[Xerix]

So around in June I fired up the A/C only to have tons of dust be thrown out of the vents. I thought at first it was just dusty because it sat in my garage for so long. After happening a couple more times I checked online to find that others had this issue as well. I am concluding that my evaporator is oxidizing, so need to replace it and hope to do so myself in the next week or so. I have already confirmed I have the Denso Evaporator and HEater Core by taking out the head unit.

However, I am thinking, if I have the dash apart to get the evaporator out, that I might as well replace the heater core as well (if needed). My question is... Is there any benefit to replacing it while I am at it? or has it been found that heater cores in an E90 335D do not fail often? Also, I am looking to get the TYC Evaporator off of RockAuto as it is the cheapest. I would also buy the Spectra Premium Heater Core from them as well if needed. Any input on the parts to replace with?

Thanks for the input.

[Daaaaaaaan]

It seems like only the evaporator was impacted by that issue. I'd assume we'd have more heater core discussions if they became problems too. While the manufacturer might be the same, it might be different plans or production lines, etc.

I wouldn't bother replacing it, but I'm not too big on the "let's replace this part since we're there" concept because then we'll be replacing the whole car part-by-part.

[Xerix]

Yea I was thinking the same thing. We will see when I take it all out.

I have another question, the TYC unit seems very inexpensive, but looks the same as the Denso unit. I even counted the damn channels and they are the same. Anyone replace their Denso unit with a TYC unit before?

Does anyone know what TYC quality is like?

Thanks,

[Xerix]

Small update. I bought the REIN evaporator as it turns out I was comparing against the wrong images. I will hopefully change it out within the week and post back how it works out.

[mainbearing]

Rein and TYC evaporators both share the same part number. I wonder what the difference is. TYC is reputable (I have used a starter, a blower motor and maybe a radiator I could not remember), and Rein sells a lot of Euro parts and I use many of those too. Where is your Rein made?

If you are going to tear into the dash to get the HVAC unit out, I would replace the heater core as well plus the expansion valve. There are Denso and Valeo heater core versions, I guess you will have to find out which one your car uses.

It does not look like the evaporator has different versions. Let us know how it goes and how long it takes you.

[Xerix]

Update on the replacement.

So the Rein unit was nearly identical. It had the same number of channels and similar foam padding all around. However, the pipes themselves were a little "off" and needed a little bending. The one pipe was a little further/longer away than the other which means they were not squared off to one another. So what I did was fit the expansion valve onto the ends and gently forced them to fit while tightening the screws which pulled them into alignment. I left that on for an hour before taking it apart and putting it all back together on the car. Hopefully the tension did not cause any damage to the weld between the pipes and the core.

The system was open to atmosphere for about 8 hours before it was cleaned, closed back up, and vacuumed. I put the system under vacuum myself to test for any leaks and for 1 day everything held fine. Took the car to the mechanic to have it vacuumed and recharged again and everything is working fine. Hopefully it will still be working and pressurized when the summer comes around!

The job took me 2 full days. Now that I know where the trim releases are etc... I feel I could do it in a full day on the weekend. But its still a long job. Not complicated by any means. In fact I was surprised so few screws hold everything together so well.

Note: The TYC unit had fewer channels from the pictures I saw online which is why I didn't get it.

[ryan stewart]

Man, a whole day to get in there? Ill be one of those who will just replace the heater core as well then, Id hate to have it have a failure shortly after and have to burn ANOTHER day.

[Xerix]

I didn't get any pictures of the heater core, but i looked at it and it looked fine. No oxidation or leaks at the bottom of the core air handler box. If I have to do it again one day then too bad. At least I know how to do it all etc...