DIY 2003 WRX AC Repair?

The AC shop says my wife's WRX needs a new evaporator core, receiver dryer, and expansion valve to the tune of ~$850. I have avoided AC repair in the past because it involved R12 which I couldn't get so I would always have to deal with the shops anyway. Since R134 is available and the parts total is less than $150 from RockAuto it seems foolish to pay someone else for the job.

Any advice on a source for cheap/decent quality vacuum pump and gauges?

Should I just pay the guy and be done with it?

Thoughts?

Put the parts in and have a shop fill it with magic?

A halfway decent manifold gauge set is nice, you don't have to have it, but I recommend it anyway. I spent around $75 for a set on sale. I think you can get it for cheaper from Harbor Freight but I'm not sure of the quality on that one.

I bought the Harbor Freight air powered vacuum pump and it was horrible. I was going to say it sucked, but that would be confusing. It made a ton of noise and barely moved any air, volume wise. It likely would have worked eventually but I was going deaf and my huge air compressor was threatening to turn on. Instead, I pulled the R134a fitting adapter off of it and used some brass fittings to turn an industrial vacuum pump a friend had on hand into an a/c pump. It worked really, really well. The pump is a Gast ROC-R pump, which I think is normally really pricey but you can find them for cheap if you hunt. You want to put a muffler on the output side of the pump or it's somewhat noisy.

Suck it down to a vacuum, running the pump for about a half hour after it's done, close off the valves of your manifold, and unplug the pump. Let it sit and if it's still at a vacuum a half hour later you're good to go.

If you're interested in pursuing this more, I can give you more details. I found it worth it to invest a hundred or two in tools so I can work on all my cars AC from now on. It's saved me a few hundred bucks already, done repairs on four different cars/trucks.

Here is my writeup of working on my 2002 WRX - http://roadraceautox.com/showpost.php?p=716762&postcount=12

Expansion valve was kind of a PITA because it was under the dash, but nothing magic to it. Remove glove box, remove cabin filter, remove a bunch of plastic fan ducting, and then you can get to it.

On mine, the dryer and condenser were all one piece, and since the system was going to be opened up and you ALWAYS replace a dryer, they said it needed those as well. I called bullE36 M3. I decided that if I left the system under a vacuum for a day, then it would dry out the desiccant. So I did. Dunno if I was good, lucky, or what, but the condenser / dryer were fine.

My HF vacuum pump worked fine. I replaced a hose and the dryer on my '02 wrx (make sure you have the right o-ring!) with the HF pump and gauges. Three years later it's still fine. The dryer for mine was only like $20, so I didn't flinch about replacing it. It was the hose that was ridiculous- like $180.

To clear up some of this, you have to run the vacuum pump for 30min@28" to boil out the water that may be present. Just leaving it in a vacuum, doesn't get rid of the water. Holding the vacuum is a good way of making sure your AC system is sealed, tho.

You can typically reuse your dryer as long as the above precaution is used AND while you work on the system the open ends need to remain sealed with tape, caps, caps and tape, etc. In some humid areas/days, you can fill the dryer full of moisture in under 4hrs. You will never get it back to "dry" after it's "soaked".

I just want to know what you are using to recover the old freon?

You have mail.

Ranger50 wrote: I just want to know what you are using to recover the old freon?

The ozone layer. While yelling "DIE HIPPIES!", drinking a Bud Diesel, and watching Nascar. Why do you ask?

I brought the car home. I priced out the parts at RockAuto and was less than $150 in not including shipping or refrigerant.

I have more questions:
Are cheapo parts a bad idea?
Any brands better than others?
Should I replace more parts than those diagnosed bad? Do certain parts wear faster?
What is the best local source for refrigerant?
Where can I get a good cheap vac pump?
Where can I get good cheap gauges?

MrJoshua wrote: I brought the car home. I priced out the parts at RockAuto and was less than $150 in not including shipping or refrigerant. I have more questions: Are cheapo parts a bad idea? Any brands better than others? Should I replace more parts than those diagnosed bad? Do certain parts wear faster? What is the best local source for refrigerant? Where can I get a good cheap vac pump? Where can I get good cheap gauges?

1. I used whatever expansion valve the local O'Reilly had on the shelf.
2. OE is probably best, but it was 5X as much.
3. The only real wear item in the AC system is the compressor, belt, and belt tensioner. My tensioner died a few weeks after I recharged, and took the belt with it, but I don't think they were related. Compressor is too expensive to replace as preventative maintenance.
4. I got mine at the local parts store. Autozone, Advance, O'Rielly all carry it.
5. HF. I used a loaner from Autozone, but it is ALWAYS on loan. Next time I need to do AC work, I'll buy the pump and gauges from HF.
6. See 5.

I thought I had more A/C parts, but this is all I could find. It was removed from a low mileage 2003 WRX that got whacked in the rear quarter. I don't know Subaru A/C systems at all, but that may be an evaporator core in there, along with the heater core. Not sure where the expansion valve is found.

Expansion Valve connects to that machined surface @ 1:00 in the first photo IIRC. Presumably heater hoses connect to the other spots @ 11:00

Changing the evaporator can be a real adventure.

I have been using the smaller of the two electric vacuum pumps from HF for several years now without issue. I do have a gauge set from HF but the high side fitting was so poorly machined i had to buy a quality one which effectively doubled the price of the set. After a few years the hoses now look like crap. I would recommend a higher quality gauge set, even used.

Evaporators are USUALLY the hardest part of the AC system to replace, which is why doing them yourself is such a huge money savings. If it was easy, it wouldn't cost $850.

Hey, I faced the same problem. All ac repair services center could not be provide better solution. Recently I faced the problem and contact [extreme canoe service] center and solved the problem. I think it always gives the customer better solution.

93gsxturbo said:

Ranger50 wrote: I just want to know what you are using to recover the old freon?

The ozone layer. While yelling "DIE HIPPIES!", drinking a Bud Diesel, and watching Nascar. Why do you ask?

Is recovery still an issue with R-134a? I don't know all that much about A/C but I tend to associate recovery with R-12.

In reply to b13990 :

It's an issue in the sense that you really shouldn't just open it up and let it vent to the atmosphere.  I suspect it's also not legal to knowingly do so, but it's bad for the environment and also bad for you if your hobbies include breathing.  It is not an issue, however, to do so safely and inexpensively.  I found a little shop around the corner from Toiletbird Industries that will evac the system for $35 and then refill it when I'm done for $35 plus refrigerant.

All refrigerants should be recovered.

Because of the ability for DIYers to get Bob's Mystery Refrigerant on eBay, technically we are supposed to type the refrigerant, and if the refrigerant contains anything but R-134a, or R-1234yf, or R-12 I guess, the refrigerant is supposed to be evacuated into its own container and then sent (at the shop's expense) to a disposal center.  Problem is, last I heard, there ARE no disposal centers currently.

You also have to check for the presence of sealants.  Sealant in the refrigerant will destroy an A/C machine, which can be a $10k-20k problem.  This is why I get mad every time I go to the parts store and see refrigerant with sealant added as the prominent, if not only, option.  If you have ever used refrigerant with sealant in it, do not take it somewhere to have the A/C serviced, please!