explain “evac the system pretty quickly”? What is the time table you are referring to?

if I do the work myself and take it elsewhere to be recharged what is the time frame?

I’m a mechanic by trade and I specialize in air conditioning and refrigeration systems. $900 in labour is an affordable repair for something like that. Nothing about refrigeration is cheap. It’s very time consuming and can be finicky. A condenser is a very common faithless on any system especially an automotive application. This isn’t something you’ll be able to do your self at home. I don’t doubt you’ll be able to replace the parts but you won’t be able to sort out the vacuuming, pressure testing, charging on your own.

So the physical replacement of the parts is pretty easy, but there are a couple caveats:

- is the system already empty on refirgerant? If so, all the better. Otherwise a certified shop with a bunch of equipment will need to evacuate the remaining refrigerant prior to doing anything. If you just “open it up” that’s really bad for the environment and a healthy fine if you get caught, not to mention you could easily freeze a digit off...

- once installed, you need to pull the vacuum and fill the system. This takes some gauges and is pretty straightforward, but there will be a couple hundred or more investment in tools needed.

And the the reason you need to do the receiver dryer immediately is due to its purpose. It’s a desiccant for all intents and purposes and if you expose it to humidity, it will essentially get “filled” with water and fail. Additionally, whenever you have or do the repair, I’d highly recommend putting in a dye to make sure you can find any other possible leaks easier.