OP here... by not happy I meant that cooling has been less than
expected or when compared to the upstairs unit (which *is* 2.5 ton, for
about the same sq ft up v down). For example on hot and humid days, the
setting of say 74 when 99 outside might bring it down to 77 and the
unit would keep running all day. (this is prior to the leak, when the
system was barely a year or two old). This is where I got the idea it
was underpowered, but that is just a layman's guess.
I have been receiving a couple of pieces of advice via email saying the
coil is all I really need to replace; the rest is relatively sturdy
stuff save for small stuff like relays, capacitor, fan, etc.
The furnace I believe is a 2.5 ton unit already, so yes it will handle
the upsize. Also, with upping the coil to 3 ton, shouldn't that
translate to more efficiency again?
Thanks for all responses so far. I do have a time pressure (yes, I know
what that usually means) from the guy as he says he has one or two 11
SEER units left as they are essentially phased out. But I still have
at least two months of cool/pleasant weather left before I need to
panic...
I will be calling a couple more outfits tomorrow.