A/C Evaporator Replacement Questions

[Boaring1961]

My local dealership has tested my A/C over the course of a few months to try and find a leak and now tells me it's the evaporator that is leaking. The repair costs are $1,600! I am considering doing this myself and had a couple of questions.

1. Should I test anything else before I jump into this? I don't trust the dealership's assessment since they didn't find it on the last visit.
2. How difficult is it? Does it require technical skills or just time? I will tackle nearly any work on my truck except for work inside the transmission, transfer case or engine. I don't care if it will take me 8+ hours to do.
3. Does it require special tools? Do I need anything special to evacuate the system or to remove hose connections?
4. What else should I replace while I'm in there? Heater core? Fan motor? Blend doors? etc.?
5. Who makes the best replacement parts for this? Mopar?

I did a search for key words here on TDR, but there's so many different posts that didn't get to the questions I have.

Thanks

 

[jhenderson]

To legally empty ac you must recycle it. I'd wait until it went dry. You will need special tools to remove the lines from the evaporator. Buy a quality set, they'll work much better. You may need to replace the lines from the condenser to evap. Mine were so corroded I couldn't separate them. It's not a fun job to remove the hvac system. You must remove the entire dash. You'll be in for at least a full day, but it's do able.

 

[Boaring1961]

Thanks for the info jhenderson. According to the dealership the A/C is totally empty of refrigerant so I think I could simply remove the lines and not worry about having to recycle anything.

When you say special tools are needed to remove the lines from the evaporator what tools would that be? I love buying new tools!

 

[sag2]

You will need A/C line disconnect tools. They range from $8 plastic set from Autozone to $100 from Snap-On. Get only as good as you need for one or two uses unless you think you have a use for them in the future. There are several good write up's on pulling the dash. Do a search and find the ones with all the great photos. It isn't hard, just time consuming for the novice. Dealer techs have them lying on the seat in 45 minutes. There are a couple of hidden bolts that the photos point out better than factory service info.

 

[jhenderson]

I've found the cheap plastic one didn't fit correctly. I had to grind the od on a taper to get it inside the female side to release the spring lock.

 

[rscurtis]

While you're in there, replace all the doors with HeaterTreater parts so you don't have to do the job again. That $1600 figure sounds kind of heavy. The local dealer charged me $445 to do the doors on my signature truck. The evaporator was another $300 if needed (which it didn't), so you do the math. There is no additional labor to replace it, it simply lifts out of the HVAC assembly.

 

[BMelhuish]

I just did this job last week on my 2006. The job is fairly straight forward, but it does take some time. Mine took about 8 hours, but I was not trying to hurry and took a couple of breaks.

There are fairly detailed instructions in this subforum under I think "evaporator core with pictures". Its in the FAQ section, but the main thread has the pictures. Although not difficult, it is an intimidating job. No specialized training necessary. You just can't be afraid of a bucket of nuts and bolts and a pile of parts.

I needed to replace the mode 2 door (defrost/floor). I just rebuilt the entire box and replaced all doors with Heat Treater doors, evaporator core, heater core, and accumulator. A local shop discharged, recharged and leak tested the A/C for me.

I strongly recommend that you fix everything that can and does go wrong while you're in there. That way you only do the job once.
The parts are fairly cheap as compared to the labor. All Heat Treater doors shipped, $250, both cores and accumulator from Napa at $230. Discharge and recharge $110. These parts can and do fail on a regular basis.

As far as special tools you will need a spring clip tool to remove the A/C lines from the accumulator and the evaporator core. You can get those at any auto parts store-Auto Zone, NAPA, Advanced, etc. for about $10.

 

[BMelhuish]

BTW I'm replacing the evaporator core on my Wife's 2007 Caravan this weekend. The A/C is a dual climate control and was doing some pretty wierd things. Dodge diagnosed it as a leaking evaporator core and quoted me $1700 for the job. That was just for the evaporator core. They did not mention the drier or expansion valve or the heater core. I assume that they were not included in the price. But that seems to be the standard price. I believe that the book calls for 8 hours labor on the Ram. On the Caravan it called for 11 hours. Ouch!

 

[Boaring1961]

So, I took off the blower motor and used a scope to look into the evaporator area to see if I could find any marks on the evaporator from the dye they put into the system last time. I didn't see anything that looked suspicious. I then took it to a different independent diesel repair shop and they did a full inspection and vacuum test of the A/C system. The weird part was that it held and passed the vacuum test. This could mean that the Schrader valve at the test connection point may have been leaking. So I had them replace both Schrader valves that are part of the system to see if this fixes it. If it cures the leak it will save me a ton of money. I'll report back in a couple of months with the results.

 

[Boaring1961]

I had my system inspected and charged a couple of times and on the last time they finally used the sniffer device and found the evaporator not working. The cost was nearly $2k and I didn't want to pay this. Since the leak was so slow I figured I'd charge it each summer and then again when I needed it. Last summer before an archery hunt in Idaho I charged it myself with just refrigerant (no stop leak) and it's still blowing cold as of today. Not sure if the leak sealed it self, but I'm not complaining. I'll probably push a bit more refrigerant into the system come June just to be sure it's good.

 

[PWong]

but I'm not complaining. I'll probably push a bit more refrigerant into the system come June just to be sure it's good.

Don't do it if there is no complaint.
Charge one can only when the passenger side starts blowing warmer than the driver side.

 

[rashwor]

What PWong said. If you overcharge, it won't cool worth a hoot and can damage the system....