air cond. evaporator

[ptjoe]

Hi guys.
I just got the bad news. The air conditioning evaporator on my 2002 PT limited is leaking and needs to be replaced. Car is in great shape but I'm questioning spending this amount of money on a car with nearly 80,000 miles
A costly job...around $1000 Labor to pull the dash amounts to more the half the cost of the repair as the the quote for the evaporator is $330.
My question is for anyone who knows how difficult it is if I were to pull the dash myself and expose the evaporator for replacement to bring the cost down.
Joe

[slartyblarfast]

Not really a driveway job unless you are very mechanically inclined. It's not the easiest to do. And you will have to have the freon removed and replaced.

[ptjoe]

Originally Posted by slartyblarfast

Not really a driveway job unless you are very mechanically inclined. It's not the easiest to do. And you will have to have the freon removed and replaced.

Thanks for responding. I kinda figured that would be the case. especially since removing an airbag is involved.
Dealer quoted $330 for the replacement evaporator and $475 on labor but I went online and found a new aftermarket evaporator core at a online auto air conditioning parts warehouse called techchoice for $67.
Big cost difference here. Problem is so much labor time is involved to replace it I'd really hate to see a premature failure because the aftermarket part is inferior...
Joe