QuestionQUESTION: I brought my 1998 Cadillac Deville to the shop so both heater pipes could be replace since one rusted out I had asked that they check the car out(the water pump and radiator and hoses)while it was there. They called me to tell me that the water pump needed replacing and that the EVAP Core was leaking and I would not have A/C unless it was fixed. I had them replace the water pump but did not understand the issue with the EVAP Core and the A/C. When I brought the car in the A/C was fine and worked. I never had any issues with it at all, it blew cold air until the desired temp was reached and then it maintained that temp without incident or failure. When I got the car back the A/C no longer worked as it did when the car was brought in for service. Is that normal for the EVAP Core or could it have been damaged by the mechanic when the new heater pipes were installed. I am having trouble understanding how an A/C could suddenly go bad and stop working when there has never been an issue with it and it was working fine when it went into the shop.
ANSWER: This is HIGHLY UNUSUAL. I smell a RAT.
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QUESTION: I questioned the mechanic on the issue on Monday and told me that he worked under the car and never touched anything on the top of the engine. It looks as though the evaporator and the anti-freeze reservoir were removed. Could the heater pipes have been changed with our removing these item as he claims?
ANSWER: According to my book, The heater pipes run inside the engine compartment.
Something is not right here. Take the car into the shop and show it and the bill to the SERVICE MANAGER.
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QUESTION: they do, they run along the back wall of the engine compartment and connect to the antifreeze reservoir and the evaporator is mounted to the antifreeze reservoir. The mechanic who did the work owns the place and is ACDelco certified. That is why I brought the car to him. All I know is that the car had A/C when it went in and now it does not. He is saying that there is a leak in the evap core which is connected to the evaporator which is mounted to the anti-freeze reservoir wich connect to the heater pipes. Should I contact the BBB and the Attorney General and file a complaint or do you think that this is coincidental?
ANSWER: This statement that you wrote make NO SENSE what-so-ever.
He is saying that there is a leak in the evap core which is connected to the evaporator which is mounted to the anti-freeze reservoir wich connect to the heater pipes.
How does he KNOW the evaporator core is leaking ?
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QUESTION: He is telling me that there is a leak in the evap core which is in the fire wall. He says that he put in a dye and it leaked out. That is all I know about that. I do know that there was no leak before he replaced the heater pipes and the a/c was working with no problems at all.
Having cleared that up...there are indications that the antifreeze reservoir was removed and in removing the reservoir the accumulator had to be removed as well because it is mounted to the antifreeze res. Would improper removal of the accumulator cause damage/leak to the evap core? Would he have been able to replace the heater pipes with out removing these items as he is trying to say?
I apologize for the statement that made no sense. Let me correct it and maybe it will make more sense. I accidentally called the "accumulator" the "evaporator".
"He is saying that there is a leak in the evap core which is connected to the accumulator which is mounted to the anti-freeze reservoir which connect to the heater pipes"
That is what I meant to say. So replace evaporator with accumulator and it should make sense. Sorry about that mistake.
AnswerIf he removed the accumulator then he had to remove ALL of the freon from the system. I think that the is most likely no leak in the evap it may be just that he does NOT know how to recharge the system with freon.
I would file a complaint with the BBB and also inquire as to how many complaints other people made against his facility.
Tom
