A/C Repair

[bcfunder]

Hey All,
I'm new to the forum and looking for some guidance. Back in October the A/C in my 2009 Dodge Ram 1500, 5.7L V8 (146k miles) Hemi started smelling "sweet" rather suddenly during a drive. I also noticed a "hissing" sound when I shut the truck off. My research initially lead me to believe the issue is a leak in the evaporator coil, but after reviewing some of the posts on this forum I'm uncertain.

The initial quotes I got from a dealership and a repair shop I trust had an evaporator repair at nearly $2500. I did not want to pay that much so I've just been driving it without running the air con at all, but now that it's summer in Texas it's become a bit of a problem. I'd like to be able to buy the parts myself and just pay for the labor, but I'm less certain of doing that if I haven't diagnosed the issue correctly.

Is there anything else likely to be at fault in this scenario? The evaporator coil was replaced in 2014, but everything else is original.

Thanks in advance for your help.

 

[Socalramfan]

For what it’s worth, I had a slight leak onto tje passenger floorboard. Determined one of the connection has a design flaw, and not uncommon.

The entire dash had to be removed for the little part. While at it I had everything, and I do mean everything which could fail replaced as a preventative measure. The bill….. @ $1900 a year ago. I’m big on replacing something before it gets worse, rather avoid a bigger issue later

omt….. work was done at my local shop….. not the Dealers.

 

[crash68]

part the problem of supplying the parts is then the shop will only warranty their labor, meaning if there is a problem with a part you'll be on the hook for the labor to change that part.
The job is fairly labor intensive which is probably a good part of the cost. Refrigerant has become stupid expensive also.
While the shop is tearing the dash out to swap the evaporator have the heater core replaced also. The two parts are next to each other and both require the dash to be removed.

 

[jawzs2]

Are you thinking it's the evaporator core just based on the smell and hissing sound? Did the A/C immediately stop blowing cold air, or does the A/C still work? Refrigerant usually doesn't smell sweet, but anti-freeze does. Check the coolant level, see if it's low.

 

[bcfunder]

Are you thinking it's the evaporator core just based on the smell and hissing sound? Did the A/C immediately stop blowing cold air, or does the A/C still work? Refrigerant usually doesn't smell sweet, but anti-freeze does. Check the coolant level, see if it's low.

The AC still blew some cold air, but I became concerned and haven't wanted to run it with no refrigerant for fear of damaging the compressor.

 

[jawzs2]

The AC still blew some cold air, but I became concerned and haven't wanted to run it with no refrigerant for fear of damaging the compressor.

You won't damage the compressor, there a low pressure cutout switch that will prevent the compressor from engaging if the pressure is too low. (If the compressor doesn't engage, I'd have someone put a set of gauges on it and check the pressures). I'd lean more towards a heater core. After it gets hot, turn the defrost on high heat and see if the windshield fogs up on the inside. Not an end-all be-all test, but if it's leaking enough for you to hear a hiss, it should show up there.

 

[MRFREEZE57]

The AC still blew some cold air, but I became concerned and haven't wanted to run it with no refrigerant for fear of damaging the compressor.

Refrigerant has no odor so that would not be what you smell, the hissing when turned off would likely be the system equalizing and I believe there is a low pressure switch on the system so the compressor would not cycle on if too low on gas. if blowing cold air ok the AC is likely functioning ok. When low on gas the evap will tend to ice up and it would blow cold air for a bit until the evap is iced over.

 

[indept]

Your 2009 should be R134 so you can recharge it if need be. They sell recharge kits everywhere. Just be sure you need freon, you DON'T want to overcharge it.

 

[Ron Boggio]

Curious how did you make out here?

 

[br427]

Sounds like you got a low charge, either leaked out or not enough put in in the beginning.