A 2006 Ram 2500 Diesel Laramie I'm looking to buy is on its 3rd air conditioner. Truck is from Texas so probably ran continually. Also has 170,000 miles.

Anyone know why the truck would go through so many ac's??

 

Any known recalls on any component of the ac unit??

 

It probably hasn't been repaired by a competent ac guy. There's really no reason to replace the entire ac system. Also if its fixed right the first time, they'll be no need to keep fixing it.

 

My mother-in-law had to get rid of her truck because no one could get the A/C right. That includes dodge and a couple of local shops. BTW my father-in-law is an industrial A/C engineer with a lot of mechanical background. left him stumped. I've never seen the guy throw up a white flag to anything mechanical.
I also have met two hotshot drivers recently who had problems and ran out of money trying to get theirs fixed and have now installed small house window units in the back of the cab to make do.
But, don't forget about all of the trucks on the road that you don't hear anything about.


Forgot to mention that all three aforementioned trucks are 2006 CTD and were all SLT.

 

I'm with 1-2-3 on this one. Repairs were probably performed by a good parts changer and not by a competant a/c tech.

They probably did not flush the system out properly and the debris from prior compressor failure is still floating around causing havoc. We see this day after day out here in Sacramento. For some reason shops don't want to invest the small amount of $$ to be able to flush a/c system properly. Even the dealers around here don't do it. They pay us $150+ to flush their a/c jobs.

 

ac systems are really very simple. The vent doors can be crazy but the base ac system is only 5 things. 1- compressor 2-condenser 3-evaporator 4-expansion valve or orifice tube 5-connecting lines. On Dodge vehicles, 99.99% of the time your issue will be a leak in the evaporator core. There is no fix, just replace. If your letting a shop do it, your looking at $650-800 easy. If you get them to change the heater core, which is also known to leak in Dodge vehicles, then drop another $100-200 on top of that. Now your at a grand, which makes most folks say no, so the system gets a shot of freon with some leak stop and dye. The dye leaks at the evap where it can never be seen, and they guy says I don't know where it's leaking cause he can't see it with the light charges you $180 and sends you on your way. If it's a slow leak, it'll last till the next big heat wave hits and your doing the same thing again. If it's a big leak, it blows cold for just a day or two.

 

well 6 things. A dryer/accumulator is in there too. Your home ac is the same thing, only a different refrigerant so it gets different style internal seals.

 

650 to 800 for just the evaporator core an labor right?

 

From what I've heard it's that much to have a shop relace it. The problem comes in because the dash has to come out. Most shops don't know that Dodge truck dashes are made to rotate on two bolts. I changed my evap and heater core on my 99 and had the ac blowing ice cold in about 2 hours. I spent about 150 for the evap, 75 for the heater, 75 for the dryer, which should always be replaced if the ac system gets opened up, especially in humid Texas afternoons. So you toss in a couple hundred for labor, another hundred is "supplies" and your there easily. Plus you still have to vacuum and recharge the system.

 

fyi, I pinched my heater lines with pointy vice grips and didn't have to drain the cooling system, just top it off. I have my own ac gauges and pump. Already had some oil and freon. I had already replaced my dash a year before so I knew every bolt in it.