Any knowledgable A/C gurus here?

[lito]

Is it that expensive to take the car to an A/C shop to do a vac test?

 

[86GT351]

No mention of dye

OK. Let it run for a few days. Visually inspect all of the lines and components that you can see. If there is a leak and it is visual you will see oil residue at that point. Can't see a visual leak on the Evap or the inside of the Condenser!

 

[86GT351]

Is it that expensive to take the car to an A/C shop to do a vac test?

Not at all. I don't think it is. Paul is the do it yourself guy and will learn from this experience and find a way to help others with what he learns!

 

[lito]

Not at all. I don't think it is. Paul is the do it yourself guy and will learn from this experience and find a way to help others with what he learns!

I understand that and I try to do that too but I have a limit, lol.

Won't get tools and loose sleep for the A/C too, too much stuff on my table already.

I just paid 200$ for an evap change including the part on my wife's Fiesta (R134A kills them quite faster than R12 it looks) and they have to disassemble half car for that, lol. I just wont.

 

[86GT351]

I understand that and I try to do that too but I have a limit, lol.

Won't get tools and loose sleep for the A/C too, too much stuff on my table already.

I just paid 200$ for an evap change including the part on my wife's Fiesta (R134A kills them quite faster than R12 it looks) and they have to disassemble half car for that, lol. I just wont.

Evaps these days suck! You are correct. Half the car needs to come apart!

 

[one eyed willy]

Some A/C stuff can get SUPER expensive if its a compressor or something...my problem with a shop is just I'm worried about them ripping me off.

I bought the refill mostly so I could diagnose the issue. If it wouldn't take any freon then I would know it was a hardware issue...maybe narrow it down and find the part I would have needed at a discount somewhere like Tousley.

My buddy spent over $1500 getting his A/C fixed and still was never clear on what they actually fixed.

At this point I know all the SUPER expensive stuff is good and it's just a slow leak. Plus I'm just getting my feet wet because I've never messed with the A/C stuff before. I have to install a new condenser on my GT real soon, I feel much more at ease doing that now.

 

[Sprayin Blue 3V]

Well anytime you open the a/c system, you have to put the the system under vacuum for like an hour. Especially if it had a leak and its been exposed to the atmosphere for any extended period of time. Generally speaking if its been exposed you should replace the receiver drier (or accumulator) as well. Then you need to add oil to the component that you replaced (equal to the amount that comes out of the old part(s) or as the service manual recommends.) Doing all of it is a pain in the ass if you don't have the right equipment. Fairly difficult to gauge how much refrigerant the system takes using DIY kits from autozone as well. Contrary to what some people believe, there IS such a thing as overcharging the system. A/C is one of those things that sometimes its just better to take it somewhere that has the proper equipment.

 

[toorbeenee]

Well anytime you open the a/c system, you have to put the the system under vacuum for like an hour. Especially if it had a leak and its been exposed to the atmosphere for any extended period of time. Generally speaking if its been exposed you should replace the receiver drier (or accumulator) as well. Then you need to add oil to the component that you replaced (equal to the amount that comes out of the old part(s) or as the service manual recommends.) Doing all of it is a pain in the ass if you don't have the right equipment. Fairly difficult to gauge how much refrigerant the system takes using DIY kits from autozone as well. Contrary to what some people believe, there IS such a thing as overcharging the system. A/C is one of those things that sometimes its just better to take it somewhere that has the proper equipment.

+1 i would also change the orifice, last time i took it out if was full of junk.

i just went through i a compressor last weekend, and damn they are expensive

 

[TexasKyle]

If you have a leak the most likely place will be the condenser. It's sitting out there in the wind, exposed to all the flying rocks, bugs, etc.

The part that sucks about blended freons, which R134a is, is that if you get a leak the best way to replace the freon is to evac the whole system, fix the leak, then recharge with new. Due to it being blended, you have no way of knowing how much of each component of the blended freon has leaked out. Therefore, when you add new freon, you are not going to be at the 100% correct blend anymore in the system. It won't really hurt anything, it just won't cool as well anymore if you just keep adding freon.

Blended freons really suck when you start talking about 20+ton units like I used to have to work on.

 

[86GT351]

What do you mean by blended Freons?

 

[TexasKyle]

Blended freons are made up of a combination of freons (and/or other components) in order to get the characteristics needed for a particular application but with lower greenhouse gas components.

Also, I may be mistaken on the 134a. 143a is a blend, but not sure 134a is. I am licensed to do this stuff, but hardly ever use it, and its hard to keep track of what is what. There are so many blends and freons now.

 

[86GT351]

Ok. I don't believe that 134a is blended. Some of the less expensive ones might have additives though! I say that because depending on he brand a 30 pound tank of Freon varies tremendously!

 

[techcargt]

There is one more thing you might want to check , and that is to make sure the fans are running at the rad. when the a/c is on . If they should not come on while the a/c is on , it will build up too much pressure and bleed off some of the freon . Then when you use it again the next time and the fans do work , it will be low and not cool as it should . I have seen the relays get hot and stop working at times . Check the plug at the rad. for the fans for high heat , they will show signs of heat by being melted around the plug .

 

[TexasKyle]

There is one more thing you might want to check , and that is to make sure the fans are running at the rad. when the a/c is on . If they should not come on while the a/c is on , it will build up too much pressure and bleed off some of the freon . Then when you use it again the next time and the fans do work , it will be low and not cool as it should . I have seen the relays get hot and stop working at times . Check the plug at the rad. for the fans for high heat , they will show signs of heat by being melted around the plug .

Where, exactly, does the freon "bleed off"?

 

[Turbostangs90]

I have a question regaurding the A/C on the 05-09 body, is there a A/C regulator behind the dash?

 

[saleen07gt]

Where, exactly, does the freon "bleed off"?

The bleed off valve is on the compressor.

 

[ummduh]

Yup, BTDT. First time I put electric fans on my offroader I didn't hook up the a/c switch to trigger the fans. A few minutes later it was blowing refrigerant out of the back of the compressor. Oops.

 

[Barricade]

Reviving an old thread but where is the low port at?

I found one of them but my blue low pressure line wont fit it. uugghhh

 

[one eyed willy]

If I remember correctly it's right by the brake booster

 

[one eyed willy]

My wife's car has been doing fine since adding the a/c fix stuff, Florida heat don't pull punches!

I'm having a issue in my 2002 sport track....blows ice cold but at times it will start blowing hot. If I rev up the motor in neutral or floor it while driving it starts blowing cold again, clutch on the compressor seems to kick on and off like normal. Is the compressor failing?