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THIS DISCUSSION / SOURCE-DERIVED OVERVIEW
Discussion summary
YOUR RESEARCHUsing an Endo / Bore scope to view Evap core?
Leading reported evidence
Check drain
Performed · outcome unconfirmed
No successful repair reported for this finding.
0
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0
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1
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Read evidence and context
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Suggestion · Original poster
I know I can check the air con drain under the car for traces of dye but I also have an articulating endo bore / scope and was wondering if I can see the evaporator core using that?
Leading evidence: 'Check drain' (no explicit attributable resolution; this is a reported action or suggestion). Across 1 matching discussions, The most frequently discussed action is 'Check air con drain' (1 discussions). For that action, 0 discussions report a resolution and 0 report an unsuccessful attempt. No action has an explicit, attributable resolution report under the current rules. These are forum reports and suggestions, not a confirmed diagnosis.
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Discussions that performed work without a confirmed outcome
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Performed · outcome unconfirmed · Original poster
The system has been refilled and pressure tested a few times over the last year or so, but the system only holds pressure for a few months.
Explicit resolution reports before identified causes, performed actions and suggestions. Within each level, matching component labels precede direct query mentions and inherited thread context; successful versus unsuccessful discussion counts, owner confirmations and independent discussion support determine order. This is not a probability of success.
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Performed · outcome unconfirmed · Original poster
All the usual points have been tested with a black light and a sniffer but other than the fill port valves leaking and fixed, no leaks have been found.
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Performed · outcome unconfirmed · Original poster
So far I used the offside intake under the pollen filter but can only get as far as the blower motor.
Explicit resolution reports before identified causes, performed actions and suggestions. Within each level, matching component labels precede direct query mentions and inherited thread context; successful versus unsuccessful discussion counts, owner confirmations and independent discussion support determine order. This is not a probability of success.
Discussions that contain suggestions
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Suggestion · Original poster
I know I can check the air con drain under the car for traces of dye but I also have an articulating endo bore / scope and was wondering if I can see the evaporator core using that?
These are separate views of the same evidence. Frequency alone does not establish a fix, and these counts must not be added together.
Check air con drain
No successful repair reported for this finding.
0
Reported fixes
0
Unsuccessful attempts
1
Discussions
Read evidence and context
Discussions that contain suggestions
1
0 original-poster resolution reports. Counts can overlap; they are not unique people or a success rate.
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Suggestion · Original poster
I know I can check the air con drain under the car for traces of dye but I also have an articulating endo bore / scope and was wondering if I can see the evaporator core using that?
0 original-poster resolution reports. Counts can overlap; they are not unique people or a success rate.
0 discussions have direct query context; 0 report a fix in that context. Other evidence may inherit the discussion’s subject.
Suggestion · Original poster
All the usual points have been tested with a black light and a sniffer but other than the fill port valves leaking and fixed, no leaks have been found.
0 original-poster resolution reports. Counts can overlap; they are not unique people or a success rate.
0 discussions have direct query context; 0 report a fix in that context. Other evidence may inherit the discussion’s subject.
Suggestion · Original poster
I removed the heater core as suggested and then reconnected the battery etc as I had been fitting a steering wheel spacer, and once I had set the AC to hot, I could snake the borescope through the opening easily so that part works very well, thanks for the suggestion
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Performed · outcome unconfirmed · Original poster
All the usual points have been tested with a black light and a sniffer but other than the fill port valves leaking and fixed, no leaks have been found.
Counts describe captured discussions, not unique people or a diagnosis. Author identities are not reliably stored. Exact duplicate evidence is counted once across matching discussions; one discussion counts at most once per action/state. Multiple repairs reported together remain a combination. Suggestions and failed attempts do not establish a fix. Matches cover whole discussions and can include related faults, model variants and incomplete threads.
7 eligible posts · 0 unverified posts · 1 discussions match the subject in their title or opening post.
911uk: 1 discussions
0 evidence records excluded for query context · 0 excluded by outcome qualification · 0 adjusted by outcome qualification.
0 acknowledgements have no verified action link; they do not establish a repair result.
Generation: 20261027T000231Z · outcome-qualification-6. Deterministic extraction; no AI model inference. How we use sources
Hi all
I think that my air con evaporator may be leaking. The system has been refilled and pressure tested a few times over the last year or so, but the system only holds pressure for a few months. All the usual points have been tested with a black light and a sniffer but other than the fill port valves leaking and fixed, no leaks have been found. The garage is pretty good at this sort of thing usually and a search of the forum has not mentioned viewing the core in situ.
I know I can check the air con drain under the car for traces of dye but I also have an articulating endo bore / scope and was wondering if I can see the evaporator core using that? So far I used the offside intake under the pollen filter but can only get as far as the blower motor.
Does anyone know if it is even possible to see the evap core using a scope, and if so, what place of entry have you used? I don't fancy taking the dash etc out to get to the HVAC box to find it's okay
TIA
Dave
Seeing the evaporator core properly with a scope may be the hard part. If it holds gas for a few months, the evaporator is possible, but so are tiny leaks at joints, condenser, compressor seals or service ports. I’d check the air-con drain for UV dye first. If the evaporator is leaking, dye/oil may show there.
I wouldn’t pull the dash on a hunch. I’d want stronger evidence first: dye at the drain, refrigerant smell from the vents, oily residue, or a test clearly pointing inside the HVAC box.
Just a thought, but you may be able to send the scope in from the cabin heater matrix area. Set the heating to hot so the flapper door is open, head through it and I think you’d end up on the other side of the blower etc. Not without faff, removing heater core etc, but easier than opening up the dash?
Unfortunately I’ve recently put mine back together otherwise I’d have had a look for you.
Thank you both for your ideas, its appreciated. I will take a close look at the drain indeed, and I would also rather take the heater core out and have a look from there with the scope than take the whole dash / heater box etc out. I will update with my findings so this thread may be useful to others.
That sounds like the sensible next step.
Checking the drain first should hopefully give you a clue before anything major comes apart. If you can get a scope in from the heater core side, that would be a useful route to prove or rule out the evaporator without committing to dash-out.
Good idea to update the thread too, as evap leaks are one of those jobs everyone fears but there doesn’t seem to be much clear in-situ evidence around. Even knowing whether the scope route works will help the next person.
Here is an update.
I checked the drain under the car as suggested by
Admin
, and it was clean. I removed the heater core as suggested and then reconnected the battery etc as I had been fitting a steering wheel spacer, and once I had set the AC to hot, I could snake the borescope through the opening easily so that part works very well, thanks for the suggestion
JoR
.
What do you think of the images though? The dye should be a muted chalky yellow / green colour when viewed in normal light, but although on first inspection the evaporator core looks good, if you zoom in on a couple of the pics there is a pink hue on some of the fins. I don't know if it is an artifact cause by low light or it is a refrigerant leak, as the same red 'marks' can be seen in other places. Pics 7 & 8 seem to show the reddish marks the most if you zoom in a bit
Just to close this for future reference for anyone, yes going through the heater core ducting once the core is removed gives access to the Evaporator core with an Endoscope. Whilst some disassembly is required of the front plastic scuttle / wiper assembly and removal of the heater core it is far easier than taking the dash out to get to the HVAC box.
For reference you will need a new foam seal to cover the heater core again once done. Part number for
RHD
is
99657226303
and is around £37 delivered from Design 911, but it could be cheaper at a main dealer. The pink marks on my photos were indeed low light artifacts and my core was good. I still need to find the very slow leak but as most of the AC pipes, and both condensers have been changed it narrows it down. The compressor has also been checked.
Anyway I hope this may be of some use to others in the future.
Dave
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