A/C work - condenser, expansion valve

[Irenicus]

Got a $1700 quote to replace the A/C expansion valve, condenser and serpentine belt plus a recharge for my 2016 GS

I'm looking at the parts and the amount of work involved and my dad thinks we can handle the part swap ourselves in his shop. I know a fridge guy at work and as far as I know we need to get the system drained and recovered all the freon 134A safely before we can do anything.

Depending how much experience these fridge guys have at work I may see if they can handle the re-charge, or if it's higher risk I may end up taking it back to the shop. I figure I'll save about $800+ on labour just doing these 3 parts myself.

Any thoughts on this? I know the expansion valve is behind the firewall so that seems annoying. Everything else seems straight forward

 

[HyFlyer]

... I know the expansion valve is behind the firewall ...

Hmmmmm, I wonder if you have just stumbled on the "why' behind the $1700 estimate. Have you checked the workshop manual to see what it'll take to get to that expansion valve ? Also, how much do you trust the diagnosis that the expansion valve needs replaced?

 

[dan25man]

A/C work is harder that you think. If you do it yourself and there even a very very minor leak anywhere you touched, you are going to lose your r134 and have to do it again. If you get a shop to do it then A) they will probably do it right and B) if there's any other leaks or issues they would repair it in their own $ and time. People forget that parts + labour rates take into account rework (if needed) $1700 seems fair for the work being performed. Cars are expressive Yo.

 

[Irenicus]

A/C work is harder that you think. If you do it yourself and there even a very very minor leak anywhere you touched, you are going to lose your r134 and have to do it again. If you get a shop to do it then A) they will probably do it right and B) if there's any other leaks or issues they would repair it in their own $ and time. People forget that parts + labour rates take into account rework (if needed) $1700 seems fair for the work being performed. Cars are expressive Yo.

I mean if a shop recovers the refrigerant isn't most of it just straight forward mechanical work - seems like the most crucial part is PAG oil and O-Ring replacement.

Labour is like $1100 at the shop to do this.

 

[zx10guy]

If you are looking to do this job yourself outside of refrigerant recovery/recharge, you need to have a vacuum pump to have vacuum in the system. When you open any part of the A/C system, you're exposing the internal system to moisture in the air. The receiver dryer/accumulator is a metal container with dessicant material in to capture any moisture that may be in the A/C system. But when you pop open lines and such you can easily get the accumulator full of moisture which may require that part to replace too.

Now with the recharging with the place you plan on using, hopefully, they pull the system down in vacuum and then let it sit that way for 15 to 30 minutes and then shut off the vacuum pump to let the system stand as is in vacuum. If the system doesn't hold vacuum after say another 15 minutes you have a leak some where.

The use of a vacuum pump yourself ensure water gets boiled off and sucked out of the system before you take the car to get recharged.

 

[Irenicus]

If you are looking to do this job yourself outside of refrigerant recovery/recharge, you need to have a vacuum pump to have vacuum in the system. When you open any part of the A/C system, you're exposing the internal system to moisture in the air. The receiver dryer/accumulator is a metal container with dessicant material in to capture any moisture that may be in the A/C system. But when you pop open lines and such you can easily get the accumulator full of moisture which may require that part to replace too.

Now with the recharging with the place you plan on using, hopefully, they pull the system down in vacuum and then let it sit that way for 15 to 30 minutes and then shut off the vacuum pump to let the system stand as is in vacuum. If the system doesn't hold vacuum after say another 15 minutes you have a leak some where.

The use of a vacuum pump yourself ensure water gets boiled off and sucked out of the system before you take the car to get recharged.

Hmm. That's frustrating to read as I assumed I'd be fine to swap out the condenser and expansion valve after it's completely vacuumed and just plug the lines.

Not really sure what to do at this point honestly. Half of everything I read says it's totally do-able and the other half not so much

 

[zx10guy]

Hmm. That's frustrating to read as I assumed I'd be fine to swap out the condenser and expansion valve after it's completely vacuumed and just plug the lines.

Not really sure what to do at this point honestly. Half of everything I read says it's totally do-able and the other half not so much

Just think about it. The system is under a decent amount of vacuum when it's evacuated. You have to break the seal in the system to remove anything. Once the seal is broken air will get in. The other thing is you're replacing the condenser probably because there's a leak in the condenser. So even if the system is under vacuum, it may not be for long with the leak.

This job is certainly doable. But I personally wouldn't leave the system not under vacuum for long after the parts are replaced and I wouldn't spread the job out over more than two days. Ideally, it's done in a few hours, put under vacuum, checked for leaks, and then recharged in the same day.

 

[Irenicus]

Just think about it. The system is under a decent amount of vacuum when it's evacuated. You have to break the seal in the system to remove anything. Once the seal is broken air will get in. The other thing is you're replacing the condenser probably because there's a leak in the condenser. So even if the system is under vacuum, it may not be for long with the leak.

This job is certainly doable. But I personally wouldn't leave the system not under vacuum for long after the parts are replaced and I wouldn't spread the job out over more than two days. Ideally, it's done in a few hours, put under vacuum, checked for leaks, and then recharged in the same day.

I guess at only 0.08lbs it's insignificant enough to require them to recover any of it right?

My plan would be to do the work on a Sunday and drop it off Monday morning at the shop for them to recharge. Would this seem reasonable and not terribly risky?