Hello! first post here. Does anyone know what it takes to replace the evaporator on the 68 lesabre? I have had everything replaced with the existing original A/C and my mechanic is telling me that it is probably leaking from the core. He is the one that converted it to 134 from r12. I have no idea where to start on this project. He quoted me around $500 to start, and will probably go up because he does not know if it will actually fix the issue. Any help is greatly appreciated!
That evaporator is $295 from Old Air Products. http://www.oldairproducts.com/catal...p-100.html?Make=Buick&Model=Lesabre&Year=1968 Labor might be expensive because of the location of the evaporator. What did he do to convert it to 134a? If the original POA valve is still installed, it needs to be recalibrated for 134a. I can tell you though, if he cant find the leak, take it to a dedicated ac shop. If everything has been replaced and there is still a leak then it should be the evap. Swapping it should fix the issue. For him to say that he doesn't know if that will actually fix the issue would raise red flags for me.
He converted all the valves and there is a brand new compressor. I think its more he is afraid to do the job so he is saying that he isnt sure if it will actually fix it. It worked great after everything was replaced, but jumped in about a week later and it was hot. Is the Evap box hard to remove yourself?
He is what is referred to in the industry as a "parts changer". When I worked as a mechanic, we had a "sniffer" that could be used to detect leaks. Take it to a real A/C shop and have the diagnosis done properly. Or, just keep changing parts until it works. The first way is less expensive, in the long run. If it does turn out to be the evaporator, take a hard look at the heater core and fan when the box is open. If either is original, this would be a good time to replace them.
as far as i know the heater core was replaced about a year ago. But it still does not work. It worked while the car was first started up but about 1000 miles driving from new york to phoenix it stopped working. I will have to start looking for an A/C shop here. I am not as familiar with any good shops in phoenix.
Take a look under the dash and make sure that the vacuum harness is connected to the switch. Then check that you have vacuum to the heater control valve. That may be all it would take to get the heater back. Which you don't need, yet.
