air conditioning

DODGE CARAVAN

TAMIKAMI

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2000 Dodge grand caravan 130,000 miles. Air conditioner has been charged twice recently. Only held charge 1 day each time. Have put dye in line, but have been unable to see the leak in the engine compartment. Took it to a shop that said it needs new evaporator core (coil?) for $850. In the same breath they said I could just trade it in with them for something new. My friend, a former mechanic, said in his career he had only replaced one of those and he felt that for only $25 that would have been a hard part for them to diagnose. Anyway my van is HOT and so are my kids. I'm skeptical of the repair shop's diagnosis as I think they want to sell me something else. Any ideas on what else to look for?
Thanks.

Jun 4, 2007 at 10:14 PM

BILL MCDOW

MEMBER
2 POSTS

I would not sell them your car, as they seem to have a major conflict of interest here. My AC was hot and an 'AC repair shop said I needed to replace the condensor, after doing a dye test on the system. A local mechanic rechecked the system for me, found no leak and showed the shop had either made a mistake or attempted to take advantage of me. I would have a trusted mechanic recharge the system and see if all connections and fittings are tight, then look for components that are not working properly.

Jun 8, 2007 at 8:20 AM