Thanks, Fixit for the input. Yup, the leak is in that area, but I haven't yet determined exactly what is leaking. I cleaned it all up yesterday so I can see a little better and when I get out there is morning I'll take a good look. This is really a poorly designed setup. What I mean is that the lines and manifold are directly behind the rear wheel with nothing to guard against rocks and debris being thrown into it. It would seem that a simple metal shield would have helped a lot. I don't know yet what is actually leaking, but I suspect it's the seals in the manifold where it enters the coil, but I need to see a breakdown of how the parts are mated together before I begin to take anything apart to see what is happening. There is a small rusty nut on what appears to be a 3/16 or 1/4 inch bolt that seems to be holding it all together that is reachable from underneath, but I'm hesitant to put too much torque on it for fear of breaking it off. I'll try a little heat on it today to see what happens.
If any of you have a source for a diagram for this area I would sure appreciate it. Also, if this is a known trouble area it would help if I could find a bulletin or something before I tear into it and make it worse.
Thanks for everyone's help.
Deke
07 TC Touring 51k miles

 

Deke, I would not add any heat. How about a penetrating oil? These line are Aluminum I believe and there are seals in that mount (which might be your problem if those lines were hit. Check out these charts from my 05. Has you manual come yet. It will really help you fix this. You can zoom on these a little to view them better.

http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo...eat=directlink

http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo...eat=directlink

 

Thanks for the reply and photos, Fixit. I'll give the nut a try with some penetrating oil, but I don't know what it will do if I get it off. No, the manual hasn't arrived yet (ebay purchase on CD), but should be here any time.
The photos give a good look at it, but mine is slightly different. Not that it matters. I can't tell if the leak is coming from the sealing plate in the wheel well or farther up in the evaporator coil. I'm starting to think I may have to remove the complete unit from inside the car, something I was hoping I wouldn't have to do.
Hopefully once I get my manual I'll know more about what I'm faced with.
Why me? :-) Anybody else had to remove one of these things?
Deke

 

I'm going to guess sealing area. Its hard to believe a evap coil would go that soon, but I guess anything is possible. Did you read the text in those files on how to take the bolts etc. out? I would imagine it would be similar.

 

Thanks for the reply, MrFixit. I kind of agree with you that the evap coil is bad and I lean toward the sealing plate seals leaking for some reason. Yes, I read both of the texts and looked over the drawings carefully. Like I said, mine is slightly different, but close enough. It appears that if I disconnect both lines at their couplings then remove the nut then the sealing plate should drop right down and off.
My concern right now is what will happen to the freon that is in the system and in the evap coil. I have no way of reclaiming it so I'm not sure what to do here. The pressure is down to nothing so I don't think that anything will happen when I remove the plate other than some freon might leak out, but I intend to plug things wherever I can to minimize loss. Once the plate is off, if it has been leaking at the seal I should be able to see what is happening and go from that point. Would there be a seal kit available for it at a dealer or parts store? Obviously, if the seal is leaking, rather than cleaning it up and reinstalling, it should be replaced, I would think.
Any advice on this?
Thanks again for your help,
Deke
07 TC Touring 51k miles

 

I would imagine that if the system is empty.. not much will come out. Maybe some oil residual but maybe not even that. You should plug the system if you open it up but the problem here is the system should be vacuumed out before filling up again. Moisture can now get in when opened up. A shop would have the proper system to evacuate the system before fill. You can try filling again yourself but this mught present more problems later.

Yes get new seals, the dealer should have them, they should not be too much $$$ wise. But until you can determine what is leaking, you might not want to "break" the seals. This is why I recommended putting another can or 2 in and seeing if you can see or hear a hiss in that area.

I am by no means an expert but I have studied these systems in school and have changed a few components over the years. I have always had the pros evac and fill them for me since I don't have a vacuum machine or 134 equipment. Once we went from R12 to 134, I let the pros do most of the work.

another thing. if you can get the panels off inside the van for the rear coil, you can see f there is anything leaking in there. If all dry, then that leave the seal at the coil or the line(s) themselves. You are not under a 3/36 warranty?
Fixit

 

You're probably right that if the system is empty, nothing much will happen if I remove the seal plate and I understand about the fact that it needs to be vacuumed before it can be recharged so I plan to leave that to a pro with the right equipment. Harbor Freight has a nice little vacuum pump that would probably do the job, but I'm not sure I want to tackle that. Right now money is an issue, but in this case I want to ensure it's done right.

I'll first pick up a couple more cans of $134 to see what happens, but my gut tells me that the problem won't be that easy to fix. However, I might get lucky and simply have to replace the seal. Before I do one more thing though I need that manual. The seller says it was shipped on the 15th so it should be here tomorrow and hopefully it'll give a good diagram that I can look at so that I know exactly what I'm getting into.

Hopefully I can fix this thing myself. Part of it is the challenge of doing it myself, but part of it is also that I'm nearly broke, at least for awhile anyway.
Thanks MrFixit. I really appreciate your advice.
Deke
07 TC Touring 51k

 

Well, folks, my problem is solved. At least I think so. To update this thread and maybe give some others a good heads up if they should develop a leak in the rear AC evaporator here is what I just found out.
Before tearing into the rear AC unit I decided to go to the local dealer to see if they had a diagram of the whole unit with parts nomenclature so I would know what to expect. The parts guy has been there for 37 years and as soon as he heard me say I had a leak in the rear AC he said to me "there's a recall on that unit" ! About ten minutes later the parts were on order and he said he would call me next week when they get here. He claimed it's about a $700 job, but Chrysler will pay for it in total !
Whahoo....
Again, my sincere thanks to all who offered their expertise in figuring out my problem. I love this site!
Deke
07 TC Touring 52k

 

never seen a recall for a leaking ac unit a recall is for safety issues not creature comforts

 

The service manager used the term "recall", but maybe he meant "extended warranty, or bulletin", or something like that. I'll know for sure in a few days when the parts come in. I'll follow up with the results.
Deke
07 TC Touring 51k