AC Leak: Remove Interior Panels for Repair

Hello everyone,

"The air conditioning system in my Audi 80 1Z has been slowly failing (refrigerant leak). I had it checked and refilled at a workshop. It worked perfectly for 4 weeks, but then it stopped working again. Now, the workshop technicians searched for the leak (using a contrast dye). They found everything to be sealed in the engine compartment. They only noticed a slight issue at the condensate drain of the evaporator."

Okay, here are a few quick questions about that:
"Has anyone ever experienced something like this before, and if so, how did they fix it?"
b, Wie kann eigentlich das Kühlmittel am Kondenswasserauslauf rauskommen? Defekte Dichtung im Verdampfer? Could that be possible?
"If condition b is true, then I would have to remove the interior trim. I've tried to start that before, but wow, it's a huge job. The biggest problem I have is that I have no idea where everything is screwed and attached. Does anyone have a tip or a link to a good guide on how to do this?"

Thank you very much to the community for your help.

Best regards,
Markus.

Hi!

Quote:

Now, I have a few short questions about that: "Has anyone ever experienced something like this before, and if so, how did they fix it?" b, Wie kann eigentlich das Kühlmittel am Kondenswasserauslauf rauskommen? Defekte Dichtung im Verdampfer? Could that be possible? "If condition b is true, then I would have to remove the interior trim. I've already tried to start doing that once. But wow, that's a huge job. The biggest problem I have is that I have no idea where everything is screwed or fastened. Does anyone have a tip or a link to a good guide on how to do it?"

a) Yes, that can happen sometimes. There's nothing to repair in that case. It requires a replacement. So, you need to remove the entire A-panel, open the heat exchanger housing, and replace the evaporator.

b) A leak in the evaporator allows the refrigerant, along with the phosphorus compound, to come into contact with the condensate water, which then drips out through the drain and onto the street...
There are no gaskets on the evaporator; it's all a single piece connected to the expansion valve. So, it can only be a rupture or a crack in a weld seam.

c) A real guide is probably only available in the repair manual. I highly recommend using a digital camera extensively during the repair to document all cables, clips, and all the insulation material, so you can put everything back in the correct position.


Best regards,
pretzel