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97 Blazer A/C

Condensed story: Buy used car when cold, can't really tell if a/c really works, assume it does (yeah, dumbass me). 3 days later it's like

75, a/c does not work at all, nothing, hot air. Complain to dealer as it was advertised as A/C, they agree to 'fix' it. Take it to dealer, put in dye, come back 4 weeks later, they blame it on the schrader valve. So they replace the schrader valve, clean the coils and say "hey! We'll gladly pick up the bill for this one!" 2 weeks later a/c starts losing it's coldness again, it's a leaking evaporator. $700, they refuse to pick up the bill.

It all seems fishy to me like they were covering up the real problem the first time. I never received an invoice from them for the work, but the guy claimed it was over $200 to replace the schrader valve. Now that I've researched a little that seems far fetched. But anyways.. could the schrader valve really take the AC down to nothing as it was when I bought it? After a month would it affect the cooling at all?

Reply to
craigercj
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Schrader valve = same kind of valve that your tires use. Only way I can see it costing $200 is if they replaced the hose that included the valve, if they just replaced the core those are pennies. The refrigerant to recharge would actually cost more than the valve core.

Sure. If that valve leaks eventually all of your refrigerant will leak to the atmosphere.

nate

Reply to
N8N

Schrader valves are often overlooked because techs check for leaks while their gauges are hooked up to the system. Yes, they can leak just like any other part of the system that retains freon.

Your dealer did bone you by "fixing" the car once improperly. Depending on your purchase agreement and warranty, it may still be eligible for repair. At least they are now claiming it is the evaporator, which is the most expensive to replace (parts and labor), and a more likely cause of a major loss of freon in one month.

Check your paperwork to see what recourse you have to get the evaporator replaced.

Toyota MDT in MO

Reply to
Comboverfish

You got yourself screwed over. They knew the evap core was shot. The used car dealers when they get a car in with non-working AC will put a charge in then sweep the system with an electronic leak detector. If it sells before all the refrigerant leaks out then great, if not then they do nothing unless the customer complains then they put another refrigerant charge in it.

If the customer keeps complaining then they just keep giving you bullshit until the 30 day warranty runs out then they refuse to do anything.

Your mistake was in going back there as soon as you discovered a problem. You should have gone to another A/C place and paid the $50 bucks to have a diagnosis written up on it. The other place would probably have found the leaking evap core with a leak detector in a few minutes. With a diagnosis in hand you could beat the dealer over the head and if they refused you could sue them. Now it's a case of he said/she said.

Dye is bullshit, it's for shadetree DIYers too cheap to spend the $100 bucks for a good used leak detector. And telling you to go away for 4 weeks to give the dye a chance to leak out? Pure stalling. And as for the leaky shrader valve? Hell half the shrader valves out there leak, it's the nature of the things. That is why the caps on the A/C recharge ports that are screwed down on top of the schrader valves to cover them all have o-rings in them and seal the ports when they are installed. The factory doesen't trust the schrader valve to seal 100%.

Ted

Reply to
Ted Mittelstaedt

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