First refrig. recharge at 10 years

[zaffo oxnard]

2001 Trac



Well I finaly got tired of cool rather than cold a/c. I added a small can of 134a (just refrigerant - no deyes or stop leak), and it gets really cold now. I will monitor to see if it looses effectiveness. It has never been touched, so I hope this was just 10 years of gradual leakage. There never was a steep dropoff in cooling.



Adding was easy, it sucked in a small can in 2 minutes.



If it drops off again, I know I have a leak of some sort of leak that a pro can chase for me.

 

[user 69360]

Let me know how that goes. I have an '01 too and my A/C is now on the cool side.

 

[Walter Edders]

Mine is low too. Recharged it last year and notice the schrader valve was leaking on the low side. I attempted to fix it this year with a kit from autozone and found out the schrader valves on Fords are much larger than the standard ones. The 134a kit I bought had two valves that are the same size as bike tires or car tires and the tool to install it. If you still have problems you could start there as it would be an easy fix if you can find the right size valve. I think Rock auto had them for 7 or 15 bucks. Have too many projects going to fix it this year but thought I would let ya know those valves have been of poor quality. Not that ten years is bad though.

 

[scott degroot]

I don't mean to sound like a broken record but after 10 years on the original charge the system is long overdue for a complete evacuation, vacuum and recharge, teh receiver drier should also be replaced...they aren't designed to last forever.

 

[Jeffksf B]

My 01 is still blowing cold.

 

[user 69360]

Hey l1tech... How much should I expect to pay to have all of that done? I will definitely get it done before next summer.

 

[zaffo oxnard]

This is my problem. I have no idea what the tab will be. Better than 50% of the time they dealer / shop gets it wrong.



The only real answer is a great smart independant mechanic...which in a big city is very rare to find because the cheap shops undercut him and drive him out of business. Smaller towns where a reputation is everything, I hope the small garage is faring better. All I have ever gotten is swapping parts and replacing until it works, never proper diagnosis.



My low side pressure was at the low end of normal. It still had 20 lbs in it. I added a 12 oz can of refrig. and it is now positively arctic. I know eenough to stay away fron oil, sealants and conditioners, as if I kill the system tinkering around, band aids like those only tend to cost me more when it has to go to a pro and he insists on replaving everything because - and I just talked about this with brakes - he wants to avoid a call back. If things are clean and functional, then at least if the issue can be pinpointed, a specific service can be performed. When things have been tinkered with, the good mechanic wants to put in all new or he wont touch it.



For my $30, a can of refrig. was worth it. I just don't have a good shop near me that I trust.

 

[EddieS'04]

For my $30, a can of refrig

$30 wow!



Tony, if you have a BIG LOTS store around. They sell 12oz can for $8. Al of the parts stores around me. Sell the same brand for $15, interdynamics.

 

[Richard L]

10 years on the factory refrigerant is pretty darn good....The most I have ever gotten was about 6 years. Ususally the AC stops working the first summer after the warranty expires :cry:



I am always in favor of pro's recharging the AC system, but if mine lasted 10 years, I would certainly not want to mess with that kind of good luck. When adding a can of refrigerant stops working for you, then there will be plenty of time to bring in the pros....But I'll bet they will not fix it and get you another 10 years of uninterupted service...:grin:



....Rich