Evaporator Leak?- 96 STS

[slinginsteel]

Anyone ever had this replaced? I was just driving to work this morning, a/c nice and cold and all of a sudden warm air and "very low refreigerant/ ac comp. off". I charged it with 2 cans. After I hooked up the second can I noticed it wasn't getting very cold so I ran it for a while hoping to stabilize the freon pressure but it just shut the compressor off again, so this must be a substantial leak. I heard a hissing from the plastic evap. case. Also the plastic case around it is all cracked. I might try to do it myself as I do have some experience with a/c. It looks accessable from the firewall, unlike many new vehicles that you have to remove the entire dash assembly. I've searched on here and can't find any info. I'd love to find a "how to" with pics. If it's too hard I'll save some $$ and pay for the repair but you all know how we hate to spend monay if it's something we can do ourselves. Any advise is appreciated. Thanks, John

[Ranger]

John,
If you are talking about the plastic HVAC housing on the firewall, they do get brittle and crack after many heat cycles. The bad news is that you have to lower the engine cradle to replace it. I think your first step should be to look for a FSM by Helm inc. (not Chiltons or Haynes). Ebay is your friend.

[gomarkiiv]

I replaced my evaporator core on 94 sts. Removed engine cradle. I used some pallets and some pipes and rolled assembly out. I had a good a frame to lift car body. Removing core is finding all the fasteners and cutting the plastic case open. I got my evaporator core on ebay.