[patred]

I see those DIY AC recharge cans at PepAdvancedZone all the time and wonder if anybody has used them. The AC in my '01 Camaro blows cooler-than-the-engine-bay air. Hope it's not something stupid like the compressor and just a recharge does the trick. I took the AC out of my SE-R so it would be nice to have something with working AC! (IMG:http://www.frrax.com/rrforum/style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

Pat

[Cal]

Yeah I was going to say something about that high side/low side caution but I couldn't remember, and my expert is out for the count with a medical condition. True story about hydrolocking the compressor. Seems like there is also a risk of bursting the can if you feed the high side with the compressor running.

Also important is there are two kinds of freon and two kinds of oil, none of which can be mixed. 3rd gens use Freon 12, 4th gens R134A. You can switch a freon 12 system over to 134A if you get every last drop of the old oil out and repace with the PAG stuff.

A manifold set with high side and low side gauges and valves is a good investment and will alow you to do a better job. Seems like the low side should be around 30 psi and the high side 240 psi? Again, CRS so verify this first.

In the case of a system that is empty, especially if a coupling has been taken off so outside air can get in, you need to pull a vacuum on the system first or it will never cool worth sh*t even completely recharged with freon. You can get a cheap venturi vacuum pump from Harbor Freight or make a real dandy one from an old fridge compressor that will pull a couple more inches of vacuum. Suck it down for 20 mins or so, then let the freon in. This way the system has mostly freon and no air. By the same token, if the tubes are going to be off for a while, plug the open ends to keep humidity out.

If all else fails, pull the whole system off making the car 60 lbs lighter!

Oh yeah, and if you ever need to bleed the system, let the freon out real slow, that way the oil won't be sucked out with it. Then you can refill it without adding oil. It is also bad to have too much oil in there, so don't add much unless you are pretty sure it is low.

This post has been edited by Cal: May 21 2007, 08:37 PM