Air Condition Evaporator......!!!???

[KRoaden]

Here the short story. I took my truck to the stealer to get some recall work done. While there I asked my brother-in-law the head mechanic who was doing the recall work to look at the A/C and give me a price on why it wouldn't hold a charge. He said Evaporator, to the tune of $600. 00 bucks. I said no way I'll do it myself.

QUESTION: Have any of you guys done this before on a 96' and if so and tips or insight????



Thanks Guys,



Kenzie

 

[WadePatton]

no, but FTR

My sister's 97 is getting that done right now and my dad's 95 had it done a few years ago. They're both Mexico trucks. My 2k is new to me and blows air like a deep-freezer. Mom's 99 hasn't lost any refrigerant either. They're both USA trucks.



The replacements were done at independent shops. Dunno how much $. If mine goes, I'll be doing it



Good Luck

 

[Gary - K7GLD]

That's been a MAJOR job on every vehicle *I* have ever seen!



The evaporator USUALLY is VERY well buried under TONS of other junk in and around it - you have my condolances!

 

[illflem]

I think the evaporator was the first part, the rest of the truck was built around it. Doable but not fun.

 

[RCrawford]

I replaced mine about three weeks ago. Big hassel, but not too bad. Total time, not counting pulling a vaccume and recharging, was around 6 hrs. I used a jackstand to support the dash on the right side and let the left side rest on the steering colume. Be very careful when removing the heater box from the firewall, the plastic brackets that hold the bolts are very fragile. Other than that, just go slow, and look everything over closely, as you disassemble. I didn't even drain my radiator, just took both clamps off then removed the hoses and turned them up towards the hood.

Good luck, Be careful. R. C.

 

[Cooker]

How long does your AC hold a charge? The stealer said my evap was toast too, but It hold a charge for a several months at a time. I will try some stop leak the next time around. KOA MAN had great luck with some stop leak, I don't remember the brand, and I will be giving that a try before I tear the dash apart.



JMHO,

Ryan

 

[Koa Man]

I used Super Seal. You can get it at Checker or CarQuest for about $20. My ASE mechanic friend used his sniffer and said my evaporator was leaking. He also told me it was a big job to change it. I heard about Super Seal and put it in last August. It is still blowing cold. Super Seal is guaranteed to work if your system will hold at least a partial charge for 10 days. Mine held a partial charge for about 6 days. If yours doesn't hold a charge at least five days then don't use it... you need mechanical repair at that point.

 

[KRoaden]

Thanks a lot guys for the info. As far as the charge it holds from about 5 days to about 14 days depending upon usage and ambient temps. I'm going to keep recharing it for a little while until I get the honey-do list down and then I'm going to get into it. I tried stop leak with no luck.



Keep the insight coming!!! I love TDR it's a self help group for diesel junkies!!!!

 

[Koa Man]

Originally posted by KRoaden

I tried stop leak with no luck.

Which one did you use? I tried a couple of different brands in my Dodge earlier and they did not work either. Then someone told me about Super Seal... . tried it and as mentioned above, been blowing cold ever since... 10 months ago.