A/C Questions

We have a 99 silhouette that the A/C has apparently gone out rather quickly. It was working fine on two recent trips within the past month and one day seemed to be putting out warmer than expected air and so we (he) added one can r134 and didnt seem to make a difference so added another and then finally checked it with a gage and it was in the red so we (he) bled it off until gage was back to full but now put out warm air. Took it in and says it was all oil and no refrigerant and the evaporator coil has a leak and one side of the compressor is loosing vaccum so now there is no a/c and it is hotter than... Anyway they said it will run about 900 for replacement of compressor and 1100 to fix evaporator. Does anyone know if it can be done any less expensively by diy or is it best to go to dealer?
Thank You,
Hot in Texas

Anyway they said it will run about 900 for replacement of compressor and 1100 to fix evaporator. Does anyone know if it can be done any less expensively by diy or is it best to go to dealer?The fact that you are asking if it can be DIY means that you probably don't already have the knowledge/experience to work with refridgerant. It's not rocket science, but if you don't do it right, you likely would just be wasting money. Take it to someone who is experienced.

That being said, I'd get a 2nd opinion, even if it costs you to have someone else look at it. $1100 for the evaporator seems very steep. Acording to some of the online OEM parts dealers, the compressor is around $500 and the evaporator core around $250. Aftermarket, the compressor runs $200 and the evaporator core $125. Obviously labor and the recharge is going to cost more, but $2000 seems a bit high.