Air conditioning newby... DIY your pay someone else?

[jangell]

That is an awesome write-up (I still haven't read all of it yet, but I'm getting there). I know my A/C is slowly leaking refrigerant, and while the A/C shop couldn't spot the dye we added to the system, they did notice oil on the pipes from the evaporator. I hadn't realized just how much of the car had to be dismantled to get the evaporator box out. I think I'll be following your diagnostic steps with the vacuum pump and other suggestions about using nitrogen and soapy water to track down leaks before I tear apart my dash.

Thanks!

-- Joe