Ok... I bought this car a year ago, and it ran great until it over heated in Aug ... it went to the shop and got a new thermostat & pressure cap. The A/C aparently lost its charge, but I did not service it at that time and waited for this summer so I took it to the shop when it overheated yet again... this time the resevor tank was cracked so I had it replaced along with the thermostat again. This time I said charge the A/C cause its over 100 degrees outside and I am tired of sweating ... so they checked the system and it was fine, they refilled it with Freon and sent me on my way. Well the a/c was blowing HOT so I took it back they tested it again and had it plugged into the "machine" for 30 min when they called me over and showed me a "leak" they apparently did not find until this time. So he says if I want it fixed there is a gasket blown and it will cost $1200 ... IS HE FOR REAL??? Says no car over 10 years old has running a/c that bs cause I know lots of cars that do... so I am stuck... I want AC but cant afford 1200 bucks or a new car...

ANY SUGGESTIONS????

Burning up in CA

 

Find another shop!! Get a second opinion. 1200 dollars will do alot of repair on an ac system. I do not know of a gasket in the ac system that should cost that much to fix.

 

1200 bucks will fix both head gaskets. Nothing in the AC system costs that much to repair.

 

well, let me put it this way:
they have to dicharge the system - safely.
probably disassemble the system, and if it's one of those that are inside the dashboard - probably not, as 'they showed it to him" - that's a lot of disassembly
replace/repair what needs to be repaired
reassemble everything
recharge the system.
so yeah, there's potential for a large labor bill, no so much gasket cost. average shop charges around $45-50 and hour for labor. but even with all that, i doubt there will be 20 hrs of labor.
i'd say - definitely shop around. you see, it's not the question of $1200. it's the question of not being able to get a guarantee of repair out them - if you ask for it, no one will give it to you. thus, you can fork for $1200, or less, and yet still not have it working.

if you want my guess - because they told you that "systen is ok", and "added freon", even with LEAKING gasket, you should have had at least some cols air. maybe not for long time, yet..
so, i bet that your a/c in dashboard radiator, or one of the thinner lines that run to it, got clogged with freon oil, after you let it sit discharged for long time. if unused, that stuff hardens and plugs any smaller holes.