rolling18

looking for any advice from metal workers out there on this one...

i dont know what the evaporator under the dash on the passenger inside is made of .. aluminum? steel? plated?

but i accidently drilled a small hole in it at the underside
and PSHHHHHhhhhh!! all the a/c pressure drained in 5 mins

My question.. can that hole be plugged, filled, repaired, brazed, soldered? or anything? I cant and dont want to spend $1500 to replace the evap and have the whole dash ripped out.. i can cut away some of the plastic housing around the hole and fix that l8r

steelblitzkrieg

No, only flat styled evaps can be epoxied...Like below



Coil type must be replaced especially on an a/c system which is higher pressure.

rolling18

hmm from what i saw he evap was square like a very small radiator.. what does he coil style look like?

MyDieselStinker

Whatever repair you do, its going to have to hold up to 200+ psi...I'd replace it.

rockcrawler304

Not what you want to hear, but the evap needs to come out. Depending on exactly where you hit it, it might be fixable, but best bet is a new one.

rolling18

this is not making me happy, who would even have thought trying to clean the evaperator to get rid of a smell would end up costing well over $1000!!

the hole looks like something you could skrew a screw into and then seal it up..
uhh im sick

if i tried something like that, could i test for leaks by re-pressurizing with just air?.. hmmmm the fitting under the hood doesnt look like a schrader valve compressor would work anyway..

kblranch

Do a google search under aluminum solder. Some of these hold to like 3000 psi.

torquefan

Don't pressure it up with air. That would introduce moisture to the system, which would overwhelm the dessicant in the accumulator and hurt the rest of the system. You'd end up having to replace the accumulator and evacuate the system for a long time.

naysayer

How about a sheet metal screw and JB weld? Wait 24 hours for JB to cure then shoot in a can of R-134 to pressure test. Should cost less than $30.00.

steelblitzkrieg

You draw a vacuum to test for leaks.

rockcrawler304

True. They make special pumps to draw a strong vacuum. You shut it off and watch your gauges to see if it loses vacuum. Never use air to test for leaks.

steelblitzkrieg

We use old Refer compressors, we actually have 2 vacuum pumps, but my techs prefer the old compressors.

Busboy

Years ago we repaired copper tubing condensers and evaporators with a special self fluxing rod and an oxy-acetylene torch and never had one leak. We also sometimes repaired aluminum tubed components when we couldn't easily find a replacement for the part. Those were sent out to an aluminum welder and the cost was more. The chance of repairing it successfully without removing it is ZERO. If when you remove it the tubing is copper (I don't remember) then it could easily and cheaply be repaired. If not a replacement would be the best way to go. Mine rotted out at the bottom in about 5 years and I replaced it with new.
As mentioned the way to leak check is to pull a vacuum close to 30 inches then shut the gauges and see if it drops. If it drops any you DO have some sort of leak and there is absolutely no point in charging it until fixed. Pulling the vacuum also "boils" out any moisture that has entered the system while it was open.

Crankpot

I would definatley do the small sheet metal screw covered with JB weld. clean the area with brake cleaner first, do the fix and wait 24 hours. I would expect complete success.

Bubba

Spooler

Easy, Remove dash, Remove evap box, and replace the aluminum evaporator with new one. Also, replace the reciever/dryer. Pull a vaccum, turn off and let it sit for 30min. to ensure no leaks. Recharge. I beat this is one hard and expensive lesson to learn. Wish I could be more helpful. If any of the aluminum in the evaporator gets in the compressor. It's gonna be toast, also.