I have been diagnosed w/ the infamour a/c evaporator leak, $1200 repair estimate. if this leak is slow enough i am willing to live w/ it and recharge it periodically. has anyone tried this? how else can i tell how bad the leak is?

You can do it, but it depends on the severity of the leak.

The primary problems that you face in that kind of situation are 1) how fast it leaks, and 2) how you judge the recharge.

You can put a can of refrigerant in every week if that's what it takes, but the problem is that oil gets out and at some point the pressures on the system are less than optimal.

If it only needs a periodic (once every couple of months) recharging, then it would be a good solution. Just don't overdo it. The problem with later cars is that many don't have the high side ports to judge what is going on with the A/C system. Therefore the best way to gauge the charge in the system is to suck it out and then put in the right weight. Obviously that isn't a very good solution for someone who doesn't have a recharge/recovery station available.

My best suggestion is, be careful and charge ONLY until the system cools well and doesn't cycle on and off all the time. (In cool weather it will still cycle a lot, however). And you might want to drop a little charge of oil in there too. Use a low side pressure gauge at the minimum (although it means little in terms of system pressure). You can at least gauge the static pressure with the system off. Look it up on Yahoo or a search engine and you'll learn a lot about A/C systems.

Charging is easy, but don't overdo it. That will really kill performance and might accelerate the leaks you already have.
--
Chris Herbst, in Wisconsin.

Technically you're supposed to have the AC R134a evacuated and recharged by a certified technician because of environmental concerns.

BUT, I'm a cheap dude so I went to Walmart and got the Intermatic Recharge and Sealer kit including a pressure gauge. I spent less than $50. I charged it last Spring and it's been okay but I haven't used it recently in the winter.

You've got to be REALLY careful not to overcharge the system because that'll screw up the system.

Another alternative is this product call Cryo-seal. It's supposed to stop pretty large leaks but it's more expensive and I think you need a technician to do a pressure/vacuum check to see if it'll work on your leak.

Do a search on this site, there was a bunch of posts last summer.