Evaporator core replacement. Need advice. (1 Viewer)

[drowzyGX]

Hey Y’all,

my evaporator core is leaking - confirmed via testing at LexTechs here in ATL - replacement cost is steep. Need some advice on what to do.

2004 GX 470, new to me as of 6 months ago, 109k miles. It’s got a new timing belt and water pump, new radiator and hoses, new steering rack, and new front cv axles. All replaced in the last 6 months (the shop that did my pre purchase inspection didn’t inspect it very thoroughly, and it really bit me in the ass). Aside from the driveshaft thunk, drives like a dream.

Shop says the leak is pretty bad. Recharge lasted about 2 weeks before ac got hot again.

I’ve had LexTechs here in Atlanta do all the repairs so far, and they do great work. I trust them completely. The cost to replace the evaporator core (and servo mix motors while the dash is apart) is $3600.

Should I get another quote? I know this job is brutal in terms of labor, but this seems excessive. Should I look at trading the car in? Definitely concerned about sinking more money and another monster repair coming due. So far I’ve blown through my post purchase tune up budget and most of my lift kit + tires cash on these repairs. Somewhat worried I’ve got a lemon.

 

[GXO]

It is not fun, but not impossible, to do this yourself. You basically have to take a lot of pictures or know what goes where. Then just pay for the recharge. That seems about $1000 over what I would expect.

 

[drowzyGX]

Hey Dan,

Appreciate your input here. Thanks!

Hoping the weather cools down a bit here in GA soon because that gives me late fall and winter to figure this out.

Nervous about trying to do this myself as it's pretty far beyond anything I've done with a car, and I only have on-street parking at my place in ATL. May see if I can burn some PTO in December and use my dad's garage for a week. All the threads I've found where folks did this themselves end with comments about how they'd never do it again - got me a little psyched out, lol.

Are there any shops or dealerships you'd recommend checking out? This is my first Lexus. So I've just been going by google reviews.

 

[GXO]

ACC if you can get in (they have a long wait). Baker Automotive up in Alpharetta can probably bang it out in a day or two. Both trusted. I wager Greer Automotive in Woodstock can do it, but I don't know if they have done it before.

 

[drowzyGX]

ACC if you can get in (they have a long wait). Baker Automotive up in Alpharetta can probably bang it out in a day or two. Both trusted. I wager Greer Automotive in Woodstock can do it, but I don't know if they have done it before.

Awesome, thank you for the recommendations! ACC was who I had in mind for the lift. Forgot they do service and maintenance in addition to all the off-road stuff.

 

[sea bass]

Hey Y’all,

my evaporator core is leaking - confirmed via testing at LexTechs here in ATL - replacement cost is steep. Need some advice on what to do.

2004 GX 470, new to me as of 6 months ago, 109k miles. It’s got a new timing belt and water pump, new radiator and hoses, new steering rack, and new front cv axles. All replaced in the last 6 months (the shop that did my pre purchase inspection didn’t inspect it very thoroughly, and it really bit me in the ass). Aside from the driveshaft thunk, drives like a dream.

Shop says the leak is pretty bad. Recharge lasted about 2 weeks before ac got hot again.

I’ve had LexTechs here in Atlanta do all the repairs so far, and they do great work. I trust them completely. The cost to replace the evaporator core (and servo mix motors while the dash is apart) is $3600.

Should I get another quote? I know this job is brutal in terms of labor, but this seems excessive. Should I look at trading the car in? Definitely concerned about sinking more money and another monster repair coming due. So far I’ve blown through my post purchase tune up budget and most of my lift kit + tires cash on these repairs. Somewhat worried I’ve got a lemon.

I'm having the exact same thing done right now to my 2008 470 they quoted me $2,300 out the door at Toyota I did not take it to Lexus, that's for a new evap core dryer and expansion valve and all the labor to pull the dash out Id get another opinion take it to Toyota

 

[danthemanx07]

I had two Toyota dealerships “ballpark” me at $3,500. I shopped around a little and got pricing from $1,100-$2,500 at some independent shops. I ended up taking to a shop recommended by a co worker of mine. He allowed me to supply denso parts which was the real kicker. While he was in there, I had him go ahead and replace the heater core as well. I also replaced the compressor, condenser, and expansion valve I believe. All told I think I spent somewhere in the neighborhood of $2,500.

I usually like to do things myself, but this job is pretty complicated. I don’t think anything about it is that hard based on my reading, but it is detailed and more importantly - time consuming. To do it right you probably need an uninterrupted full weekend of work. An extra car and a covered work space would be nice too.

If I had the time, i think I would have given it a shot though. Documenting the disassembly is the critical piece I believe.

 

[drowzyGX]

I usually like to do things myself, but this job is pretty complicated. I don’t think anything about it is that hard based on my reading, but it is detailed and more importantly - time consuming. To do it right you probably need an uninterrupted full weekend of work. An extra car and a covered work space would be nice too.

If I had the time, i think I would have given it a shot though. Documenting the disassembly is the critical piece I believe.

Covered workspace and time seem to be crucial for this one, and I lack the latter. After reading the thread here where a user attempted the repair, and a similar one on clublexus, documentation seems pretty critical, too. Like you said, disassembling everything isn’t too complicated. However, putting all the electrical plugs back exactly as they were, that’s tricky. If I had the space, my plan was gonna be taking pictures of every harness / clip / plug, and using colored tape to “match” plugs that go together.

that all being said, I’m a little relieved some of the Toyota dealerships quoted $3600 - maybe the quote I got from the lexus specialty shop by me isn’t so bad (and it does come with a 3 year, 36000 mile warranty). Good call on the compressor, condenser, and expansion valve. I’ll make sure to get those done, too.