My car hasn't had AC since I got it. Took it to my AC shop and they quoted me $1300 for replacing the condenser which was cracked and then to recharge it. I asked why so high and they said because the condenser and radiator are one unit. And I'll be damned they are. So $500ish for just the new condenser and radiator. Is that really my only option here? I've watched a few videos but I don't quite get how they are one giant unit. I've never actually seen that before.

 

I have an AC leak right now too and I'm skeptical that I may be in the same boat. If you can locate the crack id say put some mighty putty or JB weld of some sort to see if you stop the leak.

 

It’s a Nissan thing unfortunately, with regards to the 1 piece units. A lot of us go with aftermarket units from CSF or Mishimoto for the same price of a new OEM replacement (if not less). If you don’t have a 6MT, CSF makes a $330ish replacement unit for RWD automatic models. Nissan Value Advantage (NVA) is slightly cheaper than a new OEM radiator/condenser but not enough to justify not going with a new unit when planning to keep the car, just my 2 cents.

I have a Mishimoto radiator/condenser for my 6MT and it has a separated setup which is great. I would not recommend their radiator personally at this time as I’ve gone through 2x of their condensers already. Broke in welds in the side tanks, same spots on opposite sides each time. Their radiator has been flawless though.

If you take it to a shop to have the radiator replaced, they will likely charge you for 2-3 bottles of coolant and for the Freon, plus labor. Just to keep in mind. Some shops include this in their service price, YMMV. The labor is the real killer. 4hrs+ is generally the going rate in shops for replacing a condenser/radiator plus a evac and recharge, fill and burp, etc. Worth checking all radiator and heater hoses at this time to make sure they are in good shape- would be easiest and cheaper to replace them while coolant is drained for a radiator swap.

Cheers

 

Maybe it’s just me confronted by 3 years of abnormal inflation, but $1300 doesn’t seem bad for that job as I thought it would take the better part of a day at $150 per hour. So you get a new radiator and condenser? Hell, for 1300-1450, you essentially end up with a coolant drain and fill in addition to a refreshed AC. Buy new hoses, oem coolant, clamps and a thermostat (easy to replace when the lower hose is off) off Z1 to complete the job. Replace the passenger side heater hose connector if you haven’t already done so. Hopefully the shop knows how to bleed the air out of the coolant system as many do not understand how particular these cars can be…