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ac leak

E

elraido

I kant speel
Joined
Oct 28, 2004
Messages
15,657
Location
Northern MN
The previous owner says that the ac works on the SVT but it leaks and he thinks it is a bad oring. If I use a recharge kit with leak sealer, should that take care of it if it is small or is that only going to cause more problems? He says it lasts 1-2 weeks before it is gone. Also if it is a hose or an o-ring, how hard could it be to replace? I know I would have to depresurize the whole thing etc.
 
elraido said:
The previous owner says that the ac works on the SVT but it leaks and he thinks it is a bad oring. If I use a recharge kit with leak sealer, should that take care of it if it is small or is that only going to cause more problems? He says it lasts 1-2 weeks before it is gone. Also if it is a hose or an o-ring, how hard could it be to replace? I know I would have to depresurize the whole thing etc.
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Try some R-134a with stop leak first, and see what that does for a couple of weeks. Stop leak might not fix it after the first time, so try it a couple of times.

Anything A/C related is a PITA to replace, even if it sounds as simple as an o-ring.

I think I Might have the same issue, when I got my car the A/C system had no R-134a left in it at all. Dropped a couple of cans in the system and it works great, I havent had to put any more in the car yet, so if its leaking it certainly is taking its time. If I have to drop one can in a month, im not going to worry about it. You can get R-134a At murrays for $8 a can.
 
AliasJerk said:
Try some R-134a with stop leak first, and see what that does for a couple of weeks. Stop leak might not fix it after the first time, so try it a couple of times.

Anything A/C related is a PITA to replace, even if it sounds as simple as an o-ring.

I think I Might have the same issue, when I got my car the A/C system had no R-134a left in it at all. Dropped a couple of cans in the system and it works great, I haven't had to put any more in the car yet, so if its leaking it certainly is taking its time. If I have to drop one can in a month, im not going to worry about it. You can get R-134a At murrays for $8 a can.
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I don't even know where to start with this... chances are the leak stop isn't going to do anything for you. it may for a while but at some point it will not work anymore. in general stop-leak in the system is a bad idea.

first stop check out the accumulator, chances are it is rusted through and this is where the leak occurs. get a can of R-134a with UV dye and look for the leak ...


now do not ever just dump cans of refrigerant into your ac system .... there are operating pressures that need to be adhered to when filling the system. to little or even to much will cause the system to not run correctly. to much pressure could cause a dangerous situation also.

the biggest pita with working on the ac system that I can see is if you have to replace a line since they run all over the engine bay. if you can change an o-ring on a fuel injector you can change it on the ac system. you use the same line disconnect tool as the fuel system and you oil the o-rings before installing them. you want to make sure you get ac o-rings and ac system oil ...

and again you can't just dump refrigerant into the system. Did you know you have to bring the system to a vacuum first before filling it. so if you just dump refrigerant into the system you are not filling it correctly.

also it isn't not legal to vent any refrigerant to the atmosphere, so did it right and repair the leak and don't just keep dumping refrigerant into the atmosphere ...

alias have you ever worked on a ac system before? have you done any research or reading on how the sytem work and how to service it? :rolleyes:
 
Also to get the system to really operate properly after the leak is repaired the system needs to be pulled into a vacuum to remove all the air out of it before the new R-134 is added at the proper level. Otherwise you have a mixture of air and freon in the system and it will never run as efficiently as designed.
 
Just to be totally accurate the major reason to evacuate the system is not to remove the air but the moisture that goes along with the air. The moisture can react with the freon and make hydrochloric acid and eat through the evap etc.
 
twocontours said:
Just to be totally accurate the major reason to evacuate the system is not to remove the air but the moisture that goes along with the air. The moisture can react with the freon and make hydrochloric acid and eat through the evap etc.
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True, true. I forgot about that issue.
 
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