[trackbird]

Apparently all of those letters I keep getting in the mail about class action law suits about the 2015 (and similar) Silverado trucks have some merit. My AC isn't cooling (now that the weather is warm) and close inspection revealed a cracked high pressure AC line at the compressor. I figured this out after putting gauges on it and finding 18 psi on the low pressure side (it should be around 35 psi). It seemed to be leaking freon almost as fast as I was putting it in. Ultimately, I ordered new high and low pressure lines (from the compressor and to the compressor), an expansion valve and drier assembly. Add in freon and new belts and I'm looking at about $550 in parts...give or take.

Apparently these trucks are known for compressor issues, high pressure line issues and there's a weld in the condenser that's known to crack. I sprayed soapy water on the condenser and I didn't see any bubbles. Tomorrow, I'll tear it all apart and swap out the lines. I'm hoping this doesn't turn into an all day event....

I've also learned that we now have "stretch fit" belts that don't use an idler pulley. I hadn't run into this before and sadly I didn't find it in time to get the proper tools delivered. However, my neighbor is a former dealer tech and a newly minted Matco dealer. He happened to have a few of the tools GM used to send with new belts, so he gave me a set of those so I can hopefully get the belt on without too much drama.

I'll keep you posted.

[trackbird]

I replaced both lines from the compressor, the expansion valve and all the seals for everything we had open (actually, Racerdad916 did, I went to his place for help and he wound up doing the work...in fairness, he's taller than me and he could reach everything a little better than I could). We pulled a vacuum and recharged it. We wound up putting far more freon in it than it said on the tag under the hood. It seems to be cooling well, but it took more freon than expected. We calculated it to need 21 ounces and change, we put in an ounce of oil (PAG oil) and 2 ounces of freon, a full 12 ounce can of freon, the remains of 3/4 of a can that we had and about 2/3 of an additional 12 ounce can. At that, the pressures were showing 35 psi on the low side and 225 on the high side. That was a little lower than the chart showed on the low side and a little higher on the high side. The thermometer showed 50 degree air coming out of the vents and the outside temp was 90 degrees. A 40 degree temp split is pretty good, so I think that's going to have to do for now.