Accessing rear a/c cooler on 400i

Nothing fancy, the AC is under the rear deck. You access it from the trunk side, you just have to remove the carpet that is moulded differently than on the single AC cars. The carpet is glued in place, but more often than not the glue does not stick to the sidewall so it's quite easy to remove and unveil the AC blower.

Note that The AC unit is just above the rear axle (the recess that is under the AC accommodates for the axle). So chances are that the noise could come from the axle, and finds its way into the cockpit through the AC vents (?). Just my 2 cents. I would also check for the sheets of metal that are holding some of the other carpets, the screws could come loose. More specifically I would have a look at the 2 small vertical pieces that are hiding the trunk hinges.

 

I was able to access the rear evap on my 78 carb model by removing a carpeted panel (once the two side pieces are removed) that covers the whole under deck area, admittedly the screws are very hard to find due to them being buried in the black carpet. I was only getting in there to replace the filter fuel hose.

DJ

 

On my '84 400i (Series 2), there are 5 or 6 screws holding that trunk panel in place. There is about a 4" gap between that panel and the rear seat panel that is only occupied by the rear evaporator in the upper center. A friend of mine that does LONG trips in his 400i, uses this space to store spare parts (belts, pads, etc)!
Ken

 

Here is the panel you are looking to remove, and yes, the small black screws are buried in the carpet....look closely and you can see the holes at the bottom edge. Be careful to not break the fiberglass.

Gary

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