2005 LR3, had a shop check it out and the evaporator core is pooched, which is why my AC isn't working. wondering if anyone has done this replacement and do I really need to disassemble the entire dash? Thanks.

 

Odd. The evaporations core is not at all a common failure. Heater core, yes. What is the actual issue?

 

Ac is not working, blows but not cold. Took it to a shop, they charged it and ran the colored stuff through. couldn't find faults anywhere but said they could actually hear it leaking out of the dash. Said they could fix it but it would be thousands to remove dash. Now I've taken the radio out and that was dead easy. Was wondering if it was possible to get in examine the evap core?

 

Well far, far more than the radio comes out to do the core I think. What bothers me is they did not locate the leak and they are assuming its the core, it could be the expansion valve or an o-ring leak at the connector. Think you need to investigate more. Since they used leak detect, I believe a good black light flashlight will work. But I really think you need to locate the exact leak location before making assumptions like they did.

 

You do need to find the leak, but yes, almost every part of the dash comes out in order to get to the expansion valve or the coil.
As DaktaTraveler says, if it is an o-ring or connection that you can reach, you may be able to fix it in place, otherwise the whole unit needs to come out in order to take it apart to get the coil out.
And if you take it out, it is a good time to look at the heater core because chances are if you have not replaced it recently, it is partially blocked and it is easy to get to while the HVAC unit is sitting on the workshop floor.