Cool AC air .. shop says Evap core and $1300

[Pr1ce]

So I finished the second half of my after run coolant recall blah blah and noticed my ac was slightly “cool”

Off and on the last couple weeks it does it here and there but nothing to make me think otherwise the 96 degree weather my car hates

So today I take it to a local shop to get the ac checked on and they are telling me it’s the evaporator core leaking inside the cabin

They quoted me $1300 because the dash has to be removed and yada yada!!!

Any advice or help or sell the car or is this a diy?

I have removed dashes from other cars before but not a b8.5

Thanks for any help

[TLR_0125]

If you can’t afford this repair, yeah sell the car. No point in struggling financially just to own a luxury car.


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[Pr1ce]

If you can’t afford this repair, yeah sell the car. No point in struggling financially just to own a luxury car.


Sent from my iPhone using Audizine

It’s not about affording it persay... it’s whether or not it’s worth it or worth to afford.

It’s a 2013 with 160k miles. I don’t owe much on it at all and I’m handy just trying to weigh all the options. If it’s not “hard” and just time consuming I’ll do it myself.

Just trying to gauge the workload and options ya know before making a choice

[JeriQo]

you only need ac if you live in florida lol.
just get you one of these.



maybe 2

[Pr1ce]

you only need ac if you live in florida lol.
just get you one of these.



maybe 2

Haha I’m in Orlando Florida.... the tourist hot zone

[JeriQo]

Haha I’m in Orlando Florida.... the tourist hot zone

oh shit yeah lmao drop the 1300.
youtube it first see if you can do it lol

[Pr1ce]

oh shit yeah lmao drop the 1300.
youtube it first see if you can do it lol

Hahahaha that’s what I figured lol

[Slick_B8]

I’ve taken the dash out of mine. It’s not that hard of a job. Took me about a day to do so. Strange that the evaporator core is leaking from under that dash considering there really isn’t anything that can hit in there. How exactly do they even know it leaking under the dash? Hard to see the core unless you actually remove it aswell.

[ps2cho]

How much is it leaking? Just recharge it and move on if it’s a once a year deal. If it’s just blowing “cool” it’s probably a very slow leak.

[G60ING]

If it was an older VW I’d suspect the hvac foam on the blend door.

[G60ING]

Put some gauges on it and check the charge yourself. If it’s leaking put some stop leak in it and recharge.

[Novarider]

I'd put some dye in it then charge it and check for leaks in a few days.

[mtroxel]

I did that job on one of my B5's. I wouldn't call it hard. But it is very time consuming.



Before I did that job I'd want to be very sure it is the evaporator that's leaking. Did the shop use dye, and then pull the blower motor so they could get a look at the evaporator to see the dye leaking? How did they come to their conclusion? I am not saying there is no way the evap could be the problem. But I have the feeling it's an educated guess. I'd sure want to know how they came to the conclusion. If they are right, it is a job you can do. You just have to be very methodical. But the truth is, these days a car without AC isn't worth much on the market.

[the-quattro-man]

Yeah FL heat sucks sometimes when you don't have a working AC. I did this on my 03 Corolla to remove the dash to get to the evap. Not fun at all. Good luck ....

[Zuzuwu]

I've worked as a technician for years and i have literally never seen an evap core leak. I'd get a second opinion.
Put gauges on it and see what it's actually doing.
If it actually is the evaporator, $1300 is a decent deal.

[JeriQo]

I’ve taken the dash out of mine. It’s not that hard of a job. Took me about a day to do so. Strange that the evaporator core is leaking from under that dash considering there really isn’t anything that can hit in there. How exactly do they even know it leaking under the dash? Hard to see the core unless you actually remove it aswell.

yeah thats what people who can take their engine apart too lol

[Novarider]

yeah thats what people who can take their engine apart too lol

Well that's not "hard" either. You should know what you're doing tho.

[Pr1ce]

I’ve taken the dash out of mine. It’s not that hard of a job. Took me about a day to do so. Strange that the evaporator core is leaking from under that dash considering there really isn’t anything that can hit in there. How exactly do they even know it leaking under the dash? Hard to see the core unless you actually remove it aswell.

The shop did a leak test and the only area in which the dye was setting off the meter was the vents themselves.

They did the test 2x to confirm because they said that particular part failure isn’t that common but not impossible. Both times as soon as he out the meter to the vents Ymir’s started screaming.

I check ALLDATA for diagrams and it actually has the Evap core being removed from the firewall girdle area and not removing the dash so slightly confused now lol

I ordered the part and planned on replacing it this weekend


Should be fun?!?!? I think lol

[ps2cho]

The shop did a leak test and the only area in which the dye was setting off the meter was the vents themselves.

They did the test 2x to confirm because they said that particular part failure isn’t that common but not impossible. Both times as soon as he out the meter to the vents Ymir’s started screaming.

I check ALLDATA for diagrams and it actually has the Evap core being removed from the firewall girdle area and not removing the dash so slightly confused now lol

I ordered the part and planned on replacing it this weekend


Should be fun?!?!? I think lol

Before tearing the entire dash apart, honestly I’d just recharge it and see how long it lasts considering you said the car has 160k. You may only need to top up 12oz once a year which isn’t worth doing the entire evaporator over.

Do it if you want to, but I’ve had numerous cars that leaked such a minute amount it wasn’t even worth finding the leak because it was one can every 1-3 years

[Pr1ce]

Before tearing the entire dash apart, honestly I’d just recharge it and see how long it lasts considering you said the car has 160k. You may only need to top up 12oz once a year which isn’t worth doing the entire evaporator over.

Do it if you want to, but I’ve had numerous cars that leaked such a minute amount it wasn’t even worth finding the leak because it was one can every 1-3 years

Ahhh I see I see you’re right. I mean my ac is still cold to be honest and it’s been 5 days. Mind you not a huge sample size but still cold lol

Was just trying to hairline the 4 day weekend I had to my advantage but yes maybe I’ll postpone and see how long the cold stays. Even if it stays for 6 months I still might be inclined to ride it out and recharge every half year lol

I love my car much but of course the miles make me want something else

[Slick_B8]

Ahhh I see I see you’re right. I mean my ac is still cold to be honest and it’s been 5 days. Mind you not a huge sample size but still cold lol

Was just trying to hairline the 4 day weekend I had to my advantage but yes maybe I’ll postpone and see how long the cold stays. Even if it stays for 6 months I still might be inclined to ride it out and recharge every half year lol

I love my car much but of course the miles make me want something else

Don’t let the miles make you run from the car if you don’t have any other issues. Just hit 248k miles today myself and I’m still in love with mine. Check out my Instagram if you have one aswell. Sliickb8 is my username on there. My car has gone through so many stages and I change it up every chance I get lol I think I even have pics of my dash removed on there aswell when I did my beige to black interior swap.

[the-quattro-man]

Don’t let the miles make you run from the car if you don’t have any other issues. Just hit 248k miles today myself and I’m still in love with mine. Check out my Instagram if you have one aswell. Sliickb8 is my username on there. My car has gone through so many stages and I change it up every chance I get lol I think I even have pics of my dash removed on there aswell when I did my beige to black interior swap.

Wow 248K miles and still running. That's pretty impressive, you must be doing a great job on the maintenance to keep it running. Kudos to your Sir! Nice to know these cars can last that long when maintain properly.

[mtroxel]

I check ALLDATA for diagrams and it actually has the Evap core being removed from the firewall girdle area and not removing the dash so slightly confused now lol

I checked the Audi service manual. I think you're right. Looks like you could do both the heater core and/or evap without stripping the dash down to the bones.

[ps2cho]

Ahhh I see I see you’re right. I mean my ac is still cold to be honest and it’s been 5 days. Mind you not a huge sample size but still cold lol

Was just trying to hairline the 4 day weekend I had to my advantage but yes maybe I’ll postpone and see how long the cold stays. Even if it stays for 6 months I still might be inclined to ride it out and recharge every half year lol

I love my car much but of course the miles make me want something else

My bet is the leak is extremely minimal and may only leak at certain temperatures. Charge the system with the AC set to low to r134a pressure curve and see how long it lasts.

That’s all I’m saying. if it leaks out in 1-mo or 1-year then you know the risk. It’s minimal cost to have a shop recharge it. Or if you want to DIY get a set of r134a gauges. Tons of videos on YouTube. Just don’t EVER charge without knowing both Hi and Low sides. You need both sides to confirm it’s low refrigerant and not another problem. With your scenario I assume a shop checked already so you can probably just put a 8-10oz of r134a in as long as you follow the low side temperature/pressure charts to make sure you don’t overcharge

[Spawne32]

If you werent in florida id tell you to swing by and ill charge it for you. lol

[Slick_B8]

Wow 248K miles and still running. That's pretty impressive, you must be doing a great job on the maintenance to keep it running. Kudos to your Sir! Nice to know these cars can last that long when maintain properly.

I appreciate it man. Shooting for 270k by the end of the year. I do round trip for work everyday of about 160-170 miles.

[mtroxel]

I appreciate it man. Shooting for 270k by the end of the year. I do round trip for work everyday of about 160-170 miles.

You can do it. I had 272,000 on my first B5. Over 220.,000 on my B5.5.

[audi bug]

I checked the Audi service manual. I think you're right. Looks like you could do both the heater core and/or evap without stripping the dash down to the bones.

I may have the same issue with 13 A4 Prestige.
It started loosing refrigerant last year and could not find a leak from every components I could check and suspected leaking evaporator.
I am getting by with a can of refrigerant right now and hate to think about removing the dash.
It will never be same with rattle and scratch etc.
I digged into Audi repair manual after your post and found that the evaporator could be replaced without removing the dash if evaporator was 40 mm thick (part number started with 8K-xxx).
Manual says that it went through running change in MY 2012 with 50 mm thick evaporator (part number 8T-xxx). I called a local dealer part counter with a small hope and happy to find that my car has the thinner evaporator (8K-xxx)
I don't know if manual maybe stating European model year since US usually gets a year behind with new plattform. 2013 was B8.5 for US.

Quick summary of procedure is:
Engine compartment: remove the refrigerant line and expansion valve.
Driver side footwell: remove a few components and remove a cover plate for evaporator. Cut the refrigerant lines on evaporator
Passenger side footwell: remove glove box, blower, air intake housing, cut a small part of evaporator housing. Then pull the evaporator out.
Installation: install evaporator core from passenger side and connect refrigerant lines from the driver side. Install expansion valve and refrigerant line in the engine compartment.

What makes this method possible is that this replacement evaporator has removable refrigerant lines with a bulkhead to the evaporator as shown in the picture.
I will try to tackle this some time in the fall.

Audi part number is 8K1898191A and costs anywhere from $860 to $1100.
Hella (Behr) has the replacement part 351330671, and it costs $220 to $360 from Rock Auto, FCPEuro, Euro, Amazon etc.




Air flow and components diagram for visual reference (8 is evaporator, 6 is cabin filter, 12 is heater core):

[SoCalWaite]

Alright, it's been 2 years to the day. It is time to resurrect this thread.

I'm working on a '13 B8.5 S4.

In the HVAC unit picture on post #28, can anyone tell me if the AC Evap drains are between the Evap core and the Heater core?

I am fighting a nasty dirty sock smell on startup from the vents, and I have only been attacking it from the filter side of the Evap core with a product called Klima. It worked for a couple weeks the first time I used it, but the second use 6 months or so later was almost ineffective. Trying to figure out if it'll be effective to try and hit the heater core from the inside. The center vents have a mesh covering the heater core from inside the cabin, so I can't attack from that side.

Sorry for thread jacking, but thanks for any help in advance.

[Zuzuwu]

Alright, it's been 2 years to the day. It is time to resurrect this thread.

I'm working on a '13 B8.5 S4.

In the HVAC unit picture on post #28, can anyone tell me if the AC Evap drains are between the Evap core and the Heater core?

I am fighting a nasty dirty sock smell on startup from the vents, and I have only been attacking it from the filter side of the Evap core with a product called Klima. It worked for a couple weeks the first time I used it, but the second use 6 months or so later was almost ineffective. Trying to figure out if it'll be effective to try and hit the heater core from the inside. The center vents have a mesh covering the heater core from inside the cabin, so I can't attack from that side.

Sorry for thread jacking, but thanks for any help in advance.

The smell is from mold on the foam around the evap core. Try setting off one of those ac refresh bombs and running it on recirc with the cabin filter removed for an hour. Then throw a new cabin filter in. This is how we fix them at work


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[SoCalWaite]

@Zuzuwu you are a scholar and a genius. I am happy that I know where the issue lies more clearly now. Thank you~

[RPMtech147]

I've worked as a technician for years and i have literally never seen an evap core leak. I'd get a second opinion.
Put gauges on it and see what it's actually doing.
If it actually is the evaporator, $1300 is a decent deal.

I've replaced plenty of Evap cores, but I've never seen a B8 evap leak and I've worked on many 100's of them. Not saying it isn't possible but I'd get a second opinion. How did they come to this conclusion? Refi detector/sniffer? Oil/dye in the drain tube? Or was it "We can't find a leak so it must be the evaporator."?

[paulcnn]

I may have the same issue with 13 A4 Prestige.
It started loosing refrigerant last year and could not find a leak from every components I could check and suspected leaking evaporator.
I am getting by with a can of refrigerant right now and hate to think about removing the dash.
It will never be same with rattle and scratch etc.
I digged into Audi repair manual after your post and found that the evaporator could be replaced without removing the dash if evaporator was 40 mm thick (part number started with 8K-xxx).
Manual says that it went through running change in MY 2012 with 50 mm thick evaporator (part number 8T-xxx). I called a local dealer part counter with a small hope and happy to find that my car has the thinner evaporator (8K-xxx)
I don't know if manual maybe stating European model year since US usually gets a year behind with new plattform. 2013 was B8.5 for US.

Quick summary of procedure is:
Engine compartment: remove the refrigerant line and expansion valve.
Driver side footwell: remove a few components and remove a cover plate for evaporator. Cut the refrigerant lines on evaporator
Passenger side footwell: remove glove box, blower, air intake housing, cut a small part of evaporator housing. Then pull the evaporator out.
Installation: install evaporator core from passenger side and connect refrigerant lines from the driver side. Install expansion valve and refrigerant line in the engine compartment.

What makes this method possible is that this replacement evaporator has removable refrigerant lines with a bulkhead to the evaporator as shown in the picture.
I will try to tackle this some time in the fall.

Audi part number is 8K1898191A and costs anywhere from $860 to $1100.
Hella (Behr) has the replacement part 351330671, and it costs $220 to $360 from Rock Auto, FCPEuro, Euro, Amazon etc.




Air flow and components diagram for visual reference (8 is evaporator, 6 is cabin filter, 12 is heater core):

Would you know if this is still possible if car is RHD ? Thanks for your help do you have any photos ?

[KMuni]

Hi Paulcnn,
I have the same issue with my RHD, did you follow the same method?