As many of know I've been tearing into the Argosy dash trying to get the dash A/C components removed so I can refurbish and repair various pieces and parts. Rather than put this in my restoration thread I thought it might be easier for future Argosy owners to find if it had it's own thread.
A lot of what I've managed to get done so far is due to the efforts of John (Shepherd57) and the fact that he has already been down this path and has been more than willing to share what he learned along the way. Once I knew the dash A/C system could be removed it made it easier for me to keep plugging away knowing that it could be done.
There were several reasons why I felt removing the A/C components was necessary. A couple of which can be seen in the pictures below. The air ducts were filled with mud dauber nests and the drain pipes from the evaporator box were plugged and because of the plugged drains there was a hinged fresh air door on the outside lower front edge of the evaporator box that was frozen part way open.
The following picture shows the A/C components that need to be removed. The system is made up of the evaporator box and the air plenum.
Now, to get the A/C components out of the dash you literally have to tear the entire dash top off and the front of the evaporator box as well. It also helps if the front of your motorhome has been removed as well. I'm not sure how easy it would be to get the evaporator box out if you only had the hood opening to work through. I've detailed most of the dash removal work in the following thread:
74 Argosy 20 motorhome restoration rebuild
Tearing into the dash is not for the timid
There were several times when I almost regretted tearing into it but after having seen what the inside of the evaporator box was like I'm glad I did.
The order of removal does make a difference. Preferably the evaporator box is removed first and then the air plenum. Doing it in reverse order (like I did) is more difficult, which unfortunately is my normal way of doing things
Had I taken the time to think about it first I would have done it in the preferred order
Before you can get to the screws holding the evaporator box in place you have to remove the plastic cover. The cover is held in place by four screws along the bottom edge and four screws along the side. Once the screws are removed the cover should come out relatively easily. There is a piece of insultion behind the cover that you will want to save for re-use.
Mine did have a battery control switch that was held in place by a couple of screws. I'm removing that switch for good and will be using a different means of managing the batteries.
The evaporator box is attached with 10 sheet metal screws from the inside of the cab. Four along the top and three on each lower corner. Plus there is one sheet metal screw that has to be removed from the drivers side of the evaporator box where a sheet metal divider plate is fastened, just above the expansion valve. This last screw is accessible from the engine compartment. The box edges were sealed on the outside with a tar type substance that is messy to work with. Keep in mind once those eleven screws are removed the evaporator box is going to drop like a rock!
While it is advisable to have someone assist in removing the evaporator box I managed to remove it by myself. I used a 2x4 wedged between the frame and the bottom of the evaporator box to hold it in place while I removed the 10 + 1 screws. It wasn't quite as heavy as I expected but you have to be careful when removing it due to the heater core pipes and the evaporator core pipes sticking out the drivers side. I was able to just pick the box up a little and let the 2x4 fall out of the way and then lifted the box out the front.
To be continued...