You only need some simple tools for this job but you will need to depressurise the air con system as you remove the air con evaporator. This is best done professionally but I was okay because mines had no gas in it anyway!
Tools you need are:
- Pliers, preferable long nosed ones
10 & 12mm sockets
Long extension and flexible joint for socket set
10 & 12mm ring spanners
Cross headed screwdriver
Where to start is the first hurdle as it seems like a daunting job but you should manage it in about 3-4 hours.
First remove the centre armrest, undoing the two screws under the ashtray and the two inside the armrest. Put this away somewhere safe. Next remove the centre piece from around the gear stick and put it somewhere safe. This can be tricky so take your time so as not to break it.
You now need to remove the rest of the centre tunnel. This is done by removing three screws from either side and the two outer ones from under the clock binnacle. You will need to disconnect the electrics as you go obviously.
Now you need to remove your glove compartment. This is done by squeezing in the sides so it drops down then removing the two screws you can see. The grey rail it sits on can also be removed by undoing the bolts and screws you can see but there is another 10mm bolt at the bottom outer edge of the dashboard. On mine this allowed me to wiggle the support rail off.
Now you can remove your evaporator through this gap. To release the evaporator there are two 12mm nuts which need undone top and bottom and two electrical connections. The evaporator is still held in place from the outside at this point so you need to look under the bonnet. There are two 10mm bolts holding the hose connections in place as well as a rubber outlet pipe. The 10mm bolts are on a diamond shaped piece just behind the battery and the rubber pipe is about 300mm (a foot) down under the water pipes for the heater. This just pulls off.
Returning to the foot well you can now slide the evaporator out by pulling gently from the bottom and rotating it as you pull. Good, now put that all to one side
To remove the pipes from the heater matrix you need to look under the bonnet at where they enter and they are held on by clips. This is where the long nosed pliers come in handy as the clips are tucked away under brake pipes and space can be limited.
Return to the inside of the car and you can see where the heater matrix sits. You are now one screw and a couple of nuts away from your goal. The matrix sits in a white box held on with four 12mm nuts. The two in the passenger foot well are reasonably easy to get at and should be removed completely. The two on the drivers’ side are a bigger pain to reach, especially the upper one, but these should just be loosened as they do not need to be removed completely. Once this has been done the whole unit can be gently levered out from the passenger side bulkhead. NOT REMOVED but just brought out enough for the matrix pipes no longer to be sitting through the holes in the bulkhead. On the unit, between the two matrix pipes you will find a plastic hinged clip holding the matrix in place. This can be removed by loosening off the screw and lifting it out of its pivot hole. This hinge piece has had a lot of heat over the years so it will be brittle and may well break. If it does it is no big deal. Now you can slide/ wiggle the heater matrix out and replace it with that nice new one.
As they say in all the best books, fitting is the reverse on the above. As I said, it can be time consuming but if you go about it in an organised way then 3-4 hours should be sufficient.
Spot on instructions followed exactly and job done!
