[Metalhorse]

I am wondering if anyone has any experience replacing their A/C evaporator?

I own a 1996 318ti. I live in Australia, so my 318ti is right-hand drive. We've been having 40 degree celcius days in Sydney, and my black ti with black leather seats has become a sweltering hot box.

I had the air conditioning system inspected, evacuated and re-gassed 3 weeks ago and at first it worked fantastically. However, it has slowly gotten less and less effective, so I took it back to the shop for another inspection. The mechanic seems confident the leak is coming from the evaporator core (which from my Bentley manual I understand is located within the heater box behind the dash). Using a black light he could see dye leaking from the area above the front of the gearbox (I think there's a drain hose coming out from the heater box there?).

We discussed the possibility of using a stop leak compound, but the guy said that from his experience, I'd be unlikely to get more than 6 months out of it.

I'm looking into replacing the evaporator core, and a new core doesn't seem too expensive. Of course, I intend to replace the O rings and the receiver/drier at the same time. I imagine the amount of time and effort involved would be pretty substantial. I would love to hear from anyone who's had some experience with this. Any hints/tips/cautions would be greatly appreciated!