure.

Thanks again for the post!!

[-=Jeff=-]

No I am not, I know he sold his C4 and moved to a C5, but not sure after that. I was around the forums on Cf back then when he posted it

I am -=Jeff=- on most boards

[a1991zr1]

got mine tore down and was shocked at who crapp filled this was and was almost like tar. Used 6 cans of break lean and my air compressor and finally got air to blow through it. will post pics later camera battery has died and has to charge to recover pics

[mgbrv8]

I have always wondered if anyone has put a pusher fan in front of the condenser to help the efficiency?

Dave

[a1991zr1]

Originally Posted by mgbrv8

I have always wondered if anyone has put a pusher fan in front of the condenser to help the efficiency?

Dave

great idea I wonder if that would help. or if they make a high flow condensor

[Torchred96]

Before I did mine I was thinking the same thing, wondering if someone made a higher performance fan. I wonder why no one has done this yet.

a1991, did you you keep the screens that were in back of the evaporator? I took a pair of channel locks and pulled it out..it's glued to the back of the evaporator. In my car I believe there are 3 or 4 screens, one on top of the other...though they weren't clogged, I can't see how that in itself isnt a big hindrance to airflow.

When I changed my fan motor earlier in the day, I looked inside the evap housing with a light and mirror and it didn't look bad at all...in fact nothing like Purplec4's. But when I got it apart, I noticed even after cleaning it out, it didnt flow any air with my 5hp shop vac trying to push through it...so I knew I wasn't gonna be happy until i figured out how to get more air flow.

I'm glad you tore it down...Wasn't nearly as hard as I thought it was going to be.. I think I was more intimidated by that housing than the plenum pull.