Hey Guys,
I am needing to change my expansion valve on my a/c and have no clue where it is? I know it is somewhere close to the evaporator. Is this something i can get to and change my self, or will the dealer have to do it?? How much of the dash has to be removed to get to the sucker?

thanks
Matt

Dumb question, why do you say the expansion valve needs changing?

It's in the evaporator case with the evap. Not sure how accessible it is.

My labor guide says it's around a 3.5 hour job.

Its Sticking in the closed position, shooting my high side pressures way over 300.
What is evolved getting to it?

What's the low side readings? Do you get any cooling?

The high side can go that high if there's a restriction in either the condenser or high side line (the liner collapses). If the drier's desiccant bag blows you'll plug the whole high side with crap and have no cooling either.

300 isn't uncommon on 134 systems, especially in hot weather. I've seen as high as 400 on initial start full load and as the load decreases (interior cools) the pressures usually stay in the 250 to 325 range. What is the charge level in the system, has it been recovered and weighed to know. Excessive charge will cause excessive high side readings and somewhat higher than normal low side readings.

Are both fans running at high speed when the pressure is up?

The expansion valve, typically won't just close on the high side, it balances itself, so if it was completely closed, the low side would fall into a vacuum.

To access the expansion valve the evaporator needs to be removed. Remove the glovebox, the blower box, then you can open the evap case and remove the evaporator.