# A/c diy? **URL:** \ **Category:** Maintenance/Repairs\ **Tags:** mercury, sable\ **Created:** [May 25, 2010, 2:46pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/a-c-diy/49359 "2010-05-25T14:46:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![raschild](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e274bd/32.png) [@raschild](https://community.cartalk.com/u/raschild)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2010, 2:46pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/a-c-diy/49359/1 "2010-05-25T14:46:10Z")
My car ('99 Sable) needs a new A/C compressor, evaporator core, and filter drier and other associated components. Is this a do-it-yourself job or should I use a professional? Any common or costly mistakes I should be aware of? ---
**Author:** ![Docnick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecae2f/32.png) [@Docnick](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Docnick)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2010, 2:58pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/a-c-diy/49359/2 "2010-05-25T14:58:22Z")
Yes, the costly mistake is trying to do this yourself, unless you are a mechanic. We’ve heard of many attempts by DIYers to tackle this and the result is usually higher cost and poor performance. This is not a good do-it-yourself job. Even refrigeration techs shy away from it. I would get an estimate from a good A/C specialty shop, not the dealer, and see what that amounts to. My guess is $1300 or so for a real professional job using rebuilt parts. You then have to decide whether it is better to sell the car and buy one with the A/C working. ---
**Author:** ![texases](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/texases/32/862_2.png) [@texases](https://community.cartalk.com/u/texases)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2010, 2:59pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/a-c-diy/49359/3 "2010-05-25T14:59:31Z")
What is your mechanical experience? This is about as intense as it gets, replacing the evaporator requires disassembling the entire dash in some cases. Not something I’d want to try. ---
**Author:** ![Whitey](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/whitey/32/24680_2.png) [@Whitey](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Whitey)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2010, 3:39pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/a-c-diy/49359/4 "2010-05-25T15:39:59Z")
No, I don’t think if this type of job as DIY. I would hire a pro. ---
**Author:** ![raschild](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e274bd/32.png) [@raschild](https://community.cartalk.com/u/raschild)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2010, 3:40pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/a-c-diy/49359/5 "2010-05-25T15:40:52Z")
The estimate I got is $1600. That is half of what I paid for the car, and I am hesitant to drop that into one system, knowing other maintenance is coming on more essential systems. Any thoughts on A/C stop leak ([http://www.gwrauto.com/AC%20Stop%20Leak%201.htm](http://www.gwrauto.com/AC%20Stop%20Leak%201.htm))? Or recommendations? The leak in my car is a slow one. If I could replace maybe just the compressor and filter drier and patch the evaporator with that, it would greatly reduce the cost and complexity…if it works. ---
**Author:** ![texases](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/texases/32/862_2.png) [@texases](https://community.cartalk.com/u/texases)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2010, 3:42pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/a-c-diy/49359/6 "2010-05-25T15:42:37Z")
Why does the whole system need replacing? Where’s the leak? ---
**Author:** ![raschild](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e274bd/32.png) [@raschild](https://community.cartalk.com/u/raschild)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2010, 4:41pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/a-c-diy/49359/7 "2010-05-25T16:41:21Z")
Small leak in seal on compressor, unseen leak in evaporator core, but there was a dyed drip outside the car near the back of the engine compartment that showed up on the black light test. It takes about a week or so to go from a full charge to a partial charge. I’m guessing two weeks would completely drain the system. ---
**Author:** ![texases](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/texases/32/862_2.png) [@texases](https://community.cartalk.com/u/texases)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2010, 4:47pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/a-c-diy/49359/8 "2010-05-25T16:47:19Z")
I have not used AC stop-leak, but I would sure give it a try before replacing everything. Have you gotten a second opinion on this? ---
**Author:** ![raschild](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e274bd/32.png) [@raschild](https://community.cartalk.com/u/raschild)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2010, 4:50pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/a-c-diy/49359/9 "2010-05-25T16:50:22Z")
Will do so later this week, most likely. Using this forum to see what others have done or might recommend. ---
**Author:** ![raschild](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e274bd/32.png) [@raschild](https://community.cartalk.com/u/raschild)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2010, 10:03pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/a-c-diy/49359/10 "2010-06-28T22:03:14Z")
Alright…before I drop the big money on this, I tried some other approaches. After (hopefully) addressing the leaks, I was adding freon to the system and noticed that the pressure in the system (while the car was running) peaked around 45 psi, the a/c compressor clutch kicked in, the pressure dropped, and the compressor shut off. About 10 seconds later, pressure was back to 45, and the whole process started over. If I was an A/C expert, what would that indicate to me? Too much pressure in the system? Not enough? Something else entirely? Anybody?