Evaporator AC question

[rayfloyd170]

Hello YW,

I had previous AC problem 5 months ago. The mechanic leak tested and could not find any leak. he evacuated the system and observed for (10min??) and concluded there is no leak. Although he mentioned if ever there is a leak then it is probably from the evaporator which is a bit complicated since it entails a lot of job and warned me of the cost.

He re-charged the refrigerant and all was good until yesterday, that was roughly 5 months in good service after the re-charge. I went back to the mechanic and he refilled again and it was just working for few hours (~4hrs) and again pressure becomes low and not starting the compressor.

To add I can also smell some "sort of oil smell" coming out from the vents when in operation and even when the engine is OFF the leaking sound continues.

This definitely sounds an evaporator leak... i have no other way of telling

Now, my question is... is this common for yaris and mine is just close to 4 years old coming brand-new when i purchased it from showroom. Now at 89K KM.

additional questions below:

1. can the leak be fixed (patched) or do i really need to replace the evaporator?
2. also not sure if the evaporator coils have leak or maybe only from the joints... (i hope it is only from the joints/ seals since the evaporator is too costly here) how often do joints leak/ how often evaporators leak?
3. does labor cost more than the spare part for this kind of job?
4. normally how many hours to replace the evaporator (i just don't want to be fooled by mechanics here)

Thanks in advance for your response.