I need to get the top cover to the A/C box off so I can actually get a torque wrench onto the last 3 headbolts, is this possible? I have no idea what's actually inside it so I dont know if it's a big deal or not to do that, or whether it requires opening the system or not (It's got freon in it, and it works!)...

Any input? Surely I'm not the first person to come across this, but I couldnt find anything about it on a search. The terms are just too common.

 

there are several perimeter screws(7mm head I think) to be removed, and there are 3 or 4 long screws(10mm?) going into the firewall. After removing all the screws the top cover to the evaporater box can be worked around a little and be removed. Hope this helps

 

So I dont have to worry about opening up the system or anything, you can just take the lid right off, no problem, or at least move it out of the way a little?

 

Taking the plastic box off the firewall wont open the freon system. The metal pipes go in and come out completely contained. The air inside the plastic box is the same air that is in the passenger compartment, and the metal pipes connect to an evaporator which looks like a radiator, over which the passenger air is passed to cool it off.

What do you mean by the "lid"?

 

It appears to have a lower plastic half and an upper plastic half. I'm referring to the upper half as a "lid" because it requires less typing than "ambiguously-named-upper-plastic-half-of-AC-box". If it has a proper name, I'm all ears, but I'm calling it a "lid" until then, because from what I can gather it's merely a cover for all the junk under it.

Anyway, it's good to know there's not much to worry about to get it out of the way.