Maybe I'll wait a bit...

Referring to the 'service call in my future', I found out the replacement drip pan is $300. !!!!! Yowsa, that's one expensive piece of sheet metal! Nowadays they use plastic pans, but these new (and cheaper) pans to not fit my older model. Don't forget to include $300 for labor to install and I've paid 2/3rds the cost of a brand new A-coil unit. But if I buy a new A-coil, they run more efficiently than the old one, so it could put a strain on the old evaporator/compressor outside, causing it to fail. Grrr. For the want of a non-leaky drip pan I have to buy a whole new air conditioner system? No thanks. I think I'll work on making my own drip pan this winter.