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Keep the reader mail coming, we’re always glad to help out. This one comes from Willie who’s been getting a little heated over his warm AC situation. He’s narrowed the problem down to a leak in the condenser. He asks, “Can a novice change the condenser, or should it be left to a pro?”

Congratulations, Willie, on your decision to handle your own auto repairs. These questions are tough to answer because everybody has a different level of skill and experience when it comes to car repair. Nobody knows better than you. If you feel good about jumping in, go for it. The worst thing that can happen in most cases is a trip to the repair shop to clean up something you did incorrectly. If you’re willing to take that chance, you’ll probably do just fine and save yourself a lot of cash by doing it yourself.

That being said, there’s one step in the replacement of an air conditioning condenser that you can’t do yourself, and it’s a very important step in the process — safely collecting the system’s refrigerant! But wait, if you need a new condenser because it leaks, isn’t the system already empty? It probably is, but to be sure you need to check the system pressure with a proper AC pressure gauge. Don’t ever assume. If system pressure is zero, go ahead and remove the old condenser worry free. If you have even a pound of refrigerant in there, you need to have a shop suck it out with the proper equipment. Refrigerant is dangerous and bad for the environment. If you want to finish the job yourself, just have the shop empty the refrigerant for you and replace the condenser yourself.