Recharging A/C - DIY?
From : oerclockd proc
Q: my 00 durango ran out of a/c last fall. i figured in the spring id get it recharged. on a recent trip to k-mart for oil i stumbled across r-134a recharge kits. is this something that i can do myself or should it be taken to a dealer or mechanic i saw some that fix leaks and all but i just need a recharge. are their any concerns with this if its acceptable how do i recharge it were do i plug it in procedures thanks .
Replies:
From : tom lawrence
my 00 durango ran out of a/c last fall. yeah - r-134 only gets about 3000 miles to the ounce mpo. r-12 would get between 4500 and 8000 mpo. that was before all that oxygenated refrigerant they started using. and lets not even talk about the ethynol/methynol blends... they were even worse. heck some of em made the interior hotter. ahem i saw some that fix leaks and all but i just need a recharge. no you dont. you have a leak and it needs to be located and fixed. otherwise why would you need more refrigerant best advice would be to take it to an a/c shop. theyll either charge the system and put in some dye or use an electronic r-134 sniffer to identify where the leak is. then theyll repair the leak and re-charge it so you dont have to keep re-charging it every season or sooner. .
From : oerclockd proc
the vehicle has about 70k miles on it. not knowing how many ounces of refrigerant it holds but on your 300 miles/oz. estimation it would more than 24 oz. or 3/4 of a quart. right how many ounces does it hold must be significantly more than 24 oz. otherwise you wouldnt have written that i have a leak. ill get it checked out. but for the sake of curiosity lets say i dont have a leak. are these cans of r-134a found at k-mart and other places fine to use how do they work are they just as good as getting a recharge at an a/c shop my 00 durango ran out of a/c last fall. yeah - r-134 only gets about 3000 miles to the ounce mpo. r-12 would get between 4500 and 8000 mpo. that was before all that oxygenated refrigerant they started using. and lets not even talk about the ethynol/methynol blends... they were even worse. heck some of em made the interior hotter. ahem i saw some that fix leaks and all but i just need a recharge. no you dont. you have a leak and it needs to be located and fixed. otherwise why would you need more refrigerant best advice would be to take it to an a/c shop. theyll either charge the system and put in some dye or use an electronic r-134 sniffer to identify where the leak is. then theyll repair the leak and re-charge it so you dont have to keep re-charging it every season or sooner. .
From : nitpik
i believed you missed the point ... your vehicle does have a leak in the refrigerant system that needs to be fixed before anyone puts more into it. are you equiped to perform this task i think not. ergo take your wheels to someone who knows what the hell they are doing and pay the freight. the vehicle has about 70k miles on it. not knowing how many ounces of refrigerant it holds but on your 300 miles/oz. estimation it would more than 24 oz. or 3/4 of a quart. right how many ounces does it hold must be significantly more than 24 oz. otherwise you wouldnt have written that i have a leak. ill get it checked out. but for the sake of curiosity lets say i dont have a leak. are these cans of r-134a found at k-mart and other places fine to use how do they work are they just as good as getting a recharge at an a/c shop .
From : napalm heart
or try what the local dodge dealer did after they couldnt find the leak on my 97 dakota - recharge it with the stuff that has the lubricant and stop leak in it. if that doesnt hold then take it in and have a shop look at it. it held 2 years on mine and i did the same thing myself this year - working fine so far. ken i believed you missed the point ... your vehicle does have a leak in the refrigerant system that needs to be fixed before anyone puts more into it. are you equiped to perform this task i think not. ergo take your wheels to someone who knows what the hell they are doing and pay the freight. the vehicle has about 70k miles on it. not knowing how many ounces of refrigerant it holds but on your 300 miles/oz. estimation it would more than 24 oz. or 3/4 of a quart. right how many ounces does it hold must be significantly more than 24 oz. otherwise you wouldnt have written that i have a leak. ill get it checked out. but for the sake of curiosity lets say i dont have a leak. are these cans of r-134a found at k-mart and other places fine to use how do they work are they just as good as getting a recharge at an a/c shop .
From : cbhvac sales
actually you missed the point. did you not read that i wrote ill get it checked out. what i meant by that is...ill get it checked out. i have more than one vehicle and at some point im sure one of them will be needing a recharge. hence my questions are these cans of r-134a found at k-mart and other places fine to use depends. if it has that damn stop leak or other additives to it its crap. how do they work if you have to ask that you are over your head now. are they just as good as getting a recharge at an a/c shop just a can...no. done correctly yes. lighten up. this is as light as i get i cant attest to the other guys. if you have to ask what you did you are beyond your capacity. do you have a vac pump a scale a complete set of guages more than low refrigerant can cause a unit not to cool. overcharge it and it will perform as bad as not any at all. over charge it and you will find the hp switch tripping often and you will add much more wear to the compessor. undercharge it and the same thing will happen only the lp switch will trip. i dont do automotive ac much anymore. unless its for an r12 system or a conversion for someone i know. i used to do nothing but that...and still do on my own. i get to sit back and watch guys that havent a clue just mess things up more. might i suggest that you allow a shop to look it over since you probably do have a leak and that leak stop crap in the cans you get at wally world is just that..crap. you probably have a leak in the evap as most do over time. there is a reason for this and its called acid. its the weakest solid link in the system next to the o-rings. i believed you missed the point ... your vehicle does have a leak in the refrigerant system that needs to be fixed before anyone puts more into it. are you equiped to perform this task i think not. ergo take your wheels to someone who knows what the hell they are doing and pay the freight. the vehicle has about 70k miles on it. not knowing how many ounces of refrigerant it holds but on your 300 miles/oz. estimation it would more than 24 oz. or 3/4 of a quart. right how many ounces does it hold must be significantly more than 24 oz. otherwise you wouldnt have written that i have a leak. ill get it checked out. but for the sake of curiosity lets say i dont have a leak. are these cans of r-134a found at k-mart and other places fine to use how do they work are they just as good as getting a recharge at an a/c shop .
From : cbhvac sales
first all automobile airconditioning systems leak and the epa even reconizes that they leak which is why is it ok to just add a little r-134 or whatever to a auto air conditoning system without having to actually fix something. the major area of the leak in around the shaft that drives the compressor. so if the leak isnt that bad a can once a year or so forget it and just add one. someday the compressor will need to be replaced but by that time someone else might be the owner of the car. as stated below though put in a little at a time and check the temperature and when it seems to be cooling ok stop and dont add any more until the next time it stops cooling. i live in the air conditioning capitol of the us phx. az far from it the ac capital. i have family there and i swear when i was in palm springs ca there were 500 licenced registered contractors in a 10 mile area and we all had more biz than we knew what to do with...of course it helps that more units are being sold there than anywhere else other than nevada due to construction....but..anyway...your comment about the shaft seal...partially right. most of the leaks in a 134a unit are either in the evap or the o-rings. you will replace 10 sets of o-rings to one shaft seal and prob 4 times as many evaps than that. ron tom lawrence wrote the vehicle has about 70k miles on it. not knowing how many ounces of refrigerant it holds but on your 300 miles/oz. estimation it would more than 24 oz. or 3/4 of a quart. right how many ounces does it hold must be significantly more than 24 oz. otherwise you wouldnt have written that i have a leak. sorry... that first part was tongue-in-cheek.... a reference to your statement that you ran out of r-134... sounded like running out of gas. the point is a system that operates properly never loses r-134 because its supposed to be a closed system. ill get it checked out. but for the sake of curiosity lets say i dont have a leak. are these cans of r-134a found at k-mart and other places fine to use how do they work are they just as good as getting a recharge at an a/c shop okay - theoretically if you dont have a leak and someone popped your hood and purposely vented your 134 then yes you could re-charge it with the stuff in the cans and it would be just fine. however... you have to add the proper amount. that means you need a set of r-134 gauges and not the crappy little thing that comes in the recharge kit on both the low-pressure and high-pressure sides. you also need to measure the ambient temperature and refer to a chart for your specific year/make/model truck to know what the proper operating pressures are the factory service manual has this information. putting in too little wont give you the proper performance. putting in too much will give you poor performance too. putting in way too much will destroy your a/c compressor. so while the contents of the can are identical to what an a/c shop would put in the method of application between what a professional shop would do and what a consumer could accomplish with a $15 recharge kit are vastly different. .
From : tom lawrence
the vehicle has about 70k miles on it. not knowing how many ounces of refrigerant it holds but on your 300 miles/oz. estimation it would more than 24 oz. or 3/4 of a quart. right how many ounces does it hold must be significantly more than 24 oz. otherwise you wouldnt have written that i have a leak. sorry... that first part was tongue-in-cheek.... a reference to your statement that you ran out of r-134... sounded like running out of gas. the point is a system that operates properly never loses r-134 because its supposed to be a closed system. ill get it checked out. but for the sake of curiosity lets say i dont have a leak. are these cans of r-134a found at k-mart and other places fine to use how do they work are they just as good as getting a recharge at an a/c shop okay - theoretically if you dont have a leak and someone popped your hood and purposely vented your 134 then yes you could re-charge it with the stuff in the cans and it would be just fine. however... you have to add the proper amount. that means you need a set of r-134 gauges and not the crappy little thing that comes in the recharge kit on both the low-pressure and high-pressure sides. you also need to measure the ambient temperature and refer to a chart for your specific year/make/model truck to know what the proper operating pressures are the factory service manual has this information. putting in too little wont give you the proper performance. putting in too much will give you poor performance too. putting in way too much will destroy your a/c compressor. so while the contents of the can are identical to what an a/c shop would put in the method of application between what a professional shop would do and what a consumer could accomplish with a $15 recharge kit are vastly different. .
From : ron
first all automobile airconditioning systems leak and the epa even reconizes that they leak which is why is it ok to just add a little r-134 or whatever to a auto air conditoning system without having to actually fix something. the major area of the leak in around the shaft that drives the compressor. so if the leak isnt that bad a can once a year or so forget it and just add one. someday the compressor will need to be replaced but by that time someone else might be the owner of the car. as stated below though put in a little at a time and check the temperature and when it seems to be cooling ok stop and dont add any more until the next time it stops cooling. i live in the air conditioning capitol of the us phx. az ron tom lawrence wrote the vehicle has about 70k miles on it. not knowing how many ounces of refrigerant it holds but on your 300 miles/oz. estimation it would more than 24 oz. or 3/4 of a quart. right how many ounces does it hold must be significantly more than 24 oz. otherwise you wouldnt have written that i have a leak. sorry... that first part was tongue-in-cheek.... a reference to your statement that you ran out of r-134... sounded like running out of gas. the point is a system that operates properly never loses r-134 because its supposed to be a closed system. ill get it checked out. but for the sake of curiosity lets say i dont have a leak. are these cans of r-134a found at k-mart and other places fine to use how do they work are they just as good as getting a recharge at an a/c shop okay - theoretically if you dont have a leak and someone popped your hood and purposely vented your 134 then yes you could re-charge it with the stuff in the cans and it would be just fine. however... you have to add the proper amount. that means you need a set of r-134 gauges and not the crappy little thing that comes in the recharge kit on both the low-pressure and high-pressure sides. you also need to measure the ambient temperature and refer to a chart for your specific year/make/model truck to know what the proper operating pressures are the factory service manual has this information. putting in too little wont give you the proper performance. putting in too much will give you poor performance too. putting in way too much will destroy your a/c compressor. so while the contents of the can are identical to what an a/c shop would put in the method of application between what a professional shop would do and what a consumer could accomplish with a $15 recharge kit are vastly different. .
From : nitpik
i totally understand your frustration. i own a garage full of tools because i could never get someone else to give me the results i was looking for no matter how much i paid. eventually my occupation evolved into working on a/c stuff as well and compared to everything else servicing a/c units can be the most frustrating of all to get things sorted out correctly the first time around. theres no substitue for having all the right tools for that job having the good basic knowledge a ton of perseverance and a ton of patience .. eventually after acquiring lots of experience your percentage of success goes way up but it takes time to get to that point. there are a lot of people in that business who dont have a good attitude about getting it right the first time or arent allowed to take the time necessary for a good fix or just dont have the skills needed to solve a subtle problem .. on and on. chasing down a refrigerant leak can be a very difficult task for anyone. at some point a decision might need to be made about whether say a leaky evaporator should be repaired or replaced .. well what caused it to leak in the first place corrosion bad factory weld vibration fatigue if its repaired will it just fail again soon if you replace it will the new one shake itself to death again soon if repaired will it just develop another similar leak in a different spot because of corrosion issues plus the auto manufacturers are just like hvac manufacturers in that they dont put anything together expecting that someone will ever have to fix it at a later time .. so getting at the components to troubleshoot or repair them often is not easy .. running costs up for being thorough. its very often a catch 22 when trying to balance a correct repair versus how much a customer will be willing to pay. thats why it can cost a bunch to have it done right the first time and thats why so many people just want to dump more refrigerant in and drive on .... its just the way things are. anytime ive ever needed professional a/c work done on any of my vehicles i never once got away for less than $750 and adding insult to injury the repair seldom lasted more than 18-24 months. most barely lasted a year. no offense toward you personally but ive developed kind of a sour taste in my mouth for many of the purveyors of your craft. what is it about a/c systems that factory original systems can last for 5 or more years but repairs & rebuilt components do good to make it a year 20 years ago i never would have ever touched an a/c system before getting seriously stung a couple of times. so the fact that today i and others see fit to add 1/2 to 3/4 can once a year myself is a situation brought about by dishonesty and greed within the trade. tell me please how does a person find an honest and affordable a/c shop that will do a proper repair at a fair and honest price and does not oversell the customer repairs he does not need .
From : oerclockd proc
actually you missed the point. did you not read that i wrote ill get it checked out. what i meant by that is...ill get it checked out. i have more than one vehicle and at some point im sure one of them will be needing a recharge. hence my questions are these cans of r-134a found at k-mart and other places fine to use how do they work are they just as good as getting a recharge at an a/c shop lighten up. i believed you missed the point ... your vehicle does have a leak in the refrigerant system that needs to be fixed before anyone puts more into it. are you equiped to perform this task i think not. ergo take your wheels to someone who knows what the hell they are doing and pay the freight. the vehicle has about 70k miles on it. not knowing how many ounces of refrigerant it holds but on your 300 miles/oz. estimation it would more than 24 oz. or 3/4 of a quart. right how many ounces does it hold must be significantly more than 24 oz. otherwise you wouldnt have written that i have a leak. ill get it checked out. but for the sake of curiosity lets say i dont have a leak. are these cans of r-134a found at k-mart and other places fine to use how do they work are they just as good as getting a recharge at an a/c shop .
From : oerclockd proc
thanks all for your advice. i learned something. most of which is that this is not something i can accomplish on my own. i understood that the truck needs to go in and now i realize that recharging is something id rather pay to have done right. thanks again. first all automobile airconditioning systems leak and the epa even reconizes that they leak which is why is it ok to just add a little r-134 or whatever to a auto air conditoning system without having to actually fix something. the major area of the leak in around the shaft that drives the compressor. so if the leak isnt that bad a can once a year or so forget it and just add one. someday the compressor will need to be replaced but by that time someone else might be the owner of the car. as stated below though put in a little at a time and check the temperature and when it seems to be cooling ok stop and dont add any more until the next time it stops cooling. i live in the air conditioning capitol of the us phx. az far from it the ac capital. i have family there and i swear when i was in palm springs ca there were 500 licenced registered contractors in a 10 mile area and we all had more biz than we knew what to do with...of course it helps that more units are being sold there than anywhere else other than nevada due to construction....but..anyway...your comment about the shaft seal...partially right. most of the leaks in a 134a unit are either in the evap or the o-rings. you will replace 10 sets of o-rings to one shaft seal and prob 4 times as many evaps than that. ron tom lawrence wrote the vehicle has about 70k miles on it. not knowing how many ounces of refrigerant it holds but on your 300 miles/oz. estimation it would more than 24 oz. or 3/4 of a quart. right how many ounces does it hold must be significantly more than 24 oz. otherwise you wouldnt have written that i have a leak. sorry... that first part was tongue-in-cheek.... a reference to your statement that you ran out of r-134... sounded like running out of gas. the point is a system that operates properly never loses r-134 because its supposed to be a closed system. ill get it checked out. but for the sake of curiosity lets say i dont have a leak. are these cans of r-134a found at k-mart and other places fine to use how do they work are they just as good as getting a recharge at an a/c shop okay - theoretically if you dont have a leak and someone popped your hood and purposely vented your 134 then yes you could re-charge it with the stuff in the cans and it would be just fine. however... you have to add the proper amount. that means you need a set of r-134 gauges and not the crappy little thing that comes in the recharge kit on both the low-pressure and high-pressure sides. you also need to measure the ambient temperature and refer to a chart for your specific year/make/model truck to know what the proper operating pressures are the factory service manual has this information. putting in too little wont give you the proper performance. putting in too much will give you poor performance too. putting in way too much will destroy your a/c compressor. so while the contents of the can are identical to what an a/c shop would put in the method of application between what a professional shop would do and what a consumer could accomplish with a $15 recharge kit are vastly different. .
From : greg surratt
on 27 may 2004 053141 -0700 saydee47@hotmail.com oerclockd proc wrote thanks all for your advice. i learned something. most of which is that this is not something i can accomplish on my own. i understood that the truck needs to go in and now i realize that recharging is something id rather pay to have done right. thanks again. smart decision. its like when i used to repair old electronic equipment for the navy - they dont pay me for fixing it they pay me for knowing exactly where to hit the side of the cabinet to make it work. greg .
From : Annonymous
on wed 26 may 2004 220526 -0400 cbhvac sales@screweduponpurpose@caroliabreeehvac.com wrote this is as light as i get i cant attest to the other guys. if you have to ask what you did you are beyond your capacity. do you have a vac pump a scale a complete set of guages more than low refrigerant can cause a unit not to cool. overcharge it and it will perform as bad as not any at all. over charge it and you will find the hp switch tripping often and you will add much more wear to the compessor. undercharge it and the same thing will happen only the lp switch will trip. i dont do automotive ac much anymore. unless its for an r12 system or a conversion for someone i know. i used to do nothing but that...and still do on my own. i get to sit back and watch guys that havent a clue just mess things up more. might i suggest that you allow a shop to look it over since you probably do have a leak and that leak stop crap in the cans you get at wally world is just that..crap. you probably have a leak in the evap as most do over time. there is a reason for this and its called acid. its the weakest solid link in the system next to the o-rings. now - for arguements sake - you have a 1995 pontiac trans sport with 350000km on it and the ac looses about 3-4 oz of r134 every 6 months. you have pretty well pinned it down to the evap core leaking but there is no sign of oil visible and a leak detector finds nothing. dye in the system shows nothing but there is just a hint of a possible dye spattering at the condensate drain on the ac unit. do you 1 - spend the better part of a day dissassembling the dash and climate control system to get at the evap on the chance your guess is right and take the chance very good by the way that at least one of the fittings will gall and be damaged in dissassembly - requiring more dissassembly and more expense those lines must have been the first thing installed to the bare body shell at the factory or 2 install a can of sealer and hope for the best - knowing that if it does not solve the problem you will never have a/c on the van again i chose door number 2 and the a/c has been working fine now for over 18 months. i had the vacuum pump and scale.. the system is tagged and will never be connected to a recycler again. i realize the system is now end of life - but to repair it right would have cost more than the van cost me. there is a place for this stuff - but not in a low mileage late model vehicle. now the sealer that comes in the recharge can i have no experience with. i believed you missed the point ... your vehicle does have a leak in the refrigerant system that needs to be fixed before anyone puts more into it. are you equiped to perform this task i think not. ergo take your wheels to someone who knows what the hell they are doing and pay the freight. the vehicle has about 70k miles on it. not knowing how many ounces of refrigerant it holds but on your 300 miles/oz. estimation it would more than 24 oz. or 3/4 of a quart. right how many ounces does it hold must be significantly more than 24 oz. otherwise you wouldnt have written that i have a leak. ill get it checked out. but for the sake of curiosity lets say i dont have a leak. are these cans of r-134a found at k-mart and other places fine to use how do they work are they just as good as getting a recharge at an a/c shop .
From : Annonymous
on wed 26 may 2004 223646 gmt tom lawrence tnloaswpraemnmcien5g@earthlink.net wrote the vehicle has about 70k miles on it. not knowing how many ounces of refrigerant it holds but on your 300 miles/oz. estimation it would more than 24 oz. or 3/4 of a quart. right how many ounces does it hold must be significantly more than 24 oz. otherwise you wouldnt have written that i have a leak. sorry... that first part was tongue-in-cheek.... a reference to your statement that you ran out of r-134... sounded like running out of gas. the point is a system that operates properly never loses r-134 because its supposed to be a closed system. ill get it checked out. but for the sake of curiosity lets say i dont have a leak. are these cans of r-134a found at k-mart and other places fine to use how do they work are they just as good as getting a recharge at an a/c shop okay - theoretically if you dont have a leak and someone popped your hood and purposely vented your 134 then yes you could re-charge it with the stuff in the cans and it would be just fine. however... you have to add the proper amount. that means you need a set of r-134 gauges and not the crappy little thing that comes in the recharge kit on both the low-pressure and high-pressure sides. you also need to measure the ambient temperature and refer to a chart for your specific year/make/model truck to know what the proper operating pressures are the factory service manual has this information. putting in too little wont give you the proper performance. putting in too much will give you poor performance too. putting in way too much will destroy your a/c compressor. so while the contents of the can are identical to what an a/c shop would put in the method of application between what a professional shop would do and what a consumer could accomplish with a $15 recharge kit are vastly different. if you know the system is dry - ie - empty then you simply add the specified amount of refrigerant. if the capacity is 3.75 lbs 3 16 oz cans and one 14 oz can will put you 2 oz over - if you do not loose any and you get the cans right empty. i installed hundreds of a/c systems using nothing but cans for the initial fill. getting the cans to empty fully without freezing up was a trick - but the cans came in the box from denso so thats what we used. .
From : cbhvac sales
on wed 26 may 2004 220526 -0400 cbhvac sales@screweduponpurpose@caroliabreeehvac.com wrote this is as light as i get i cant attest to the other guys. if you have to ask what you did you are beyond your capacity. do you have a vac pump a scale a complete set of guages more than low refrigerant can cause a unit not to cool. overcharge it and it will perform as bad as not any at all. over charge it and you will find the hp switch tripping often and you will add much more wear to the compessor. undercharge it and the same thing will happen only the lp switch will trip. i dont do automotive ac much anymore. unless its for an r12 system or a conversion for someone i know. i used to do nothing but that...and still do on my own. i get to sit back and watch guys that havent a clue just mess things up more. might i suggest that you allow a shop to look it over since you probably do have a leak and that leak stop crap in the cans you get at wally world is just that..crap. you probably have a leak in the evap as most do over time. there is a reason for this and its called acid. its the weakest solid link in the system next to the o-rings. now - for arguements sake - you have a 1995 pontiac trans sport with 350000km on it and the ac looses about 3-4 oz of r134 every 6 months. you have pretty well pinned it down to the evap core leaking but there is no sign of oil visible and a leak detector finds nothing. actually i had a 1992 firebird still do matter of fact and i had an r12 leak in the evap.... it took 2 hours less than chilton and motors said it would but it got a new evap and that was at 179000 miles. dye in the system shows nothing but there is just a hint of a possible dye spattering at the condensate drain on the ac unit. do you 1 - spend the better part of a day dissassembling the dash and climate control system to get at the evap on the chance your guess is right and take the chance very good by the way that at least one of the fittings will gall and be damaged in dissassembly - requiring more dissassembly and more expense those lines must have been the first thing installed to the bare body shell at the factory or 2 install a can of sealer and hope for the best - knowing that if it does not solve the problem you will never have a/c on the van again umm..you can do what you want. i am in the business and used to work on automotive ac for a living. i do it right or not at all and to me personally to do otherwise is foolish. i chose door number 2 and the a/c has been working fine now for over 18 months. i had the vacuum pump and scale.. the system is tagged and will never be connected to a recycler again. i realize the system is now end of life - but to repair it right would have cost more than the van cost me. ahh...not always. unless the van cost you about $500 you could have about replaced the entire system... there is a place for this stuff - but not in a low mileage late model vehicle. agreed. now the sealer that comes in the recharge can i have no experience with. pray you never do. i believed you missed the point ... your vehicle does have a leak in the refrigerant system that needs to be fixed before anyone puts more into it. are you equiped to perform this task i think not. ergo take your wheels to someone who knows what the hell they are doing and pay the freight. the vehicle has about 70k miles on it. not knowing how many ounces of refrigerant it holds but on your 300 miles/oz. estimation it would more than 24 oz. or 3/4 of a quart. right how many ounces does it hold must be significantly more than 24 oz. otherwise you wouldnt have written that i have a leak. ill get it checked out. but for the sake of curiosity lets say i dont have a leak. are these cans of r-134a found at k-mart and other places fine to use how do they work are they just as good as getting a recharge at an a/c shop .
From : Annonymous
sales@screweduponpurpose@caroliabreeehvac.com writes umm..you can do what you want. i am in the business and used to work on automotive ac for a living. i do it right or not at all and to me personally to do otherwise is foolish. i chose door number 2 and the a/c has been working fine now for over 18 months. i had the vacuum pump and scale.. the system is tagged and will never be connected to a recycler again. i realize the system is now end of life - but to repair it right would have cost more than the van cost me. ahh...not always. unless the van cost you about $500 you could have about replaced the entire system... you mean -you- might have been able to do it for $500 dont you anytime ive ever needed professional a/c work done on any of my vehicles i never once got away for less than $750 and adding insult to injury the repair seldom lasted more than 18-24 months. most barely lasted a year. no offense toward you personally but ive developed kind of a sour taste in my mouth for many of the purveyors of your craft. what is it about a/c systems that factory original systems can last for 5 or more years but repairs & rebuilt components do good to make it a year 20 years ago i never would have ever touched an a/c system before getting seriously stung a couple of times. so the fact that today i and others see fit to add 1/2 to 3/4 can once a year myself is a situation brought about by dishonesty and greed within the trade. tell me please how does a person find an honest and affordable a/c shop that will do a proper repair at a fair and honest price and does not oversell the customer repairs he does not need .
From : Annonymous
on fri 28 may 2004 212323 -0400 cbhvac sales@screweduponpurpose@caroliabreeehvac.com wrote umm..you can do what you want. i am in the business and used to work on automotive ac for a living. i do it right or not at all and to me personally to do otherwise is foolish. i was in the business for 25 years. worked on automotive ac too. there is not enough money to make me tear into that trans sport to replace the evaporator - particularly knowing what i know about the way the connections can disintegrate while dissassembling. too many other parts even harder to reach than the evap core. i chose door number 2 and the a/c has been working fine now for over 18 months. i had the vacuum pump and scale.. the system is tagged and will never be connected to a recycler again. i realize the system is now end of life - but to repair it right would have cost more than the van cost me. ahh...not always. unless the van cost you about $500 you could have about replaced the entire system... exactly what i paid for the van. then i put an engine in it. there is a place for this stuff - but not in a low mileage late model vehicle. agreed. now the sealer that comes in the recharge can i have no experience with. pray you never do. i believed you missed the point ... your vehicle does have a leak in the refrigerant system that needs to be fixed before anyone puts more into it. are you equiped to perform this task i think not. ergo take your wheels to someone who knows what the hell they are doing and pay the freight. the vehicle has about 70k miles on it. not knowing how many ounces of refrigerant it holds but on your 300 miles/oz. estimation it would more than 24 oz. or 3/4 of a quart. right how many ounces does it hold must be significantly more than 24 oz. otherwise you wouldnt have written that i have a leak. ill get it checked out. but for the sake of curiosity lets say i dont have a leak. are these cans of r-134a found at k-mart and other places fine to use how do they work are they just as good as getting a recharge at an a/c shop .
From : daniel j stern
on fri 28 may 2004 ramman@dodgecity.cc wrote anytime ive ever needed professional a/c work done on any of my vehicles i never once got away for less than $750 and adding insult to injury the repair seldom lasted more than 18-24 months. ouch! makes me suspect youre buying vehicles with poorly-designed systems of which there are many! and/or making poor choices of technician and/or of components. what is it about a/c systems that factory original systems can last for 5 or more years ....or many more years -- thinking of the 42-year-old original compressor condenser evaporator expansion valve etc. in my 62 dodge... but repairs & rebuilt components do good to make it a year well poorly-done repairs are poorly-done repairs but rebuilt components these days usually means factory remanufactured and this stuff is almost all garbage whether were discussing a/c compressors or starters or alternators brake master cylinders whatever. what is more the mass-market outlets autozone pep boys etc. have chosen to fix the bad reputation of remanufactured parts by offering new ones...that are new all right but theyre not genuine. theyre badly-made knockoff crapola from china. heads they win tails you lose. the lifetime warranty means you get to spend your lifetime replacing the part under warranty. tell me please how does a person find an honest and affordable a/c shop that will do a proper repair at a fair and honest price and does not oversell the customer repairs he does not need well you dont find him at pep boys or firestone or quick-lube. what kind of vehicle are you working on which what recurring problem in what part of which country -stern .
From : Annonymous
j. stern dastern@127.0.0.1 writes well you dont find him at pep boys or firestone or quick-lube. what kind of vehicle are you working on which what recurring problem in what part of which country nothing at present. 97 dodge ram still cruisin along with all original components 66k miles but its developed a -very slow- leak over the past 3 years first noticed in 2001 when the truck was 4 yrs old. so far just adding 1/2 to 3/4 can of coolant at the start of each cooling season april to november here in houston tx seems to be all its taken to get it working properly again. i have a case 12 cans of 134a on hand so unless something else happens or the leak becomes bad enough to pay to have fixed i should be good for a few years ;- actually i really wouldnt mind having it fixed now except for the sting factor of prior bad experiences. i really dont feel like paying some bubba $300 to guess that the problem is a bad muffler bearing sic and replace it with one that thereafter has to be replaced every year. previous repairs that -didnt- last was a compressor on a 87 4-cyl chevy celebrity done at the local chev dealership. lasted 6 months not under warranty natch. prior to that was a 100% changeout $1100.00 from r12 to r134a all components replaced on a 93 town car done at an independent shop that i can usually trust. 2 seasons later the evaporator is leaking $400. they do good work just that their labor is way high. previous repair that *did* last was a compressor on a 78 corvette done in 1981. $325.00 we finally sold the vette 3 years ago a/c still going strong. job was done it a private one man garage part of an old mobil station in eldridge iowa. of course we never drove the vette much it had only 62k miles on it when we sold it in 2001. original equip still going strong is the wifes 96 lexus. we had it checked this year when we had the 50k service done but the lexus garage said its fine. .