yeah, sounds like a seal in one of the lines is just leaking out. my old eclipse had that problem...it wouldnt really blow cold air. it was mostly just a huge leak and would blow coolish air for a little while, about an hour and then it was all gone to where the compressor wouldnt kick in.

 

my ac hasnt worked in a month or so. Blows hot air, sometimes worse than outside.

 

Like I said, 90$ is reasonable to diagnose the problem.

 

UPDATE 3:: I got the car checked out, and the shop says the evaporator core is leaking. He said he needs to change that and replace the washer/gasket between the firewall and dashboard (somewhere there). He says about $289 for the evaporator core, $75 for the gasket, and 3 hours of labor..

Total: ~$750

I'm thinking about just removing the whole thing altogether. $750 is a little steep.. or I can just buy the parts myself. It looks like his prices are 3x-5x the prices I see online.

Also, does anyone know if all MY00-09 A/C evaporator, heater core, and blower (the whole unit) interchangeable or do I need to get an 00-03 one? My car is an 03.

Anyone know if there is a DIY out there?

 

the A/C evaporator is the hardest A/C component to replace, it's under the dash and requires removal of several pieces to get it out.

Assuming that is your problem and you replace it yourself. You'll still need the equipment to vacuum the system out and replace the freon.

It's not going to be cheap, in the end if you live in a place where you have to have A/C then you'll need to get a shop to do the work for you. 750 sounds about right for that kind of work. You might be able to find someone to do it for 500 but do you really wanna cheap out? The S has very little room to work in so you'll most likely get fed up trying to replace it yourself.

 

The system is already free of refrigerant. I was planning on purchasing the evaporator myself, install it, and let the shop recharge the system..

..or buy the parts, and let them do the work.

The shop was gonna charge around $460 in parts alone. I think I can find a lightly used evaporator for around $80-100.

 

Well you can go that route, and from experience i can say that you have 50/50 chance of it working. Anything A/C when it's left exposed open and exposed to the elements can carry all sorts of problems mold, water, and/or corrosion can build up inside these parts and quickly damage the compressor or charcoal canister and you are back where you started. Make sure if you buy a used part that the ends were capped off as soon as it was removed.

If your system has been exposed to air for some time now you might want to consider replacing the charcoal canister anyway. This removes all the moisture from inside the system. Moisture in an A/C system can lead to all sorts of problems.

I agree you can probably find the parts cheaper but if you don't want to spend 100+ to recharge the system every year do it right and get new parts.

 

Thanks.