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Cliff notes - car stops blowing cold air about 1-2 weeks after recharging. Process of elimination leads me to believing the issue is the evaporator. However I don’t want to spend 400 on a new one (I will only buy new AC components) or tear my dash apart if I am somehow overlooking some glaringly obvious problem. If anyone can either confirm or dispute my hypothesis it would be greatly appreciated.
1. 94+ TT with r134a.
2. Blows ICE cold after a recharge
3. Brand new OEM compressor and dryer and replaced associated O rings. (The compressor clutch engages and disengages and the aux fan works)
4. Replaced high/low Schrader valves
5. Car holds a vacuum.
6. Confirmed NO leaks at any visible line in the engine bay or nose using a UV light and a sniffer. No leaks at the condenser, compressor, or dryer. The sniffer detected no refrigerant or vapors coming from any of the vents
7. When the car is brought in to be recharged it still has some refrigerant left inside.
The novel:
I'm trying to pinpoint my AC issue. I have a 94 TT with R134a. A year or 2 ago my AC (after being recharged after my motor build) stopped blowing cool air. I noticed a leak in the rear compressor seal and replaced my compressor and dryer with brand new OEM Nissan units, and replaced the associated O rings. I brought it to a shop, they pulled a vacuum, it held vacuum with no sign of any leak and they recharged it with r134a and dye. They checked for leaks with a UV light and found none. The car blew cool air for about a week or two, then no more.
I brought it to another shop where a friend works in order to try and isolate the leak. When they hooked the car up to the machine it still had a vacuum. They evacuated it, it held a vacuum, and they recharged it, went over it with a sniffer and UV light and found no leaks. Obviously I knew the leak was still there so we figured maybe one of the Schrader valves was leaking very slowly so they evacuated it again, replaced the valves, pulled vacuum and it held for 30 mins with no signs of any leaks, so it was refilled and that was that. I thought we had fixed the leak, but alas, after about a week the system is blowing lukewarm but slightly cool air, but is clearly not at full capacity. Every time I use it it’s weaker and now it's pretty much just blowing warm air. At this point it has been confirmed that NO refrigerant is leaking from any visible component or line in the engine bay or nose of the vehicle. No leak at the compressor, condenser, dryer, or any line or fitting. When they used the sniffer they did not detect any refrigerant coming out of the vents or anything but still, considering I have a leak and it's not coming from anywhere visible, it leaves me to believe that this must be an issue with the evaporator by process of elimination. I'm not one to waste money only buying brand new, but when it comes to AC components I only buy new. Considering a new OEM evaporator is about 400 and the install is a PITA I’d like to get some input to see if anyone agrees with my hypothesis before ordering and tearing my dash and interior apart, or if perhaps I and everyone who has looked at the car have somehow overlooked some glaring issue. I greatly appreciate any help with this issue, as it has been going on for about 2 years now.
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