Requesting advice from the A\C guru's on here

[killcrap]

Originally Posted by X5_Rob

My passenger side a\c is not blowing nearly as cold as the driver side... dealer telling me I have a bad evaporator and wants $2,100 to replace the evaporator unit. Sounds like BS to as from what little I know about the a/c how would the driver side be blowing cold if the evaporator needed replacing?

I'm thinking it might just need an a/c recharge and am researching if that is something I can do myself... What say Outpost guru's??

Thanks a bunch... btw I have a 2005 4.4 with 85k miles...

The a/c system in a X5 takes less than 1 lb of refrigerant. After about 7 years, it will leak out an maximum of 30 grams per year. So it would be low by about .46lbs. When the refrigerant is low, the driver side will blow colder than the passenger side, due to the design of the dual zone heater system. The first time a system is found low, and is opened up for the first time, there should never be a diagnosis given right away, unless the leak is evident, audible or visually. The system should be evacuated and placed in a vacuum, oil dye added, and recharged to spec. The next time the a/c system is not blowing cold again, a pair of uv glasses and black light should be used to see where the oil dye is leaking out of. If a leak is present, the a/c should start to blow warm with in a year of the recharge.

If the system has never been recharged before, it should be done first before a proper diagnosis can be performed.