earthrealm
Senior Member
any clue how the other shop finally located that the leak is in the evaporator, am in a similar boat, none of the shops have been able to pin down the leak, but am needing to add r134a every 6 to 12wks
A/C Hot on drivers side!
- Thread starter mattstuder1
- Start date
any clue how the other shop finally located that the leak is in the evaporator, am in a similar boat, none of the shops have been able to pin down the leak, but am needing to add r134a every 6 to 12wks
earthrealm
Senior Member
ok, one shop has been able to pin it down to the compressor seals leaking, but am not ready to throw some $$$s at buying a new compressor and at the end it turns out to be the usual evaporator failure!.....guess will try more shops
preacher35
New member
[MENTION=78511]earthrealm[/MENTION], the way to check if the evap core is leaking is to have your mechanic check the evap drain hose coming out of the firewall, in the engine compartment. If they detect freon coming out, then you know that's what the issue is. FYI: it seems that this happens a lot with 03-05's at around 100k miles. I'm only telling you, just in case the compressor seals turn out to NOT be the problem. Before mine was properly diagnosed, I took it to three different mechanics whom ALL MISS-DIAGNOSED the leak. I paid the first shop almost $200.00 to fix a compressor leak.... and it turned out to not be the problem. Anyway, keep us updated on your progress!
earthrealm
Senior Member
thanks [MENTION=89791]preacher35[/MENTION] he added this greenish colored oil to the ac while he was adding refrigrant, and after 2 weeks, i came back...he checked for traces of the green oil at the drain hose area/chassis frame where the water drops off.....n he didnt see any oil there......according to him, if the evaporator is leaking, some traces of the oil will migrate all through and come out through the drain hose {i dont believe this theory], am thinking of buying the uv light kit and injecting dye, if that fails..will try big ac specialty shop.
yeah my truck is 05, bought used in 2012 with 116k miles.....now it has 128k miles
yeah my truck is 05, bought used in 2012 with 116k miles.....now it has 128k miles
preacher35
New member
Well, [MENTION=78511]earthrealm[/MENTION], if the problem comes back, post-seal-repair, have someone take a look at the evap drain hose. Hopefully, you will not have this issue.
Rockdawg84
New member
So my wife's 03 SR5 V8 started doing this last week, warm on the drivers side and cool on the passengers side. then this week it went warm all over. My mechanic put a set of gages on the AC system and the system had a static pressure of about 60 psi but interestingly as the engine was started the compressor kicked on and the low side immediately went into a vacuum state and the high side never moved. To me that seems to indicate a blockage somewhere. We can find no leaks that are obvious including the condensation drain tube. Before we tear the dash apart and start replacing the evaporator does anyone have any thoughts on the gage readings?
thanks
Sam
thanks
Sam
Drummer1
New member
I just noticed a few days ago that my drivers side vents are blowing warm and my passenger side vents are blowing cold, so I called my mechanic that I have used for many years and he said right away that it is the temperature actuator motor. He quoted me $300.00 for the part/labor, so much for getting to buy my Bilstein 5100 struts/shocks like I wanted. My A/C is a priority here in Florida and it is already warming up. I guess I'll put the fun stuff on the back burner again:sobbing:
toybox
New member
I'd like to know if this works solves the problem as many on this thread say it is the evaporator, which costs substantially more. Please report back after you have the work done. But then again you may not know for a few months because part of the repair may be putting "Freon" in which would resolve the problem temporarily regardless of the new part.
Drummer1
New member
I will post an update once the mechanic checks the system out and fixes the issue, because it could very well be something else.
Rockdawg84
New member
I can give an update. We added freon and it did help for a couple of weeks but then went back to exactly the same thing and even eventually loosing cooling all together. We ended up having to do the evaporator and since it means removing the whole dash we did everything in the AC system and as well as a heater core. I can say that there was a lot of junk in the evaporator and it did did appear to be leaking. Since the repair the AC has worked flawlessly. One other note from this is that because the whole dash has to be removed all the way to the firewall I made the decision to only use OEM toyota parts. it is too much work and expense to get to the parts just to have them fail. And the original toyota parts lasted over 250k so I think we should be good for a while.
preacher35
New member
Unfortunately, if your Runner has over 100k on the clock, odds are you have an evaporator leak. This seems to happen to most 4th gen owners here on T4R.org. Good luck!
preacher35
New member
[MENTION=82872]Drummer1[/MENTION],
Did your mechanic actually look at your system before making that diagnosis? How many miles are on your Runner?
Drummer1
New member
I held off going to my mechanic and bought a can of A/C charge and noticed it was low on the gauge so I topped it off and the A/C is blowing cold consistently from all vents. No change as of early April, so hopefully that's all it was. To answer your question preacher35, no my mechanic did not look at my T4R before making the diagnosis. I have 87,000 miles on my T4R.
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preacher35
New member
OK, if your Runner's a/c begins to repeat the same problem in the next few weeks, you'll need to have the evaporator drain hose checked for signs of freon. My Runner did the same thing. A freon recharge and I was good to go for about two months. Then I started having to do it every four to five weeks... then every two weeks... until I found the leak: Evaporator. Good luck!
longobongo
New member
Again
Seems like my 2003 4runner is doing it again... Just filled it with freon 2 months ago.
Where is the evaporator drain hose? Can I take a shop vaccuum and suck anything that may be blocking it?
If its the evaporator... it is under the dash? Exactly where under the dash? Sounds like a expensive repair.
Seems like my 2003 4runner is doing it again... Just filled it with freon 2 months ago.
Where is the evaporator drain hose? Can I take a shop vaccuum and suck anything that may be blocking it?
If its the evaporator... it is under the dash? Exactly where under the dash? Sounds like a expensive repair.
earthrealm
Senior Member
update: my ac compressor eventually locked up...guess due to excessive oil loss from the freon leakage, not a drop of oil was found in it when it was removed.
bought new compressor and condenser from rockauto and installed, system was recharged. ac cools now, but still not as cold as i think it shuold be.
bought the leak detector unit off amazon, and stuck it in the drain hose, it detected a leak, but a pal whose evap was replaced cos of leakage, still reistered a leak when i stuck the detection unit on the drain hose..........so it a bit puzzling now.
intend to stick the detector unit on cars with known functional a/cs so i can be sure what is really going on......
bought new compressor and condenser from rockauto and installed, system was recharged. ac cools now, but still not as cold as i think it shuold be.
bought the leak detector unit off amazon, and stuck it in the drain hose, it detected a leak, but a pal whose evap was replaced cos of leakage, still reistered a leak when i stuck the detection unit on the drain hose..........so it a bit puzzling now.
intend to stick the detector unit on cars with known functional a/cs so i can be sure what is really going on......
