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A/C refrigerant leak

m0ng00se

m0ng00se

New member
I have a major refrigerant leak in my car. Its more like a hole than a leak. When i try to charge the system, the refrigerant comes directly out the bottom. This does not take place over time, but immediately loses whatever is put in.

I can hear it coming out of the drivers side of the engine compartment. It is by the suction/discharge hose, but i know its not that. What else is on that side that could be leaking?
 


Get some a/c dye and put in it. That'll show you where the leak is. Just remember to change your accumolator and orifice tube and have the system evac'd before recharging it so no moisture will be in the lines.
 
Is it possible that there is a leak in the drier? I used the dye but apparently i needed to clean my engine compartment because the UV light picked up traces of stuff on everything. But, there were a lot of speckles on the drier...
 
Could be. IT has rubbe o-rings where the lines connect to it. You could pull the line andchange your o-rings. I got a whole o-ring kit for mine for like 5 bucks.
 


Alright. The only thing you have on the grivers side of the car is thi lines that run across the front from the compressor to the accumalator(which if you opened up the system to replace o-rings, should have been changed). From the accumalator is lines that run up around the break booster into the firewall. In those lines is the orifice tube that should have also been replaced also. These two items should be replaced about every 4-5 years along with having the system evac'd and recharged. Keeps gases from building up and eating away at the components. That's all that is running on the drivers side of the car. CAn you see if any of the lines have been rubbing on anything? Where the orifice tube is also has a o-ring. If you didn't already replace that as well. Sense the sytem has to be evac'd anyway, It might be just as easy to pull off the lines from the compressor to the fire wall and inspect them. If you can pull the whole thing out without seperating anything and hav access to a air compressor, you can make a cap to seal off the end that bolts to the fire wall and hit the other end with compressed air and the leak should show itself. Then you can fix it and retest to make sure you have a good seal. Don't forget to put the new orifice tube and accumalator on. Tube is only a couple of $$$ and the accumolator is not much more. Try this and let me know how you sit.
 
Im starting to think its the condenser. Not 100% sure but im not sure where to start checking on it.

Seeing as im not excellent with A/C systems, im considering taking this to a shop to get it worked on. I've heard lots of things about getting your A/C system vacuumed after replacing parts. I definately cant do this myself i dont think, and i dont want to take any shortcuts, so a shop seems like the only route to go.

What would be the best thing to do? Should i buy the part myself and tell the shop to replace the part, vacuum and recharge my system, or just let them find the leak and do everything from there? I really dont want to dish out a lot of money since im only 16 and can hardly keep up with gas prices, let alone repairs.
 
What I did with mine, I took it to the shop and had them run a leak test and found out the compressor was leaking. Just to give you a idea of waht they charge, they wanted to charge me almost 900 bucks to replace the compressor, accumalator and orfice tube. It only cost me 350 bucks for the parts and did it myself. Saved a nice chunk of green. Then took it back, let them evac and recharge the system. When I first went there, I worked out alittle deal with them to evac before I worked on it, then when I brought it back, got another evac free of charge and paid for the freon to recharge. You shouldn't need to evac first because you have the leak and nothing should be in the lines. If I were you, I would let them do the leak test and tell you where it's leaking. Go buy the part, fix yourself and have them evac and recharge. If you have any knowledge on working on cars, you'll have no problems doing this. If you need some help, I'm here and can help talk you through it. I hate seeing people have to spend the extra $$$ for a shop to kill them on labor charges. See If you can get a free evac when you take it back to have it recharged. Let me know when you get the leak detected and get the part. If you need the help let me know and if need be, I'll pm you my phone # and help talk you thruough it.
 
How much will they charge me to evacuatate/vacuum test and recharge the system? How much did they charge you to find the leak? I could get a compressor and accumulator for well under $200, and the orfice tube only costs a couple of dollars, but how in the hell am i supposed to replace that orifice tube? It seems impossible to get to. I can hardly see it, let alone reach it.
 
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It was like 30 bucks for the test and first evac. Got the second evac for free and 25 bucks for a piond of freon. The air intake system has to come out. That opens up alot of room. I'm not sure if it's the 98 or 99 that the line where the orfice tube is is further back than the 97. If it's like the 97, once you remove the air intake, you'll have plenty of room. If it's further back, it's a little more of a pain and time consuming, but can ge gotten to. Biggest thing is have a little patience and don't let it get the best of you. If you get frustrated, walk away for a few and come back to it. It's not really as hard as it looks.
 
yea same problem here 04 grand prix gtp. ac leaks out couple of seconds after u put in somewhere on front drivers side under the fans by the air cleaner and the receiver dryer freon riseing up like steam. im thinking just replace receiver dryer or the ac hose assembly. any ideals is the connection ever loose and just needs to b tightned or maybe something simple like new orings ? if the leak is that big where u see it riseing up like steam would u still pinpoint with the dye and how many cans of dye to use. wanna do my self will post pictures /video if can do work myself
 
I know that my compressor is most of the way shot but i got in it today to go to gpas house and it would still blow out kinda cool air. what im wondering is it a bad idea for me to throw a little froen in it myslef to get me by till this summer when i have a little more green? and what is this tube that your talkin about
 


I mean since it held some for like 6 mounths dont you think that if i put in a little just to get it cold it would hold till mid may?
 
kjohnson said:
I mean since it held some for like 6 mounths dont you think that if i put in a little just to get it cold it would hold till mid may?
Click to expand...

An over charged system will not provide cold air either tho. You need to know how much is in the system before you charge it.
 
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