Air Conditioning DIY or let the dealership do it?

Hey gang I hope you’re all doing well. I had a quick question as to how to proceed with fixing my AC in the truck.
So my AC gets weak, not cold until I’ve been driving on the highway for an extended period of time. In no traffic it’s fine-ish but when I’m stuck in bumper to bumper it just doesn’t cut it. Last summer(end of June) I had the AC charged as it was super low. By October it was back it’s old ways, I paid the dealership to charge the system again but with the dye, they said they couldn’t find the leak but to bring it back in a month and they should be able to detect it. All of that being said should I let them do the repair or the hobby shop on base said they would evacuate the system so I can replace any components and recharge it for me. Would you all recommend taking the dealerships recommendations on what to replace and doing it yourself or just letting them fix it? I know it can get pricey so I’m trying to figure out what’s the best route to take. Thanks for any advice you can give.

 

Have you ckd your ac fan clutch?

 

Look for shop that specializes in AC. They'll be cheaper and better equipped to find a leak.

 

2nd the "find a specialist".

Air conditioning is the one thing I'd never take to a "regular" mechanic to fix. Always take it to a specialist, any competent one will know exactly how to diagnose fastest and get you back working again STAT. Just make sure you tell them you want to use either Denso or Aisin parts to replace, if anything needs replacing.

 

I’ve replaced an entire AC system in a 2000 jeep cherokee — was not difficult
The most time consuming part was removing the dash to swap the evaporator

I am not familiar on how it’s done on a tundra. If you have the time and space to do it I say go at it yourself. Don’t be in a rush to get it done. I would think you can get enough help here on the forum if something tricky should arise. Replace everything.

@empty_lord any input or suggestions?

 

Take it to a pro. Diagnostics or a recharge can be DIY. Beyond that most repairs require specialized equipment and licenses.

If the post hobby shop can evacuate/recharge the system for you that's half the battle. The other half is identifying the cause of the leak so you can effectively repair it. So unless you know specifically what is leaking take it to a pro.

You may spend more, but you will have a quicker turn around time with less guess work.

 

Have a shop find the source of the leak. No point in dumping money into the whole system if it’s an o ring or something.

the job can be DIY, but you’ll need an a/c shop have to remove the Freon before working on it, then take it back for a recharge.

 

Another vote for having a pro do it. All you need to do is have some contamination in the system when you’re finished, and you’ll be back to square one.

 

I tried to DIY the AC in my wifes car. I couldn't figure it out. I do a lot of things to cars but AC is one of those black magic arts that I can't do. I took it to my mechanic and he called me an hour later laughing. The schrader valve where you fill the refrigerant wasn't holding pressure. He charged me $120 to replace it and evac/recharge. Its been fine for a year now.

Good luck, hopefully it's something simple.

 

AC isn't super difficult, anyone can work on it with basic fundamental understanding. I've diagnosed my own stuff when there wasn't a high risk or intentional need to release refrigerant into the air, because that's a straight-up selfish dick-move thing to do IMHO.

It seemed like black magic fuckery to me too, but I'm notoriously thick-headed and struggled with it working backwards from what's logical for me: It's not adding cold, it's adding & removing heat. You add/remove heat by compressing (with the AC compressor) and expanding (expansion valve) a sealed refrigerant (134a, for us).

A simple system w/tons of of tiny fail points. The system must remain sealed and pressurized within a range, but there's valves and o-rings everywhere to leak. Refrigerant must continuously flow in a cycle, so the tiniest contaminant can snowball over time, clogging tighter passages like your orifice tube. Any time you open the system, the refrigerant needs to be captured, then the tubes vacuumed clear of debris (there's a tool for that), then refilled to a specific pressure while the system is running.

If you can't do that stuff properly or don't have the tools to vacuum, refill, and monitor pressure, you probably shouldn't. It's best to take to a shop. Just b/c you can doesn't mean you should. Besides, your dude doing nothing but automotive AC the last 10-30 years will, 9 times out of 10, have a quick mental flowchart to quickly find the common fail points for your system, has the specialty tools on-hand to prove the issue, then fix it, vacuum any introduced garbage from the lines that will cause a failure later.

I hate it, honestly. And the shit is expensive - the clutch and compressor assembly for the VR6 in my MKIV GTI 15 years ago was $650 alone. 3-4 hours labor to replace. I think I paid $1600 for that repair, and the dealership wanted $4,500.

OP's issue may only be low refrigerant. But it's supposedly a sealed system, why is it low? A temp fix is to add more refrigerant w/dye, then if it goes low again, use a UV light and goggles to look for dye marks. I've done it, it's not difficult for the exposed lines you can see, but if it's the evap coil in the dash leaking, good luck!

Your competent AC guy has the tools and knowledge to pressure test lines, know if it's the high or low side leaking, then nail down the exact segment, part, or joint that's leaking and fix. Just find one locally with 4.5+ stars in their Google store ratings and drag it in.

 

WELL only 13 months later! I found it! hahaha SOOOOO I took it to the dealership for them to do their diagnostic, $350 for evac and recharge but with the dye, they ran it that day and couldn't find leak, took it back a week later and they couldn't find a leak.....I was told by them to bring it back in a couple months....well it worked fine until September and I was driving my other vehicle so wasn't in a rush and the heat works fine during winter....today it's supposed to be 80+ here in VA so I got one of the NDI guys to bring his UV flashlight out to the truck and 10 minutes of poking around we found exactly squat. About to close up the hood and order my own light on Amazon to check at nighttime when lo and behold we checked under the insulation on the lines and found the leak! Hoping this will be an easy replacement to find and swap out.

 

Decisions decisions.....

OEM hose: normally 232 on sale for 165
Rock Auto Special: 65 doll hairs.....

I feel like if this was a bearing or a ball joint I'd be inclined to pay the extra money but as this is a nonessential component I'm thinking rock auto.....unless anyone thinks a good reason I should pay the extra money??

 

I had the dye job done along with recharging it and it appears my leaks are the O-rings at the dryer and the schraeder valve itself. Low on my priority list but I'd do it myself by bringing it in, having it evacuated, taking it home to fix it, then having the same place charge it. You need to shop around to see who's willing to do it that way, but it can be done.

BTW, you don't even need the special glasses to see it after a few months since the leak will accumulate expelled UV dye around it from what I've seen on mine.

 

I believe I’m fortunate enough to be able to get the part and install it as the system is already empty, then have the hobby shop on base (who is running a special $35 service and 9/lb for Freon) then….we’ll find out if it worked come October when it would normally run out

 

Hopefully this post is for a long lasting resolution for my truck and may assist someone else in the future.

After discovering the leaking line likely due to the crimps in post #11 I was able to source the hose from rock auto for $65 and using the below diagram

The drivers side came off easy enough with a 10mm socket and some good pressure.
There's one more 10mm bolt just over the intake.
The piping clamp circled on the passenger side is the devil. It spins freely and will rotate for you to use a pick to pull the clamp apart.

I failed to get a pic of the pick in the clamp but have attached a rudimentary drawing of the clamp with an arrow.

Press down and pull away and it will come apart. There are a couple videos on youtube using a paperclip to accomplish this but the angles were easier to remove the air intake box by loosening (3) 10mm screws and getting it out of your way. After that I used the plastic trim tools to pry the two lines apart. A SMALL bit of UV dye helped installation of the new line a breeze. Buttoned it all back up and recharged the freon after conducting a leak check. Hope this helps someone!