kamrows

I would avoid the sealer and add a little R134 with die and try and find the source of the leak. Stay far away from the sealer!

Very popular in New Mexico. In fact, when I bought my last one (1990 Legacy) the dealer told me they were the 10th largest dealer in the US. You can't go anywhere in New Mexico without seeing them..

Was that the static pressure? If so, that is normal. When he said it was the same, was the engine running or was he just measuring the static pressure of it with the compressor off? When an A/C system is off, the low pressure side and high pressure side will reach equal pressure and that is what the A/C people refer to as "static pressure". If on the other hand, they are the same when the compressor kicks on, that can be a number of things. What was the pressure low or high? I would have your shop explain to you how the pressure being the same means your evaporator is the problem. It might very well be but have them tell you more... Here is how I determined mine was bad: 0-PSI on low side and compressor not running. Added one 12 oz can of R134A refrigerant with UV dye. Compressor ran intermittently until it didn't cool anymore. With UV light, I could see dye dripping out of condensation tube on firewall after running A/C for a while. No leaks anywhere else. My evaporator leak was pretty severe and there weren't any other symptoms so it was fairly easy to diagnose. Once I pulled the evaporator, it was pretty easy to explain why it leaked (full of leaves, sand & debris which, is usually what causes corrosion). Most modern A/C shops have electronic leak detectors and maybe that is what they used in your case. Now it is conceivable you have the same problem I had but I would try and get more info from your shop before tearing into your car and or do some more research on those links I posted earlier. Remember, knowledge is power!

I just re-read your post and you said your mechanic told you there are no leaks but he wants to replace your evaporator, why? I'm just curious, how did he come to that conclusion?

I don't know about the 98 Legacy, but if it's anything like my 2003 Forester, it doesn't require pulling the dash. Do a little research and find out how many years they made the same evaporator. I bought mine used and I wouldn't advocate that for your situation (98 model) unless you can get one in good condition. Here is my step by step instructions for what I did: 1. Evacuate R134A coolant (if the evaporator has a leak it might already be evacuated). 2. Remove glove box. 3 Remove heater blower assembly (5-6 screws and or nuts). 4. Disconnect plumbing at firewall (under hood) 5. Remove evaporator cover (will be on right hand side where the blower duct comes in). 6. Slide out old evaporator and replace with new (add a couple onces of appropriate PAG oil to new evaporator). 7. Replace all o-rings with new wherever connections where opened. 8. Replace receiver/drier with new. 9. Pull vacuum on system and look for leaks before recharging with appropriate R134A refrigerant. If you are mechanically inclined you can probably do the job in 3-4 hours maybe less depending on problems encountered. Good luck! Look here first and educate yourself before starting: http://www.autoacforum.com/ http://www.aircondition.com/tech/

That's what I thought before I started the project.

Negative! That's why I love Subaru's, they know how to design them to be repaired. All I had to do is remove the glove box & unbolt the blower assy (3-4 bolts) and pull the evaporator cover on the side and disconnect the plumbing to pull out. Piece of cake!

I had a leaking AC evaporator core and contemplated having it repaired at the dealer but the $650 repair price sort of got me thinking, which can be dangerous. Anyway, I started to read up on the subject to see what I was up against (Thanks to Ferret & others). I figured if nothing else, if I fail I can still pay someone to get the job done. First things first, where to get the evaporator? I checked both local Subaru dealers and they were asking $350 & $400 respectively and online for $255 from SubaruParts.com. For a used one, I could find them from $35 to $350. Now here's where my thinking can get me in to trouble, but logic prevailed. My Forester is a 2003 model and so I figured if I got a used one off a junked newer model it should still have serviceable life, right? Anyhow, I went with the used (2005 model) $35 one and with shipping it cost $50 delivered. And to my surprise, it came with the expansion valve (which I also used because it looked cleaner than my original) and pipes attached and it was in great shape (had a little debris, leaves etc that I blew off with air compressor). With the replacement evaporator in hand, I proceeded to gather a few more things: o-rings, new drier, two cans of flush, PAG oil, two cans of 134A freon, a manifold gauge set & an electric vacuum pump. Now here's where I lucked out, my brother-in-law had the manifold gauge set that he bought from Harbor Freight for $45 but he had never used and he had one of those cheap venturi type vacuum pumps. With everything I read, you cant get enough vacuum from one to boil the moisture off. I called a couple tool rental places and two local Autozone's to try and rent an electric model but to no avail before I scored. The third Autozone (pays to live in a bigger city) had two rental units. The basic cost was $200 for deposit and a total refund when you return the pump (I for one will be buying more stuff from them in the future). Long story short, flushed the new (used) evaporator and condenser, then installed everything and ran a vacuum and to my delight, no leaks. Recharged and running cool! Repair time approximately 3 hours. Total cost $128 and piece of mind knowing the job was done right, priceless! I love it when a plan comes together...

It looks like I'll be replacing my evaporator so I figured I may as well replace the dryer at the same time. It looks like it needs to be done from the underside of the vehicle. Is it as simple as removing the protective cowling under the engine compartment and loosening the pipe fittings and pulling the contents out?

Thanks for the link nipper!

Excuse my ignorance but how will they know if the drier needs to be replace when they pull down the system?

nipper: I'm a little confused, do you mean evaporator? The condenser isn't leaking. Regarding the drier, maybe I'm missing something here but after there is a leak in the system, can't it absorb moisture from the outside air? four-fleet-feet: Where did I say that I was going to have Midas do the evaporator install? What I said was, that I was thinking about having them depressurize the system (remove existing freon) prior to me installing the evaporator. It might be moot if the leak is as bad as I suspect. Also, I don't necessarily agree that all Midas shops rip people off. I realize when posting on one of these forums you are opening yourself up for critical review and I can handle that. I was merely looking for some advice on what it takes to remove the evaporator on my Forester. Sure, I can go to a junk yard and try tearing one out of a wreck to see how it's done, but I was hoping someone has been through it that can lend some advice. By the way, I found an after-market distributor of evaporators for my Forester for $93. I got two separate quotes from my local Subaru dealers of $345 & $400 for the OEM part. For anyone interested: http://www.techchoiceparts.com

Bought used 2003 Forester with no working A/C. Long story short, compressor wasn't kicking on and no pressure on the low pressure side so I added 12 oz. of 134A with dye. Compressor started to run intermittently (20 sec on, 10 sec off). Took car for a couple mile run and came back home. Started to look for any wet spots and found green die colored liquid dripping from the evaporator tube. The next day, AC didn't cool as much and compressor didn't run as long. Seems to be a major leak in the evaporator area. The liquid coming out of the evaporator feels oily (PAG saturated with dye??). How hard is it to replace the evaporator if that is the problem? I called Subaru and they want $640 to repair ($400 for evaporator alone). They told me the labor charge was $180-240. I pulled the glove box to see what it looked like and am considering pulling the evaporator myself. The local Midas shop will remove existing freon before I start. Midas also stated that I should replace the drier if I open the system up. I asked two different Subaru dealers if that was necessary and they both told me "no". Assuming the evaporator is bad, how much PAG added back with new evaporator? Anyone pulled a evaporator from a newer Forester??