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Question -
Hi Roland,Here I am again asking for your expert help.Took our 1999 300M in because air conditioner was not cooling right.They could not find leak first time so they filled it with a dye (?) to find the leak next time. It leaked out within a month so back we go and they said the coolant had all leaked out so they wanted to start with the evaporator core,dryer and expansion valve? 1,000.00 for everything.Does this sound right and can I fix this my self cheaper? Thanks again for all you help Larry Kline
Answer -
Hi Larry,
This approach doesn't seem very rational to my untrained eyes. They should be able to find dye, or to partially recharge the system and sniff for leaks. I would suggest going to another AC shop for a more sophisticated analysis of exactly where the leak is occuring and some sort of estimate as to what needs to changed and how much it will cost. Depending upon where the leak is I can tell you what the manual describes as the procedure for replacing the necessary part. But the "start with..." approach seems to me to be open-ended. If that came from a Chrysler dealer then I suspect they are not that well trained as an independent shop would be. There is nothing about the Chrysler systems that requires a dealer to deal with it.
Let me know if you go elsewhere and what happens.
Roland
Roland,
We went to the AC shop and they confirmed that we do indeed need a evaporator core and dryer.I would like to replace these myself to save money.Is it a very difficult job and do you have a diagram that could help me in anyway to do this job.Wpuld you know if there could possible be a warranty on the evaporator core and could this in anyway effect the heat in the core.Thanks, Larry
AnswerHi Larry,
The best instruction manual would be the Chrysler Service Manual for the car. They are available from Dyment Distribution Services at 1-800-890-4038. I don't happen to have one for the 300 or I would copy the pages for you. The Haynes manuals are pretty good too, at much lower cost.
On the warranty, I would try to get a copy of the original warranty on the car to see if it still covered timewise, and whether the ac is a covered unit. You also could call the Chrysler Corporate headquarters in Detroit to see if there was a factory recall on the AC unit that might have resulted in an extension of the warranty time period. I am not sure what you mean by "effect the heat in the core". There are two separate cores, one for hot water and one for refrigerant and a door directs the air in varying amounts over both cores in order to get the desired tempeature of the output air.
So check out the two possible manuals. It is typically a time consuming job to remove the heater/AC box, but not intractable. A step-by-step procedure would be very helpful.
Roland
