AC compressor or Evaporater?

[8pack]

Car had lost it's freon. The accumulator was rotted terribly so I replaced it and had the system recharged. It sat for a week while I was away and came back and no cool air.

I know that is an indicator that the Evap is bad, but before I spend 20hrs taking the dash out I wanted to be sure it was not the compressor. How do I verify it is a leak through the Evap and not the compressor?

Thanks!

[JRL]

If it worked for a week then died, it's usually the evaporator.
8-10 hours not 20!
However if parts and pieces have already rusted I would suggest you charge it again WITH DYE (as you should have done before), run it for a day or two, then check everywhere and also the condensor in front of the radiator with a black light before you start pulling it apart.

There's always the possibility that you have a bad/rusted connection somewhere else.
If you don't find a leak, then it's the evaporator as you can't black light the evap, at least not easily

[8pack]

Ok. Good suggestion. Will do!

[JRL]

BTW
Compressors do not leak.
They either work or not. If it engages and it's moving, it's working

[ElVee]

If it worked for a week then died, it's usually the evaporator.

This was the case with my 1998 XC70. My mechanic charged the AC with dye and it was cold for a week or two before it started to get warmer. By about month it was completely gone.

When I brought it back, he put the car on the lift and showed me the dye markings on the bottom of the evaporator. He replaced it, recharged it and it's been cold over a month so far.

[ElVee]

This was the case with my 1998 XC70. My mechanic charged the AC with dye and it was cold for a week or two before it started to get warmer. By about month it was completely gone.

When I brought it back, he put the car on the lift and showed me the dye markings on the bottom of the evaporator. He replaced it, recharged it and it's been cold over a month so far.

Just a follow up to this. I said evaporator when I should have said condenser.

As it turns out, my AC started to get warm just after my last post from last summer. As it was close to the end of the AC season, I didn't bother with it again until now.

Back to the mechanic to check for any further dye markings. This time he did not see any, meaning any leak is behind the dashboard. He said it's most likely the evaporator, which he quoted about $800-900 to repair.

I opted for a recharge for now. I'll see how long it lasts. Two charges a season (now and mid summer) gets me a few years before it comes up to the quoted repair price. Don't know if I'll still have the car by then.