Volvo Maintenance Hints for 7xx/9xx - Bill Garland's Nuclear ...

place. The evap drain extension is in the way. When you have removed the screws and you are
trying to figure out "what else is holding the cover", it's wedged between that extension and the
protruding evap drain. To get around this, remove two bolts at the fresh air intake and one on
the firewall behind the receiver/drier. Instead of removing the exterior cowling and rain guard to
get at the fresh air intake bolts, reach up through the fan shroud from below with a 10mm open/
box-end combo wrench. Looking through the hole where the fan motor goes, the bolts are on
the top of the metal bar, facing upwards. It's easy enough to do with the right tools and saves a
LOT of time. The bottom evaporator cover comes out much easier front-end (firewall end) first.
It's counter-intuitive, but there is more room to pull the drip tube clear of the firewall drain hole
this way. The wrong way: If you pull the back of the box down first, the front part pivots against
the bottom of the evaporator and pushes the drip tube forward against the firewall -- not what
you want. Worse, this puts a load on the drip-tube area of the box, and it's likely to break at this
point. (You can't see what's going on while the lid is in place, so you can't actually see the cover
wedging against the evaporator.)
Tips for Installation of Lower Cover. But - if you've loosened the bolts and air intake mount that
anchor the HVAC box, it probably will have dropped some. If it has dropped even 1/4", the lower
cover won't fit at all: It will run into the firewall before the screw holes line up. If I had to do this
again, I would first see if it would help to have an assistant push up on the evaporator while I
remove (and later replace) the lower cover, although this will be difficult because you both need
to be in the same place at the same time. . If that wouldn't work, then I would remove the HVAC
box mounts and pull the whole thing away from the firewall as much as it could go before I
would work on the lower cover. A wedge - such as a rag stuffed behind the box - might help hold
it out temporarily but frankly it didn't work for me. When reinstalling if you don't have a helper,
use a ratcheting strap (those flat, nylon straps with ratcheting tighteners you can get almost
anywhere) wrapped around the HVAC box just to the left of the evap and anchored around the
pillar between the front and rear doors. It doesn't take a lot of force, but it helps to have
something holding the box away from the firewall. You also need to have the box pushed up
while being held out, so place a small hydraulic bottle jack and a large, flat piece of wood under
the box (about in the same location as the strap). Again, it's not force that is needed; just
something that will sit there and patiently hold the box for you. To re-install the evaporator cover,
put the rear in place first, then swing the front of the cover upwards. You'll still have to wrestle
with the whole thing to get the drip tube back up into the firewall, but it won't be nearly as difficult
as trying to put the cover on front-end first. [Gary Hammett] When reinstalling the cover, make
sure you align the passenger side flange at the firewall (inside), or you never get the cover
pushed back. There is a flange or rib on that side. Rotate the cover into that flange first and then
worry about the driver's side. The small bulge in the cover for the evaporator pipe at the rear of
the cover is just large enough for you to use the sole of your shoe to help push it into place.
After I did that with a bit of working the cover back and forth at the front, it popped into place.
Don't use a rubber mallet to fit the cover or you'll crack it and have to repair it.
Cracks in the Lower Cover. [Adam Burke] I don't know of any way to repair this kind of plastic. It
doesn't respond to the plastic primers and glues that I normally use. If you sand it, JB Weld
epoxy will adhere, but JB Weld won't give you the strength the plastic had before it cracked. I
also tried to patch it from both sides with fiberglass, but the fiberglass wouldn't stick - even to
the sanded surface.