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A/C PRO recharge kits



I use the cheapest cans of r134a I can find. I just got some for $5 a can. It all works the same. If you have to add to your system though you have a leak somewhere
 
If you suspect a leak, get some refrigerant dye and put a few drops in the end of the connector before hooking it up. If it starts getting warm again, you can use a black light to spot where it's leaking. Check with a black light before you try though, you may need to rinse the lines and stuff down as other things can glow under the light.

Those things work great as long as the leak is small, it kept my 05's AC running by adding a can once a year, but don't bother with any that contains stop leak. It shouldn't do any harm, but it won't stop any leaks.

Now if you want like, as cold as when the car was new, just buy a gauge set from Harbor Freight (they're pretty cheap) and rent a vacuum pump. You can do a professional evacuation and recharge surprisingly easy.


This dude shows how easy it is. As long as you use the correct weight of refrigerant, nothing will get you colder AC than that. Replacing the accumulator wouldn't hurt either.
 


I have a few comments on that video. first of all if you want to do it yourself just wait for an 80+ degree day. The rule of thumb with high side pressures that will get you in the ball park is 2.5 times ambient temperature at 1500 rpms ( so yes you need to give it a little throttle). so its 80 degrees out. 2.5 x 80 = 200. your high side pressure should sit somewhere around 200 psi. However what many people overlook is make sure the radiator fans are working properly! if the heat is not drawn from the condenser the high side pressure will skyrocket even though it technically has a low charge. On some rear wheel drive vehicles with clutched fans the clutch may start failing enough to affect the ac performance.


Low pressure especially the ones like on the GP's compressor is variable and the low pressure gauge only wont tell you squat. It will only tell you when you have enough refrigerant to satisfy the low side but you need to add more to get the high side at the right pressure.

If you fill with liquid ( turning can upside down during fill) make sure to never let the low side pressure go above 50 psi because if liquid gets into the compressor it will instantly kill it. On the gp I believe the low ports are far from the compressors so there isn't much of a worry but I have worked on cars the low side is right at the compressor.

im not sure where this guy gets the info of using low fan speed. I was taught to use the highest setting without recirc and the windows open. Maybe he was using low fan speed because the ambient temp was down.
 
dsmuts said:
I use the cheapest cans of r134a I can find. I just got some for $5 a can. It all works the same. If you have to add to your system though you have a leak somewhere
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best bet your low side port valve but yeah all 134a is the same. I love fixing ac systems its so freaking easy
 
Thanks for the info paedbo, I just learned some useful info! I'm doing basically an AC overhaul later this month, so I'll definitely keep all that in mind.

Can't wait for some ice cold, reliable AC, I haven't experienced that since I got my 05 used three years ago :D
 


paedbo said:
theres a product I like to use on o rings too called nylog look it up
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Nylog, I've never heard of the stuff. Definitely can't hurt, I'll be replacing just about every o-ring anyways. I'm going to guess you've done quite a bit of AC work :D
 
don't have to necessarily mix oils. poor lubrication, and on compressors like the fx15 the Teflon rings disintegrate turning into a fine powder. Mixed with hot oil and refrigerant and tada! Black death caked all over everything. No use trying to flush. You may be able to save the evaporator otherwise its a firewall forward replacement of everything. Put a new compressor back in a system that suffered black death and it will not survive long either.

Nik -12937 blue nylog by the way. red is is harder to work with. Btw I am a licensed mvac technician all though I haven't worked in the field for a long time.


here's another interesting thing I found I have not used this product tho.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/R134-A-C-Re...Parts_Accessories&hash=item19ede4ae0b&vxp=mtr
 
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I had a sneaking suspicion you were, a majority of people (including me) have a pretty limited knowledge of AC systems past their basic design.

I'll just order some tomorrow to make sure I don't mix them up, it's pretty cheap for how helpful it could wind up being.

I think I'll test out those oil checkers too while I'm at it, can't argue with $7.50 after shipping. I know for a fact my system is pretty done at the moment, though it still works for a week or so if you add some freeon, so I can test one knowing it should come up bad. Another tool to make sure I get the system as close to its condition out of the factory. Not having AC is actually even crappier in the winter months (in my opinion) while living in PA. I can stand pretty hot temperatures without much complaint, but it's so difficult to defog the windows in cold weather without a functioning compressor.
 
nik12937 said:
I had a sneaking suspicion you were, a majority of people (including me) have a pretty limited knowledge of AC systems past their basic design.

I'll just order some tomorrow to make sure I don't mix them up, it's pretty cheap for how helpful it could wind up being.

I think I'll test out those oil checkers too while I'm at it, can't argue with $7.50 after shipping. I know for a fact my system is pretty done at the moment, though it still works for a week or so if you add some freeon, so I can test one knowing it should come up bad. Another tool to make sure I get the system as close to its condition out of the factory. Not having AC is actually even crappier in the winter months (in my opinion) while living in PA. I can stand pretty hot temperatures without much complaint, but it's so difficult to defog the windows in cold weather without a functioning compressor.
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The compressor doesn't run if it's under 36° anyway
 
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