Reliable evaporator brands for a Ram 1500

[flanso]

I am going to help a friend replace the evaporator on his 2005 Ram 1500, 5.7. Are any of the aftermarket evaporators reliable?

 

[zfasts03]

What does rockauto have? How about Advanced Auto Parts. How much price difference between OEM and the other? Check reviews, possibly Amazon?

 

[flanso]

Aftermarket evaporators from Rockauto range in price from $34 to $57 while the Mopar unit, also from Rockauto, costs $279.

 

[Timmastertech]

The OE evaporator core is more money because its going to fit right and work right. I specialize in air conditioning and have replaced tons of Dodge truck evaporator cores. At one point I was doing so many I could easily do 3 in one day. The aftermarket cores just dont fit in the box correctly which means you need to fill the gaps with foam and hope they seal. Chrysler used to carry a value line of evaporator cores in addition to some other parts which were aftermarket parts that they had validated. The v-line cores used to fit fine, didnt have any issues with them. Not sure if they are still available or not

 

[flanso]

We ended up using a Four Seasons evaporator and an accumulator from Amazon. They both fit well. The job took the two of us about 4 hours and was easier than we expected. Everything is cool now, thanks.