Do-it-yourself Air Condition Refresher?

[St Thicket]

I've seen some companies advertising about air condition refreshing. Is this something that can be done by ourself?

Both my cars would need some refreshing, so I was wondering if there is some substance that can be bought at a retailer? I've heard that it is only some sort of gas that kill germs or something. Somehow, the germs enjoy living in the air condition, and they smell when it's fired up...

Also, does anyone know a good air freshener? My Corolla smells funny even when the AC is off, and it would be nice to have another more pleasant smell than old cigarette smoke and sweat...

Any suggestions?

[bothwell_buyer]

I'd have a look at some of the chemicals that are used in house cleaning. What you are doing is just cleaning fabric, or killing smell. I use an ozone generator to kill smells in a room in the house - not suitable for plants or for people staying in the room when its on, but it does kill off smells.

Theres sprays that do much the same idea.

As for the a/c - I think its been posted here before?

Or you could try what happened to me once - a kind person gave me a bottle of pernod as a thankyou for doing some work....and I put it in the cabin of my van. In the summer heat, the bottle got into direct sunlight and exploded! Had a smell of pernod for months after!!! Try it with a bottle of whisky??

[St Thicket]

As for the a/c - I think its been posted here before?

I tried searching, but didn't find anything of relevance. What should I search for?

Or you could try what happened to me once - a kind person gave me a bottle of pernod as a thankyou for doing some work....and I put it in the cabin of my van. In the summer heat, the bottle got into direct sunlight and exploded! Had a smell of pernod for months after!!! Try it with a bottle of whisky??

Funny! If the cops would pull you over, then they wouldn't even ask for a blood sample before putting you in jail.

My plan is to rinse the carpets and seats when the air gets warmer, maybe April or May. But for now I would like to clean the AC and get some sort of air freshener...

[bothwell_buyer]

have a look at this one -

cabin filter which is in the pinned section.

or this one air filter smells

and here's another one doggy smell which has Kingo selling an anti-smell solution

[St Thicket]

and here's another one doggy smell which has Kingo selling an anti-smell solution

More like the thing I'm looking for. Unfortunately the link didn't work, so I have no idea of exactly what it is.

[bothwell_buyer]

and here's another one doggy smell which has Kingo selling an anti-smell solution

More like the thing I'm looking for. Unfortunately the link didn't work, so I have no idea of exactly what it is.

Its a link to a Lindop page which is n/a now.

Try PM ing Parts King

[Parts-King]

That was an old link to our website, when we get our shop working properly we will post up a new link

In the mean time if you want one, I can supply an air con bomb for about £20, you set it off inside the car with the heater and A/C running, the chemical is then circulated through all the air ducts and kills any bacteria (The stuff that makes it niff a bit!)

Kingo

[Bodgit-fixit-run]

You can buy an aerosol from most motor factors which you set off in the passenger bay. With the car running and air con on. Just folow the instructions on the can.

Cleans the air con and sweetens the car as well. Make sure you aren't sitting in the car when you set it off though cos it won't do you any good. Certainly not helpful for the arm pits.

[St Thicket]

I went to my local Toyota dealer (that I never use because of terrible service), and they were to my surprise quite helpful. I ended up buying a can of some spray that I place behind the seat with the air codition on full. This is mostly to get a nice odour of Apple instead of cigarette smoke and sweat.

For the air condition cleaning, I bought a bottle of some kind of foam, which is a genuine Toyota part (PZ447-00PF0-05Y). The guy told me that i should use the supplied tube and spray the foam up through the vent above the air filter. Then I should leave the air condition running for a while. Has anyone done this before? Is this explanation good enough, or are there other things I should consider?

[Parts-King]

I have to say that Toyota genuine A/C cleaner is not the best, it relies on you shovving a hose up yer vent! ....so to speak

It does the same sort of job as the "Bombs" but not quite as efficient. You should change your pollen filter at the same time

Kingo

[St Thicket]

I have to say that Toyota genuine A/C cleaner is not the best, it relies on you shovving a hose up yer vent! ....so to speak

It does the same sort of job as the "Bombs" but not quite as efficient. You should change your pollen filter at the same time

Kingo

My car was serviced two weeks ago, so I expect that the filter should be OK. A nice opportunity to check if they've done their job :)

I'll try the foam anyway now that I've bought it. I need to acquire some experience with the different methods... :D

[Bodgit-fixit-run]

Put a few coffee granules in the polen filter and you could have that refreshing Maxwell House aroma everytime you drive. :lol: :lol:

[St Thicket]

I tried the foam spray today. Took out the filter, positioned the tube up the vent, started the fan and then sprayed.

Unfortunately when I pulled out the tube, I was incautious, so that the tube got stuck in the fan, making a horrific noise! I rushed to turn off the fan, and managed to pull out the parts left of the tube, while of course swearing the worst north-Norwegian you can ever imagine...

When I turned on the fan again, it sounded OK, but when Increased the speed, it became more and more evident that something was wrong. The fan is now vibrating so bad that the dashboard shakes. I tried to feel the fan with my hand to see if there was any debris that could cause this vibration, but the only thing I felt was a blade missing! The £1000 question now is how much a new motor/fan-assy will cost...

I must be the stupidest f**k out there, and shouldn't be allowed to tinker with cars at all... I should stick to electronics...

[anchorman]

Don't worry mate you can sort it out.

The fan and motor assembley is usually quite easy to get out of Jap cars. Look where the wires go to the bottom and you can make out the shape of the fan motor. There is usually 3 screws and the motor and fan will drop out. Get a fan off Kingo and it either screws on or is pressed onto the motor spindle.

If you take some photos of up under the heater I will mark out the screws for you.

Cheers

[Bodgit-fixit-run]

I tried the foam spray today. Took out the filter, positioned the tube up the vent, started the fan and then sprayed.

Unfortunately when I pulled out the tube, I was incautious, so that the tube got stuck in the fan, making a horrific noise! I rushed to turn off the fan, and managed to pull out the parts left of the tube, while of course swearing the worst north-Norwegian you can ever imagine...

When I turned on the fan again, it sounded OK, but when Increased the speed, it became more and more evident that something was wrong. The fan is now vibrating so bad that the dashboard shakes. I tried to feel the fan with my hand to see if there was any debris that could cause this vibration, but the only thing I felt was a blade missing! The £1000 question now is how much a new motor/fan-assy will cost...

I must be the stupidest f**k out there, and shouldn't be allowed to tinker with cars at all... I should stick to electronics...

I'm just glad I'm not the only person who !Removed! up occasionally. At least you had a go and it is sortable. Keep going

[bothwell_buyer]

Enoughs enuf.

Buy a landrover - they don't have heaters or fans. problem solved :lol2: :lol2: :lol2: :lol2: :lol2: :lol2: :lol2: :lol2: :lol2: :lol2: :lol2: I did!!

You just set light to the diesel puddle in the back!

apologies to the landrover forum who banned me - I know not why??

[St Thicket]

Don't worry mate you can sort it out.

The fan and motor assembley is usually quite easy to get out of Jap cars. Look where the wires go to the bottom and you can make out the shape of the fan motor. There is usually 3 screws and the motor and fan will drop out. Get a fan off Kingo and it either screws on or is pressed onto the motor spindle.

If you take some photos of up under the heater I will mark out the screws for you.

Cheers

Thanks anchorman!

I've had a look through my service manual, and it looks like it is quite easy to get the motor out. Unfortunately the ECU is located directly underneath the fan/motor assembly, so it's not as easy as cutting a hole. I need to disassemble the dashboard, and take out the whole air-module.

I don't know, I'll have a more thorough look when it gets light outside.

cheers

[Parts-King]

Were you working on the RAV or Corolla? I just did a quick pricing job on the RAV

About £220 A different motor on left hand drive too!!!

Kingo

[St Thicket]

Were you working on the RAV or Corolla? I just did a quick pricing job on the RAV

About £220 A different motor on left hand drive too!!!

Kingo

Dang! Why are toyota parts so expensive?

Is it possible to buy the fan alone? It's my Corolla by the way.

[St Thicket]

Were you working on the RAV or Corolla? I just did a quick pricing job on the RAV

About £220 A different motor on left hand drive too!!!

Kingo

Dang! Why are toyota parts so expensive?

Is it possible to buy the fan alone? It's my Corolla by the way.

I've talked to my local dealer, and they wanted £300 for the fan motor... not that I expected it to be cheaper.

Aftewards I called a scrappie, and they wanted £80 for the whole blower unit, which I thought was a fair price I don't care if it's used as long as it does the job. Now, for the installation... any volunteers?

[Parts-King]

Just install the fan/motor......much easier than swapping the whole heater unit

Sould'nt take you too long......Good luck..............and mind where you shove yer wand next time

Kingo

[St Thicket]

...and mind where you shove yer wand next time

Thanks for the advice :P

[three5]

I tried the foam spray today. Took out the filter, positioned the tube up the vent, started the fan and then sprayed.

Unfortunately when I pulled out the tube, I was incautious, so that the tube got stuck in the fan, making a horrific noise! I rushed to turn off the fan, and managed to pull out the parts left of the tube, while of course swearing the worst north-Norwegian you can ever imagine...

When I turned on the fan again, it sounded OK, but when Increased the speed, it became more and more evident that something was wrong. The fan is now vibrating so bad that the dashboard shakes. I tried to feel the fan with my hand to see if there was any debris that could cause this vibration, but the only thing I felt was a blade missing! The £1000 question now is how much a new motor/fan-assy will cost...

I must be the stupidest f**k out there, and shouldn't be allowed to tinker with cars at all... I should stick to electronics...

Hi Fella,

bad luck - 'number of times that I've thought "that was a rather silly idea" when I've got myself into a hole like that. HOWEVER - It's given me a considerable amount of experience of sorting co*k-ups out. I see from your post below that youve managed to get a second hand unit. If you are ever faced with the same problem again you could try removing the fan/motor unit and rebalancing it by adding some weight, say a small nut and bolt, where the blade is missing. If you use one that is not heavy enough initially, you can either add extra nuts and/or washers to get the correct weight. It would probably be easiest to mount the motor in a vice ( or something ) and rig up a suitable power supply. I think that you should be able to get it accurately enough balanced to cover up the problem without too much of a problem. Good luck.

[St Thicket]

Hi Fella,

bad luck - 'number of times that I've thought "that was a rather silly idea" when I've got myself into a hole like that. HOWEVER - It's given me a considerable amount of experience of sorting co*k-ups out. I see from your post below that youve managed to get a second hand unit. If you are ever faced with the same problem again you could try removing the fan/motor unit and rebalancing it by adding some weight, say a small nut and bolt, where the blade is missing. If you use one that is not heavy enough initially, you can either add extra nuts and/or washers to get the correct weight. It would probably be easiest to mount the motor in a vice ( or something ) and rig up a suitable power supply. I think that you should be able to get it accurately enough balanced to cover up the problem without too much of a problem. Good luck.

Thanks for the advice. It's not a bad idea, but I think my car is too new to do these kinds of modifications. If this was a 10 year old car, then I wouldn't hesitate at all. however, I'll keep it in mind in case something like this would ever happen again ;)

[bothwell_buyer]

Hi Fella,

bad luck - 'number of times that I've thought "that was a rather silly idea" when I've got myself into a hole like that. HOWEVER - It's given me a considerable amount of experience of sorting co*k-ups out. I see from your post below that youve managed to get a second hand unit. If you are ever faced with the same problem again you could try removing the fan/motor unit and rebalancing it by adding some weight, say a small nut and bolt, where the blade is missing. If you use one that is not heavy enough initially, you can either add extra nuts and/or washers to get the correct weight. It would probably be easiest to mount the motor in a vice ( or something ) and rig up a suitable power supply. I think that you should be able to get it accurately enough balanced to cover up the problem without too much of a problem. Good luck.

Thanks for the advice. It's not a bad idea, but I think my car is too new to do these kinds of modifications. If this was a 10 year old car, then I wouldn't hesitate at all. however, I'll keep it in mind in case something like this would ever happen again ;)

How very dare you! Imagine even thinking of treating a veteran RAV like that!!! Shame on you.