Horror pics: Eveporator Repair

Matticus91 · 08-30-2018, 11:04 AM

Jesus, is this an issue on all 1ers or just 128i's? I thought the condenser was up front, why do you need to remove the whole dash?

chris_flies · 08-30-2018, 11:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Matticus91

Jesus, is this an issue on all 1ers or just 128i's? I thought the condenser was up front, why do you need to remove the whole dash?

It's the Evaporator, silly you.

I think it's all 1-Series...

Esteban · 08-30-2018, 12:02 PM

We don't really hear about this happening a lot, do we? At least I don't recall many people needing this repair that have reported it on 1ADDICTS, and the 1er has been around since '08 here in the US. Maybe there's more occurrences on the E9x forum. I don't go over there much myself so I wouldn't know.

tracer bullet · 08-30-2018, 12:43 PM

Can you tell what happened specifically? Corrosion from the inside, from the outside, a broken plastic weld... I can't tell from the picture. I guess I am wondering if there's anything preventive that can be done.

Matticus91 · 08-30-2018, 12:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chris_flies

It's the Evaporator, silly you.

I think it's all 1-Series...

Wewps - my bad. That makes more sense!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Esteban

We don't really hear about this happening a lot, do we? At least I don't recall many people needing this repair that have reported it on 1ADDICTS, and the 1er has been around since '08 here in the US. Maybe there's more occurrences on the E9x forum. I don't go over there much myself so I wouldn't know.

Yeah I haven't seen this pop up much at all, and I'm on here way too often lol.

iminhell1 · 08-30-2018, 12:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Converted1

Is there any truth to the blower motor causing this issue? I heard that the brass bushing on the motor wears and drops the dust on the evap, causing galvanic corrosion. If this is the case can it be prevented by getting to the area and cleaning it?

Far as i know Brass is inert. So I doubt it's causing anything.

Looks to be the bottom of the core. So that would lead me to think that some issue with a poor drain may be culprit.

Esteban · 08-30-2018, 01:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Matticus91

Quote:

Originally Posted by chris_flies

It's the Evaporator, silly you.

I think it's all 1-Series...

Wewps - my bad. That makes more sense!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Esteban

We don't really hear about this happening a lot, do we? At least I don't recall many people needing this repair that have reported it on 1ADDICTS, and the 1er has been around since '08 here in the US. Maybe there's more occurrences on the E9x forum. I don't go over there much myself so I wouldn't know.

Yeah I haven't seen this pop up much at all, and I'm on here way too often lol.

Haha, you and me both!

519.E82 · 08-30-2018, 01:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Esteban

We don't really hear about this happening a lot, do we? At least I don't recall many people needing this repair that have reported it on 1ADDICTS, and the 1er has been around since '08 here in the US. Maybe there's more occurrences on the E9x forum. I don't go over there much myself so I wouldn't know.

I think a few of us have the issue (i think my self included) we just dont want to fix it for the reason originally shown

jkoral · 08-30-2018, 02:06 PM

As a reference point, a buddy of mine with an E46 had his done at the dealer last month for $3K. He also said they had to drop the whole dash.

bm996tt · 08-30-2018, 02:10 PM

Wouldn't want to do it but I've done complete dash swap outs and could handle this easy enough.

MightyMouseTech · 08-30-2018, 02:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 10"

EEK. Is this normal for that repair???? I am scared. Around 90k miles here on the 1M assuming we have the same evaporator

Same as the E90 basically. Very, very common. Guys here can do it in 6 hours.

crowtrobot · 08-30-2018, 03:30 PM

Good God, was just in a shop yesterday getting tires mounted and saw another 1er gutted, thought it was getting track prepped... Nope, evap. My AC isn't blowing so cold right now, pretty paranoid of the cause o_o

champignon · 08-30-2018, 07:01 PM

I've had a weird chemical-like smell in my 1M this entire driving system. It is worse on startup and then seems to dissipate, a bit, and especially worse if the car has sat for a few weeks without being driven. I haven't noticed any reduction in the cooling function. The car has less than 31K miles on it. There are no obvious mechanical problems with the car and it drives just fine.

My working assumption was that this had something to do with the climate control system and I'm guessing that it is either the evaporator or a leak in a pipe somewhere. I'm about to wash the car, seal it, and put it up on the lift for the winter, and deal with it next year when I take it in for its annual servicing.

Sounds like I might have to budget for a big repair . . . . or maybe I'll be lucky and it's something simpler.

Is there any risk of the car leaking some sort of fluid from underneath given these symptoms?

Gangplank · 08-30-2018, 08:05 PM

OP was your car a daily driver or stored for periods of time?

Also do you use the fresh air or recirculate setting? Or the Auto-sensing setting?

Lucky1 · 08-30-2018, 08:18 PM

Seen lots of posts of people with evaporator issues. They happen. My car needs an a/c recharge every year and now makes a huge whining noise with rpm increase/decrease. My mechanic told me not to fix the evaporator for this exact reason and holy shit was he right. No way in hell I would attempt to have that done unless the a/c totally bugged out.

What a nightmare! Sorry OP but you had no choice it seems. Think I threw up a little when I saw that.

KNS · 08-30-2018, 10:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MightyMouseTech

Same as the E90 basically. Very, very common. Guys here can do it in 6 hours.

So is the replacement evaporator an improved part?

My ‘04 E46 amazes me. I’m the original owner, it has 224,000 miles and the AC still blows ice cubes, colder than my 128i has ever been, in fact. I’ve never done a thing to the AC either. The only thing I do (as with every car I’ve ever owned) is to shut off the compressor (the snowflake button) and let just the fan continue to run for a couple of minutes before parking the car.

Lucky1 · 08-30-2018, 11:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KNS

Quote:

Originally Posted by MightyMouseTech

Same as the E90 basically. Very, very common. Guys here can do it in 6 hours.

So is the replacement evaporator an improved part?

My '04 E46 amazes me. I'm the original owner, it has 224,000 miles and the AC still blows ice cubes, colder than my 128i has ever been, in fact. I've never done a thing to the AC either. The only thing I do (as with every car I've ever owned) is to shut off the compressor (the snowflake button) and let just the fan continue to run for a couple of minutes before parking the car.

Original owner of an E46 with 224,000 miles? You sir are my hero.

Thunderguts · 08-30-2018, 11:49 PM

I always run my blower on 4 or 5 bars for at least a minute or two after turning off the A/C. I do this with all my cars, mainly to prevent mildew. Sadly I have no idea what happened to my 128i before I bought it. Any damage that was going to be done to the evaporator has already happened in the last 67k miles.

Zombie_Head · 08-31-2018, 04:38 AM

I remember doing this on my 1986 Porsche 944 Turbo.

A specialist was amazed that the whole system survived 20+ years of abuse and just a top up.

A few years later, the expansion valve started to give up, so we replaced the evap along with it, let me tell you one thing about 80s water cooled porsches....they are so many screws and in so many different lengths and head sizes...it was a nightmare figuring out which screw went where....

Happy Jose · 08-31-2018, 08:37 AM

I sure wouldn't do this repair for a 10 year old car! But if I did, I'd replace the evaporator, blower motor, and all the hoses that connect this mess together!

One thing for sure, I'd interrogate any shop I selected to ensure they have had experience making this repair. This is a miserable job for any tech. He has to position his body in a horrible contorted positions to do it.

I'd do one thing to make the dash more accessible, remove the seats!

Incidentally, your A/C will last longer if you use it 24/7/365, or just keep the auto climate control enabled. That way your system won't accumulate any moisture or rot.

Lucky1 · 08-31-2018, 10:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Happy Jose

I sure wouldn't do this repair for a 10 year old car! But if I did, I'd replace the evaporator, blower motor, and all the hoses that connect this mess together!

One thing for sure, I'd interrogate any shop I selected to ensure they have had experience making this repair. This is a miserable job for any tech. He has to position his body in a horrible contorted positions to do it.

I'd do one thing to make the dash more accessible, remove the seats!

Incidentally, your A/C will last longer if you use it 24/7/365, or just keep the auto climate control enabled. That way your system won't accumulate any moisture or rot.

As much as I hate paying stealership prices there's no way I'd ask my current indy's to do this. Only an indy that could prove they were a true BMW specialist and could prove to me they've done this before. Just feel that even if the dealership techs are inexperienced they at least have support resources from Munich to take apart and put everything back together properly.

chris_flies · 08-31-2018, 11:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Matticus91

and I'm on here way too often lol.

Aren't we all?

08-30-2018, 11:04 AM	#23
Matticus91 Brigadier General 3517 Rep 3,722 Posts Drives: 2013 135i Join Date: Aug 2015 Location: Washington DC iTrader: (6)	Jesus, is this an issue on all 1ers or just 128i's? I thought the condenser was up front, why do you need to remove the whole dash? __________________ "Tobias" 2013 135i ///M-Sport 6MT • Pure Stage 1 • XDI 35 HPFP • 404whp/440wtq IG: msteelio91
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08-30-2018, 12:02 PM	#25
Esteban Major General 53217 Rep 7,237 Posts Drives: a slow car fast Join Date: Jun 2014 Location: SoCal iTrader: (0)	We don't really hear about this happening a lot, do we? At least I don't recall many people needing this repair that have reported it on 1ADDICTS, and the 1er has been around since '08 here in the US. Maybe there's more occurrences on the E9x forum. I don't go over there much myself so I wouldn't know.
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08-30-2018, 12:43 PM	#26
tracer bullet Brigadier General 3667 Rep 4,209 Posts Drives: '25 Z4, '15 X3 35i (135i sold) Join Date: May 2011 Location: Saint Paul, MN iTrader: (1)	Can you tell what happened specifically? Corrosion from the inside, from the outside, a broken plastic weld... I can't tell from the picture. I guess I am wondering if there's anything preventive that can be done.
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08-30-2018, 02:06 PM	#31
jkoral Colonel 1116 Rep 2,034 Posts Drives: 2017 M2 LBB 6MT Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: MA iTrader: (7)	As a reference point, a buddy of mine with an E46 had his done at the dealer last month for $3K. He also said they had to drop the whole dash.
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08-30-2018, 02:10 PM	#32
bm996tt Private First Class 45 Rep 157 Posts Drives: 2013 135is Join Date: May 2017 Location: Pa iTrader: (0)	Wouldn't want to do it but I've done complete dash swap outs and could handle this easy enough.
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08-30-2018, 03:30 PM	#34
crowtrobot First Lieutenant 380 Rep 321 Posts Drives: 2008 M3 Join Date: Sep 2015 Location: Philly iTrader: (1)	Good God, was just in a shop yesterday getting tires mounted and saw another 1er gutted, thought it was getting track prepped... Nope, evap. My AC isn't blowing so cold right now, pretty paranoid of the cause o_o
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08-30-2018, 07:01 PM	#35
champignon Disrupter 1568 Rep 2,484 Posts Drives: 1M;Z3M Cp;135is Vert, 996TT Join Date: Jun 2015 Location: Idaho iTrader: (0)	I've had a weird chemical-like smell in my 1M this entire driving system. It is worse on startup and then seems to dissipate, a bit, and especially worse if the car has sat for a few weeks without being driven. I haven't noticed any reduction in the cooling function. The car has less than 31K miles on it. There are no obvious mechanical problems with the car and it drives just fine. My working assumption was that this had something to do with the climate control system and I'm guessing that it is either the evaporator or a leak in a pipe somewhere. I'm about to wash the car, seal it, and put it up on the lift for the winter, and deal with it next year when I take it in for its annual servicing. Sounds like I might have to budget for a big repair . . . . or maybe I'll be lucky and it's something simpler. Is there any risk of the car leaking some sort of fluid from underneath given these symptoms? __________________ Disappointing People for Two Centuries; 3 Pedal Fanatic
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08-30-2018, 08:05 PM	#36
Gangplank Brigadier General 1552 Rep 3,071 Posts Drives: 2011 e82 135i n55 Sport w/ DCT Join Date: Nov 2015 Location: Vero Beach, FL iTrader: (2) Garage List 2011 135i [0.00]	OP was your car a daily driver or stored for periods of time? Also do you use the fresh air or recirculate setting? Or the Auto-sensing setting? __________________ 2011 135i w/ DCT \| ZSP Sport Pkg \| PPK \| Ohlins R
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08-30-2018, 08:18 PM	#37
Lucky1 Colonel 700 Rep 2,105 Posts Drives: '08 M3 E90 Alpine White 6MT Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Toronto iTrader: (0) Garage List 2008 M3 [0.00] 2015 Porsche 911 Ca ... [0.00] 2006 Z4 M Roadster [0.00]	Seen lots of posts of people with evaporator issues. They happen. My car needs an a/c recharge every year and now makes a huge whining noise with rpm increase/decrease. My mechanic told me not to fix the evaporator for this exact reason and holy shit was he right. No way in hell I would attempt to have that done unless the a/c totally bugged out. What a nightmare! Sorry OP but you had no choice it seems. Think I threw up a little when I saw that.
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08-30-2018, 11:49 PM	#40
Thunderguts Major 851 Rep 1,022 Posts Drives: 2009 128i Sport MT Join Date: Jul 2018 Location: DFW iTrader: (0)	I always run my blower on 4 or 5 bars for at least a minute or two after turning off the A/C. I do this with all my cars, mainly to prevent mildew. Sadly I have no idea what happened to my 128i before I bought it. Any damage that was going to be done to the evaporator has already happened in the last 67k miles.
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08-31-2018, 04:38 AM	#41
Zombie_Head Captain 596 Rep 704 Posts Drives: E30 325i 4-Door Join Date: Dec 2017 Location: Bavaria iTrader: (0)	I remember doing this on my 1986 Porsche 944 Turbo. A specialist was amazed that the whole system survived 20+ years of abuse and just a top up. A few years later, the expansion valve started to give up, so we replaced the evap along with it, let me tell you one thing about 80s water cooled porsches....they are so many screws and in so many different lengths and head sizes...it was a nightmare figuring out which screw went where....
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08-31-2018, 08:37 AM	#42
Happy Jose Banned 116 Rep 334 Posts Drives: 2012 BMW 135i M-Sport Join Date: Feb 2018 Location: Waynesville, Ohio iTrader: (0)	Oh Da Horror! I sure wouldn't do this repair for a 10 year old car! But if I did, I'd replace the evaporator, blower motor, and all the hoses that connect this mess together! One thing for sure, I'd interrogate any shop I selected to ensure they have had experience making this repair. This is a miserable job for any tech. He has to position his body in a horrible contorted positions to do it. I'd do one thing to make the dash more accessible, remove the seats! Incidentally, your A/C will last longer if you use it 24/7/365, or just keep the auto climate control enabled. That way your system won't accumulate any moisture or rot. Last edited by Happy Jose; 08-31-2018 at 08:44 AM..
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