AC issue

[Darthn3ss]

Not sure what would cause this, but uh, recently my AC has been blowing out not-so-cold-air. I'm sure i need to refill something, just not sure what, or where its at. anyone wanna send some knowledge my way?

[sc2grndsp]

well if you have a leak, it is rather silly to put r-134a back in without fixing the leak, that is if that is the issue. get a can with the dye in it, probably the easiest way for you to detect a leak, once again if that is the problem

[Darthn3ss]

i don't know if ti has a leak. it could, but its kind been a gradual thing and i havn'nt seen any puddles or spots anywhere.

[PROTOTYPE]

If you dont see puddles you need to check ur drain line. It might just be cuz it got hotter lately. Its supposed to blow 30* below ambient air... Get a good thermometer and check.

[Darthn3ss]

yeah i'll steal hour thermometer from work. is there somethign in my haynes manual that'll get me throguh checking this shit out/

but then, my dad's AC is pretty frosty right now... althougrh his car is 11 months old compared to my 12 year old shit.

[S.Bretz]

Lol...you won't see a leak. As soon as it leaks, it evaporates. Get a recharge can with dye in it and charge her up. Run it for a week (or until it starts to get warm) and use a UV light to look for the dye.

12 years old ehh... Is it a 94? I can remember when they switched from r12 to r134a. that's something you need to look at too. There is a sticker under the hood somewhere that will tell you.

[Darthn3ss]

will look for a sticker somehwere about all that. yip, 94. will i have to do some sort of conversion or will i be good?

[S.Bretz]

You can get the conversion for really cheap. You will want to vacumm the system and put then put the adapters on. YOu can get he adapters dor like 10-15 bucks. You will need 24 oz of r134 to fill it.

I recommend putting a vacuum on it, and then push the sharder valve in to let just air in...then vacuum it again. That should help get 99.9999% of the r12 out. (r-12 and r134 don't mix)



Before you go off and do all that though...make sure the cooling fan is coming on and blowing strong (huuhuh <--- that's funny).

[PROTOTYPE]

You can get the conversion for really cheap. You will want to vacumm the system and put then put the adapters on. YOu can get he adapters dor like 10-15 bucks. You will need 24 oz of r134 to fill it.

I recommend putting a vacuum on it, and then push the sharder valve in to let just air in...then vacuum it again. That should help get 99.9999% of the r12 out. (r-12 and r134 don't mix)



Before you go off and do all that though...make sure the cooling fan is coming on and blowing strong (huuhuh <--- that's funny).

Damnit Sam let me talk. [img]{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_rofl.gif[/img] and remeber to leave it on a vacuum for at least 30 mins.

[S.Bretz]

Pfff... 30 minutes. That's waste of my time...time is money. Full vacuum is usuaally reachedin the first 5 minutes (29.92 inHG)....but you can't ever get a pefect vacuum.. There is always some stuff left over. That's why I recomend letting air into the system and running the vac again...the air will mix with the 12 and help "rinse" the system of any staggler molecules of r12.

Once you see 29 inche of vacuum, you are pretty much sett. Turn the pump off and watch the gauges, if you start to loose like 5inHG in 5 minutes, you are pretty screwed...it mean you have a leak somewhere. You can try a stop leak product, but get something with dye...theose stopleak things are 50/50 on small leaks...If it leaks out agian, then with the dye you can see where its at.

[therealm0rh0us]

and then you can pressurize the system with compressed air and try to find the leak w/ soapy water
and my shrader valve screwed me 2 yrs ago you might as well replace it while your doin everything else

[S.Bretz]

I'm pretty sure the retro fit r12-r134 kit comes with new schrader valves... I could be wrong thow.

[PROTOTYPE]

I'm pretty sure the retro fit r12-r134 kit comes with new schrader valves... I could be wrong thow.

Nope u are right on. Remeber the high and low sides are diffrent sizes(The schrader valves) and the seals need to be changed for a "full retrofit" but if they are fine leave them alone. New accumulator/ reciever drier is needed and be sure to add some Ester oil (Its usually in the retrofit kits but Id prefer PAG.) I wish I could just do it for you, its easier. lol. Ill still evacuate it for at least 30 mins. Too much humidty here.

[Apollo96SL2]

I just tried a kit I saw at the local Advance Auto Parts. It has two small cans, one that's supposed to fix metal leaks, and one to fix rubber leaks. You hook it up to your low-side connector the same as a recharge kit, add the metal leak filler followed immediately by the rubber leak filler, recharge the system (you'll need to buy the standard R-134a kit for that), and run it for 15 minutes on full blast to let everything set and seal properly.

The previous owner of my car (a pro mechanic) said it had a leaky evaporator, which he never bothered replacing because you have to remove the entire dashboard to get at it, and a basic recharge kit didn't work for him - it all leaked out in a day or two. It's been several days since I did this, and while it's not blowing ice cold air, it's definitely cooling things off somewhat. I remember my previous Saturns having better AC, but maybe I just need more R-134a - I didn't realize till I read this thread that it takes 24oz.

[S.Bretz]

r134 leaks easyier then r12...the r134 molecules are smaller.