Hey all,
Made a BIG BOOBOO today. While trying to place my newly acquired red LED lights (now an Assistant Chief with my local FD)on the front crossmember just behind the grill, I accidently went to far with the drill and poked a hole in the evaporator and all of my freon and oil escaped through that hole . Now my question to you all is this, how easy is it to replace and how costly will it be to have it fully recharged? Would it be better just getting a used one from a junkyard or just order new? Can a DIY'er do this job or should i get a mechanic to replace the evaporator? Thanks all for your input!!!

 

I would price getting it replaced and recharged....I do not think there will be much difference in price for the labor to get it replaced vs just evacuating and recharging (with you doing the labor to replace the evaporator).

Plus, the shop will warranty it if it leaks

My 2 cents...

 

Yeah dude if Uve never messed with that before you are probably better off taking it somewhere.

 

your evaporator is under your dash. you poked a hole in your condensor. there not hard to replace. but if you have never done it before i would recommend having a shop/mechanic doing the work.

 

Its recomended you replace the accumulator because the system has been opened. You might as well replace the orfice line and have the system flushed. This will help give maximum ac performance and longevity.

 

Thanks for the correction 06whitedak!!! You're right I've never replaced one before but I am mechanically inclined. I have tinkered around under hoods before but never with any ac stuff. I have friends who are more mechanically inclined than me and have mechanic friends as well. I will continue to pursue the DIY route and make sure I stock up on the Bud light just in case i need to make a few calls. As far as recharging the system, that i will have no choice but to take it somewhere. Thanks for all the input so far and keep em coming!!

 

I'll throw this out there. When I bought my sons 2000 ZX2, the A/C did not work. Now, I have never done any kind of A/C work before but I also did not want to sink more money into this "1st car" ($1400) than I had to. I do not know how long it was "exposed" to atmosphere. After some research and finding/fixing the leak (whoever worked on it did not put o-rings on the hose manifold at the compressor), I bought an R-22 refill kit from walmart and a new accumulator (I read that this gets ruined first). I replaced the accumulator, filled it up with R-22 and went from there. (no orifice, no vacuuming it out). This is the third summer since then and it still blows ice cold air.

 

jkeaton, i like your advice!! I keep hearing the accumulator going bad after a leak. My ac was pretty darn cold!! So with the 1/4" size hole on the condenser, this definitely needs to be replaced (unless someone out there knows how to fix holes on condensers!!) AND the accumulator and the system recharged with an R-22 refill kit. Is my ASSumption correct? Help me out folks!!!

 

Did you mean r134a? R134a is required referigerant for all 1995+ year models. R22 is for ise in home ac systems and requires a 609 certifacation to purchase.

 

yeah, r-134a. I got it confused with my HVAC work.....