Guy,earlier this spring, my A/C wasn't blowing cold air anymore.

Didn't know if it had ever been serviced, I went to my mech and found that I was way low in r134 I think it's called.

He did a pressure test and found no leaks. Added new gas and it was blowing ice cold again.


Well, a month and 1/2 after, no coldness anymore.

There's a cracky respiration sound like darkvader is hiding in the middle dash area when the truck is turned off. It only does it if I leave the A/C on, and not if it's off. Also found that the pass. side blows a bit warmer air than the driver's.


I have a feeling that one of you will know what this sound means

 

Sounds like a leaking a/c evaporator.

Go buy a can of R-134 with stop leak at the auto parts store and a a/c re-charge kit.
Recharging your a/c is a DIY job.
Once you get the kit follow the instructions.
Do not add more than one can of stop leak though, that should get you through the summer then you can have it fixed correctly or not and just recharge it yourself again in the spring.

 

Thanks Spike, will go see my mech again tonight. He currently has my daughter's car, and we have to go pick it up tonight. Might as well have him do a pressure test again.

I'll ask him on that stop leak thing.

 

I have used that stop leak before on another car and learned the hard way that to much of it will clog the whole system.
But if the leak is small one can will not hurt and might cure the problem.
Its $30 US for a a/c recharge kit.

 

Spike is right on the stop leak. Also, most home kits have oil added already, so it is an all in one. Adding too much oil will have the same ill effects.

Best way to fix it is to evacuate the system, and add new freon and oil that had dye in it. Then you can see where the leak is coming from. It is hard to diagnose in the cab.

You will also hear a little hissing normally. When your system is running, the compressor pressurizes the refrigerant. It is cooled by a fan, then expands through a little valve by the coils inside the truck. It gets super cold when it expands. Kinda like how a propane bottle freezes up when you use it fast. It is still under pressure when you shut off the truck, and a little hissing will occur when you shut it off..

 

Thanks,will try different things and see what works. I feel that filling it up again and chasing the leak is not too environmental friendly....but then again, neither is driving a truck that gets 12-16 miles a gallon

I think that if the stop leak works, I should try that. If it still leaks I'll add the dye and chase it to fix it. ORRRRR maybe I could kill 2 birds with 1 stone and put both, the stop leak and dye !!!!

 

Well, found that there's a very small leak in the long hose that goes from the dryer to the connection at the shrader valve. the leak is towards the front in the metal line.

Could I just cut the line before and after the leak and use a rubber tube with clamps to replace the leaking part ?? or should I just replace the whole hose ??? $110.00 at AB.

What is the best A/C stop leak available ???? you know.....one that actually works

 

I would buy the new hose more money yes, but a way better repair job. You might be able to find someone locally that can make a new hose for you cheaper...do you have any hvac repair shops nearby ??

 

You can't use rubber hose to replace the line the freon will escape immediately. It has to be a pressed fit type of hose assembly. Basically oem or something similar.