Can't believe I can't find anything on forums about this... doesn't anyone work on cars anymore...

2006 Eclipse 2.4L, expansion valve is behind firewall. Requires full dash removal according to manual. Anyone have any success getting it off through the firewall?

Evaporator can be flushed in situ no problem. Expansion valve should be replaced when compressor is replaced.

 

no. if your (new) car stops, you replace sensors.
if you're american you also replace miscellaneous other **** that your cousin/neighbour/dealer told you to.
then you jump on the internet and complain.

as for your actual problem. it's a new car, so stuffed if i know.

 

lol. Frustrating sometimes. One would think there would be more information our here in cyberspace on this considering that ac systems get replaced all the time and the 4g cars are beginning to age. 2006 is hardly new though. 9 y/o car at this point with 130k miles.

FYI, High pressure relief valve is where the freon leaked out. Not intended to be a serviceable part on this car. Also, I don't want to just assume the valve is bad (I could just hunt a similar one down and replace it). Best to yank the parts at least and properly diagnose the system. On a DIY basis since I already have gauges, pump, etc. it is not that expensive to just swap the major components (replace compressor, drier, expansion valve, condenser, etc.). But, nobody in their right mind wants to disassemble the interior of the car to get one part!

Guess I will have to give it a whirl and see what happens. Will post back here again with results so that hopefully the next person will know.

 

youre a beautiful man.

 

OK, for future visitors... here is the scoop...

You can get the expansion valve out from the firewall side. But, it is not easy. Still faster and easier though than taking your entire dash apart (including messing with SRS harnesses and all). Also, there is an adapter block that is in front of the expansion valve. So, the order of attachments here are ac lines connect to adapter block, adapter block connects to the expansion valve, and the expansion valve connects to the evaporator.

To get the expansion valve out, remove the two ac lines that go into the adapter block. There are two nuts (10 mm I think). One for each line. After that there is a allen key head bolt (6 mm I think) that holds the adapter block in place. Remove all.

This is where it go tricky. You don't want to damage the adapter block because it gets used again. But, the adapter block is glued to a foam plug that seals us the hole in the firewall. It is thick, tough stuff. And it does not want to come out nicely.

I used a utility knife and cut around the block. Even then, it still would not come out nicely. So, I used a scrap piece of 1x1 aluminum angle (I am sure anything sturdy would do). I drilled two holes in it at the same spacing as the two threaded studs that stick out from the adapter block. Slipped it over the studs and put the original nuts back on. I used this angle to get a grip, and pulled hard. The adapter then came out.

From here there are two allen key head bolts (4 mm I think) that hold the expansion valve to the evaporator. Remove these, then wiggle the expansion valve out (took a little patience).

But, the fun does not end here! I really did not want to leave old o-rings on the evaporator core. Trying to get them off in that tight space was near impossible. What I did here was to break out my soldering iron that I use for smaller projects. I filed and bend the tip over like a small, pointy hook. When hot, all I had to do was tug just a little on the o-rings and they would cut loose. Putting new o-rings on just took a little fancy finger work. I put new ones on after flushing the evaporator.

Flushing the evaporator was actually really easy. I used a hose on one of the evaporator lines. I turned it down into a bucket under the car. I used the other evaporator line to shoot in pressurized flush (be sure to use the right flush fluid) until it flowed out the hose - plus some. Followed up with dry compressed air, let it sit for an hour at least, more air, etc. to make sure it is clean and dry. In the end I used a mirror to look up the lines and could see that everything inside was dry and squeaky clean.

 

My system lost all pressure when it when bad. If doing a job like this and there is still stuff in the system, one would need to go get the system evacuated before working on it.

In my case, my overall battle plan was:

1. Disconnect negative battery cable
2. Remove air intake that sits on the radiator upper support (front structure bar).
3. Remove hood latch.
4. Remove radiator upper support.
5. Remove ac lines at drier/condenser
6. Remove left and right underside plastic engine covers.
7. Remove drier/condenser (radiator does not need to come out or be drained at all).
8. Remove serpentine belt.
9. Remove ac lines at compressor.
10. Remove compressor.
11. Disconnect lines from expansion valve assembly.
12. Remove ac lines from engine bay.
13. Remove expansion valve.
14. Clean and flush the ac lines and evaporator.
15. Inspect old compressor (drain the oil out the ports and see if it is clean, dirty, etc. - let's you know what might be wrong).
16. Inspect the new compressor (check air gap, mine was okay at 0.3 mm... acceptable range is 0.3mm to 0.5 mm) (and drain it's oil to confirm amount... my system required 4.7 ounces for a total system replacement... new compressor had about the right amount).
17. Install the new compressor keeping the port covers in place.
18. Install the new condenser/drier assembly (keep the port covers on).
19. Install new o-rings on the evaporator. (use a little mineral oil on all o-rings... I used a q-tip to do this).
20. Install the new expansion valve.
21. Install new o-rings on the adapter block.
22. Install the adapter block.
23. Install new o-rings on all the ac lines (and run some dry compressed air through all lines again).
24. Install the ac lines at the adapter block (be sure to reconnect the low pressure switch!).
25. Install ac lines at compressor (remove the port covers here of course, not earlier... keeping the system clean is critical).
26. Install ac lines at the condenser/drier (remove the port covers now).
27. Turn compressor over by hand 20 times or more to get the oil inside to move around.
28. Install serpentine belt.
29. Attach gauge set and vacuum system for 10 minutes (approx.). I used the cheap venturi pump thing that connects to an air compressor... worked great.
30. Close the gauges, turn off pump, and let sit for 10 minutes. If there is no loss of vacuum in the system, all is good. Mine held perfectly.
31. Turn pump back on, open the gauges and vacuum for at least an hour (better safe than sorry).
32. Close gauges again and then turn off pump.
33. Let the system sit for a few minutes and confirm all is still good.
34. Check everything to make sure it is all tight and ready to go.
35. Reconnect the negative battery cable.
36. Start engine and put ac on max.
37. Charge the ac system with the right amount of R134a (mine wanted 19 ounces).
38. During the charging process you will see the ac kick in. Watch the gauge pressures to make sure everything looks spec. (follow the Mitsubishi information, not standard internet R134a specs you can find).
39. Confirm discharge air temp is right.
40. If all is good, reinstall radiator upper support, lower engine covers, etc.

Overall, this job was not that difficult. Having a written plan helped because the sequence is important in some areas like keeping the drier closed as long as possible in the process.

You will need to right tools too. Gauge set, air compressor, pump. All of this can pay for itself in one ac job, by the way. I had the air compressor, and previously bought the gauges and pump (bought both on Amazon... a basic Mastercool gauge set for about $80 and the pump was $25). I also bought an in-line oil/water separator for my air lines because my old one was not working so well and dry air is needed for blowing through the evaporator and ac lines. It was $10 on Amazon.

I got the ac compressor, condenser/drier (comes as a unit), o-rings, and expansion valve on Rock Auto. Picked up PAG oil (needed just a touch in the compressor to get the right amount for the system), R134a, and ac flush at local auto parts store.

Had the mineral oil at home (can't recall why, but oh well, had it.)

 

Final part of the saga...

On idle the car would make a really bad rattling noise. At first I thought oh s**t the new compressor is bad. But, I listened carefully and did the stethoscope thing with my tools... turns out it was the belt tension device. The belt on my engine was a little old, and measured a little over 75 inches. The new compressor pulley was slightly smaller diameter than the original. The tension device was basically hitting the stop on idle. Worst when under extra load when the ac was on.

I went to the store and got a new belt that I made sure was 74.5 inches long. Dayco 5060745 belt at the local store was the ticket. Problem solved. Car is nice and quiet... and air is blowing cold like it should.

Hope all this helps someone else. I am not that great at watching for replies but will do my best to respond if anyone posts a reply.

Cheers.

 

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thanks for this great and simple set of instructions on where and how to replace the expansion valve on 06 eclipse worked perfect and saved a ton of time not having to remove interior

 

Thank you for taking the time to post it, it helps me a lot, I really appreciate your time and will to share.