evaporator replacement.

[alray]

I just rescued my first bmw tackling a/c problems.
hvac guy diagnosed leak in cabin (smell detecktor) replace evaporator and valve. $65 diagnosis with freon refill.

quote $650 for work and parts...doing it myself.

opened access #7 to evaporator star screws btw.
http://parts.bmwofsouthatlanta.com/images/parts/bmw/fullsize/8960.jpg

and this is the reason of my post its full of white goop like paste sealant of some sort any ideas? thank you.

[alray]

hvac was working after freon refill as per previous owner "thats all it needs".
freon left in 3 days, after diagnostic and refill it was gone on the same day.

this is what i got. i disconnected the lines.
http://www.318ti.org/gallery/data/500/medium/goo.jpeg

im going to clean and replace but wtf is that goo?

[Metalhorse]

I know this is a super old post, but I recently ripped out my dash & blower motor in my right-hand-drive 96 318ti so I could pull out the heater core/evaporator box and replace my air con evaporator. I found the same goo around the thermal expansion valve (maybe blu tack?) as shown in the picture above. Why is it there and should I keep it to wrap around the tx valve when I put the replacement evaporator in?

Maybe it's for thermal insulation? My husband suggested maybe it's to prevent rattling. Got me beat!

If anyone knows, it'd be great to get an answer before I put everything back together (putting the dash back in is a pain!).

[alika808]

hvac was working after freon refill as per previous owner "thats all it needs".
freon left in 3 days, after diagnostic and refill it was gone on the same day.

this is what i got. i disconnected the lines.
http://www.318ti.org/gallery/data/500/medium/goo.jpeg

im going to clean and replace but wtf is that goo?

I hope you still reading this thread, I am wondering how you got into this area. Do you have DIY how to get into the A/C evaporator? I appreciate for the the info. Thank you.