Here are some pictures of my fix for the leaky evaporator box. Disassembing this thing is just auful-it looks like they started with the box and built the car around it! Just capture the water & drain it outside.

I started with half a Plano tackle box lid, whittled on it to fit and put a drain in the corner(threaded bushing from a light fixture). A short tube to the Oxygen sensor wire exit in the passenger side floor gets rid of the water.

With a less than $20. and only a few hours, I think the problem is solved. Band-aid?? - not for me. It works, is out of sight and carpet is dry. Only problem is that I have a tackle box w/half a lid.

 

That's awesome...

I did this 3 years ago, I made a tray out of a cut up milk jug...

Good going and welcome...

 

Im going to start on mine tonight. AC is must her in FL and I'm not forking out $2,000 and 10+ hrs of my labor to fix a drip. I'm going tackle box lid as well or whatever lid I can find.

Is the zip tie to keep one side elevated for draining purposes?

People might laugh at this but home AC units have been using secondary catch pans for ages. It not a permanent fix but it works.

 

Very clever

 

Yes, wire tie is to elevate left side + makes sure it stays in position. Only other thing holding it is the tight fit between floor and evap. box. I had to chamfer leading edge to insert it. I used 1/2 of Plano #3870 lid - need something 10+" wide & 7+" long.

Good luck

 

Nice fix. I'm not a mechanic but want to try this instead of spend thousands at the dealership to fix the leak. But I'm confused. Where are these pics? Passenger side? How much of the dash did you have to take apart? My leak is on the drivers side.

thx
Brian

 

Your leak likely is in the center where the box halves are"glued"together - but it seems it always runs to the drivers side. I slipped the plastic tray under this leaky seam, and routed the water to the passenger side. 2 of the pictures are pass. side showing routing of drain. one is left side to show placement of tray. You need to remove the lower dash on both sides and the center console to have good access to the area. There are detail pictures of this disassembly process on the forum. I probably have them bookmarked if you don't find them yourself. I think my pictures will be clear once you get in there. Secondary containment made a lot of sense to me rather that complete disassembly of the dash area, or the cost for someone else to do it. I still have the car - drain works perfectly!

Patches

 

It's a permanent fix for me. I see no reason it shouldn't outlast the car>

Patches

 

I've done this about a year ago with a take out aluminum food container. Been perfect this whole time. You can shape it into the perfect form to catch everything and drain to the bottom and out.

 

Hi folks,

I too have a leaking evaporator box on my '99 GS. I'm preparing to tackle the dash removal to either repair the box, or craft a secondary pan underneath. The best photographed dash removal I can find is here.

My question is: In order to gain access and work on the evaporator box, exactly how far into the tear-down do you really need to go?

For those who have done this job, can someone please enlighten me a bit on how far you really went? Removing the steering wheel intimidates me and not sure if its even necessary. Even the messing with passenger airbag makes me nervous.



Thank you!

-Brian

 

Brian - Secondary containment was the way for me. These are my pics from 2011, and still works fine. You can follow disassembly instructions somewhere on this site, but don't have to go near as far. Remove lower dash panels on both sides, pop retaining strips at both front doors for the carpet access, and remove the console. You should be able to pull the carpet back to where you can see the bottom of the box, and deal with it. Study the disassembly pics a bit-Lexus is sometimes strange about where they hide screws, and how things come apart.

Patches

 

Brian - Best disassembly article was "evaporator DIY w/Pics" by dcz from 8/8/10. Shows lots of detail, but most you won't need if you go the sec. containment route. Just looking at these Pics tells you which way to go! I am in Southwest FL - private message me if you have questions.

Patches

Patches

 

OOPS - just noticed that you found that site.

Patches

 

Patches,

Thanks for the reply and info. I feel better already. I can managed just the lower half of the dash. Trying to schedule an entire day (or two) of down time to do this.

Its been so hot lately, even under the carport is a sweating job.

I'll come back here and give a report when I have completed the job.


thanks again!


-Brian

 

Are you sure your HVAC drain is functioning correctly? Sounds like your box is filling up because the drain is plugged. The box is air tight, not water tight. Its not meant to be as there shouldn't be water that high in the box. Typically a coat hanger inserted in the drain to remove debris yields good results. For the time you spend with your 'secondary' fix, you could have just fixed it correctly. And I would be worried about all that water building up in the dash. Fix it right, its always a better plan.