condenser cleaning
Thread Starter
Drifting
Joined: Feb 2009
Posts: 1,302
Likes: 2
From: colchester CT
condenser cleaning
anyone out there have suggestions on a chemical cleaner to spray down the a/c condenser. It looks pretty nasty, bugs and road grime, if cleaned will it help car to run cooler/better? the new ones don't seem too expensive but I am throwing money at everything on this car, need to be more practical.
Race Director
Joined: Jun 1999
Posts: 14,924
Likes: 9
From: Merritt Ils Fl
Home Depot sells a spray cleaner for the evap coils of a home A/C system.Used one and to my surprise it worked very well. Might try something like that. I am sure you know these things are bottom feeders and suck up a little of everything,no, make that a lot of everything.Make sure the space between the condenser and the radiator are clean and free of trash.
Safety Car
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 3,759
Likes: 8
Home Depot sells a spray cleaner for the evap coils of a home A/C system.Used one and to my surprise it worked very well. Might try something like that. I am sure you know these things are bottom feeders and suck up a little of everything,no, make that a lot of everything.Make sure the space between the condenser and the radiator are clean and free of trash.
Anyone know if a steam cleaner would be a good or bad idea to clean this, and other things like the engine, radiator, etc?
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 5,043
Likes: 8
From: Tampa Florida
Home Depot sells a spray cleaner for the evap coils of a home A/C system.Used one and to my surprise it worked very well. Might try something like that. I am sure you know these things are bottom feeders and suck up a little of everything,no, make that a lot of everything.Make sure the space between the condenser and the radiator are clean and free of trash.
100% use a cleaner designed for coil cleaning and rinse with a regular garden hose when done.Do not use a pressure washer or compressed air on the fins....it will bend them over if your not extremely careful....your better off with a regular garden hose.
Safety Car
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 3,759
Likes: 8
Can you use that stuff on the outside of the radiator?
And what do you guys use to clean the evaporator that is by the blower fan? I think I need to clean that all out. I don't notice a smell when running the air conditioning. But I do know when it sits for a couple of days, it gets a musky smell. Which I'm guessing must be the HVAC. I think I'm gonna pull the blower motor side of the evaporator cover off to clean everything.
And what do you guys use to clean the evaporator that is by the blower fan? I think I need to clean that all out. I don't notice a smell when running the air conditioning. But I do know when it sits for a couple of days, it gets a musky smell. Which I'm guessing must be the HVAC. I think I'm gonna pull the blower motor side of the evaporator cover off to clean everything.
Last edited by samsonb; May 17, 2009 at 08:37 AM.
Drifting
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 1,294
Likes: 295
From: Galveston & Belton Texas
What is causing you to want to clean items up, exterior appearing grime and dirt or poorly operating A/C? Cleaning the condenser for airflow is extremely important but an internally restricted condenser is inefficient too. Sometimes a waste of effort to try to flush a condenser effectively. I think you can get new Delco for around $160 and a Delphi for $120. Believe I even found a place in Dallas that had certain condensers listed for $85. If your system is really old and you are having high high pressure reading, a new condenser is a pretty cheap way to go. I just put new condenser in my 84 and that is the coldest Texas air I have felt since I owned this car. The worst problem is throwing sporadic bits of money at problems to never have really solved the problem. And, in the end spending a lump sum of money again to finally solve the problem. Guess my point is, are you doing this for appearance or because of cooling issues?
Thread Starter
Drifting
Joined: Feb 2009
Posts: 1,302
Likes: 2
From: colchester CT
What is causing you to want to clean items up, exterior appearing grime and dirt or poorly operating A/C? Cleaning the condenser for airflow is extremely important but an internally restricted condenser is inefficient too. Sometimes a waste of effort to try to flush a condenser effectively. I think you can get new Delco for around $160 and a Delphi for $120. Believe I even found a place in Dallas that had certain condensers listed for $85. If your system is really old and you are having high high pressure reading, a new condenser is a pretty cheap way to go. I just put new condenser in my 84 and that is the coldest Texas air I have felt since I owned this car. The worst problem is throwing sporadic bits of money at problems to never have really solved the problem. And, in the end spending a lump sum of money again to finally solve the problem. Guess my point is, are you doing this for appearance or because of cooling issues?
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Safety Car
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 3,759
Likes: 8
Would it be worth it to straighten out all the little fins? I've got a few areas on the front of my condensor that the fins are smashed and folded over. I know I was reading an article on removing and cleaning the radiator. It recommended straightening all the little fins for max cooling capabilities.
I don't want to replace the condensor as it works, and I don't want to deal with the AC gas.
I don't want to replace the condensor as it works, and I don't want to deal with the AC gas.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 8,183
Likes: 3
From: Santa Maria, CA
Can you use that stuff on the outside of the radiator?
And what do you guys use to clean the evaporator that is by the blower fan? I think I need to clean that all out. I don't notice a smell when running the air conditioning. But I do know when it sits for a couple of days, it gets a musky smell. Which I'm guessing must be the HVAC. I think I'm gonna pull the blower motor side of the evaporator cover off to clean everything.
And what do you guys use to clean the evaporator that is by the blower fan? I think I need to clean that all out. I don't notice a smell when running the air conditioning. But I do know when it sits for a couple of days, it gets a musky smell. Which I'm guessing must be the HVAC. I think I'm gonna pull the blower motor side of the evaporator cover off to clean everything.
In this pic, you can see I split the case open.
Don't do that.
If you can figure out how to look down in there, you will be able to get a better idea of what might be going on in there.
Safety Car
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 3,759
Likes: 8
I can guarantee you that little coil will have a blanket of fuzz on the fins. For time being, you can remove 3 screws and remove the module.
In this pic, you can see I split the case open.
Don't do that.
If you can figure out how to look down in there, you will be able to get a better idea of what might be going on in there.
In this pic, you can see I split the case open.
Don't do that.
If you can figure out how to look down in there, you will be able to get a better idea of what might be going on in there.
But anyways, you need to split the passenger side cover off like you did to get an idea of how crudded up the evaperator is. I will probably pull the blower motor first to get an idea of what is on that side before I go any further.
When the car sits for a few days, it does get a musky smell that goes away when you drive it or leave the doors open. I don't notice a smell from the HVAC vents. But who knows. I haven't been able to track where the musky smell comes from, and figured it might be mold stuff from the blower motor area. Though it might be something in the carpet. I do plan on steam cleaning the carpet. I have one of those steam cleaners that has a small attachment for hard to reach areas.
