Ac not working. Opinions

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My ac went out a couple months back. Apparently the compressor is worn out and leaking. The tech could hear the Freon coming out and the cab smelled like Freon, so they claim the evaporator core is leaking too. They gave me two options, replace the compressor and put some kind of leak stop in it or replace both the compressor, dryer and evaporator core. I didn't smell Freon when the compressor quit working, but I did a few days later to test it again
 
Will you smell Freon in the cab with the compressor leaking? Maybe it was residual Freon that came out when he turned it on. I find it hard to believe that both started leaking at the same time.
 
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Originally Posted By: E150GT
Leak stop can wreak havoc on recycling machines. I stay away from it.


Yeah I feel like it's a band aid.
 
Originally Posted By: LeakySeals
Can you find all that at the bone yard?

I am sure its the labor associated with the evap. Lots of cars require disassembly of the dashboard to get at it. Leak stop becomes a tempting solution although I think it does more harm than good.
 
Evaporator failures are common on '03 to '08 Dodge Ram's, Maybe worse than the previous generation?

The dash is easy to remove on this truck.....It comes out as ONE unit, Replace the Recirculation Door assembly at the same time.
 
How much money are you willing to spend to get it fixed?

Get a few opinions from specialist shops. Can you tackle the repair yourself to save some coin?
 
Well they want 600 to change the compressor and 1800 to change the evaporator, compressor, and the dryer. Sounds a bit steep.
 
Well they want 600 to change just the compressor and 1800 to change the evaporator, compressor, and the dryer. Sounds a bit steep.
 
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If the evap really has a leak it needs to be replaced. One hole will follow another and as soon as you get it plugged a new one will pop up. A gas leak leads to low charge which leads to compressor oil starvation and eventual death, so if you are going to keep the car and value a working A/C, do it right.

*If* the compressor has done a front seal and there's no consequential damage from oil starvation, then yeah compressor, evaporator and dryer. Otherwise the condenser and a line flush. I find these new parallel flow condensers are awesome at what they do, but the passages are so small they also act as filters and collect every bit of metal dust that comes out of a starved compressor. There is no way to effectively flush them.

Lots of options and it depends on what you want to spend or what the car is worth to you.

Generally here (In Australia), at workshop rates a new compressor is about $800 (supply and install). A recent quote for a Golf Mk 5 for a new compressor, condenser, dryer and flush was just north of $2k (which is about 2,600 USD).
I recently did the compressor/condenser & dryer in my Volvo and that was about $385 for a brand new compressor, $290 for the condenser and about $75 for the dryer. I did the rest myself.

You guys get stuff considerably cheaper than we do, but 1800 is probably not that far out of the ballpark if it includes replacing evaporator.

Why not buy the bits and change them yourself, then just get the shop to hook it all up, leak test, vac & charge?
 
Originally Posted By: sasilverbullet
Find a A/C place that knows what they're doing. With a recommendation like that I wouldn't have my car worked on by them.


I agree with the above comment.
 
Originally Posted By: motor_oil_madman
Well they want 600 to change just the compressor and 1800 to change the evaporator, compressor, and the dryer. Sounds a bit steep.


Evaporator calls for 5.6 hours, Lists for $229....Part# 5140726AA.

Compressor calls for .8 hours, Lists for $344....Part# 55111411AE.

Accumulator calls for .3 hours, Lists for $85.60....Part# 55057016AA

Orifice Tube, $5 MAX, NO LABOR when performing the 3 above operations.

7 OZ. of Refrigerant oil & 2 LBS. of Freon, Vacuum & Charge.....Lets call it $150 just to be ridiculous.

Let's just say they charge $150 per flag hour

Labor $1005,00
Parts $808.60
Tax @ 9% $72.77, (Labor is not taxable)
Let's add a $25.00 FU charge for misc.

$1911.27, With the above labor rate.....This is HIGH!
 
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