I think it's my turn to replace the ole evap. core. Within the last 2 years it seems I can't go more than 2-3 months before needing to charge my system back up. Last month I broke down and took it to a mechanic who kept it for 2 days and couldn't find a leak, even with his Snap on sniffer. Fast forward to today. I was talking to my cousin and he said that the symptoms sounded like his and all he needed was a new dryer. So we changed it out and now I can't pull a vacuum on it, but we charged the system anyway. My low side is reading @35 and my high is a little high at @350 but I think that's because there is air in the system. Anyway, it's cooling good so far but we'll see. I will see how long this lasts and start saving my $$$$ because a evap swap also means a new dash, bezel and a heater core while I'm in there. Anybody have some good leads on replacement dashes, and I'm not talking about the caps because I already have a Geno's cap and will have to destroy it to get the old dash off.

Oh yeah, my dealer wanted $1050 just for a new dash.

 

If you can not pull a vacuum it must have a big leak and all the refrigerant will be out by the time you read this, or the vacuum pump is broken. If you cannot find the leak with a sniffer and leak dye then I would buy some sealant and try that first. The new sealants work good.

 

Actually we could pull the vacuum but it wouldn't hold it. Within probably 30 sec it would be back to 0. What stop leak do you recommend?

 

You should be able to hold the vacuum for at least 30 minutes. A leak faster than 30 minutes should be able to be traced. Go back to the sniff test and start at the dryer. When you have found the leak that you have now, repair it and pull a vacuum. If it will hold for 30 minutes put in a can of leak stop and recharge. Check with your local parts store, they should have R134a with leak stop and dye in it. I am in NH and our a/c season is about 2 months long so I get mine at the local parts store useing what ever they have.

 

Looks like it might be my evap. I think it froze up on me today because now I have water dripping from under the dash from the black box that's under there. I let it sit for a couple of hours and now it's blowing normal...before it wouldn't hardly blow any air and sounded weird. I'm sure all that air in the system has something to do with too. Any leads on a new dash? The cheapest one I've found is $372 and I've read where some people are gettting them for @ $160.

 

I don't know about a dash, but I would evacuated the a/c system and pull a vacuum and if it will hold the vacuum for 30 minutes or more recharge it and it should be fine. R134a does some funny things, I have had several R134a cars and trucks that would not blow cold. I would evacuate the system, pull a vacuum, and recharge it and it would work fine. I do not know why, but it works. Good luck on the dash.

 

Unfortunately it won't hold a vacuum so I have a leak somewhere, I'm suspecting it's the evap core. The mechanic had it 2 days and the sniffer never hit on anything so I'm going to start throwing parts at it. I ordered a evap core for $115 and a new dash for $275 from wholesale mopar. I might replace the heater core too since I'll be right there anyway and hopefully this will fix my leak and get me on down the road. I figure I need a new dash anyway and might as well replace parts when it's convienent for me.

 

Make sure you do the heater core when you are in there. You'll regret it if you don't.

 

Sounds like a good idea to me. Good luck.