2001 Disco II- 140K miles

A/C wasn't as cold as I thought it should be, so I dropped in on my indie Rover guy and asked him to test my pressure on both high/low sides...Low was around 30...High was at 150. He said I needed to add a can of refrigerant, so I got one of those fancy expensive ones with the stop leak/oil, etc and added it. It blows cold while driving, but only cool at stop lights, idle, etc. I checked that the compressor IS coming on & the electric fan IS running- BUT most searches suggest that if not that cold while idling, then the fan may be suspect...

The car has never had any A/C service or maintenance that I know of. Are those pressures in range? Could my fan simply be old and not up to par? Should I clean the coils?

As always, thanks so much for the help!

 

I am going to assume, which you should never do, that you installed the freon and you followed the directions to a "T"?
Are you sure you added enough freon, do you remember what the gauge readings were when you were done?

 

Thanks for the reply Mike- mechanic added the can and the reading was at 40 low side when done-

 

Too much refridge and the compressor wont kick on as a saftey precaution, too little and the same. Problem is, the system is a sealed system, they do not consume the freon... negligible amounts will find thereselves out of the orings and seals over time, as they wear out. Once that happens though, theres no cure but to replace them all. The pressure of the system will just make the gaps bigger until they flow free under pressure... adding freon to a system thats leaking is like bruning cash.... using a stop leak freon might seal up old rings for a few months, weeks, days or only hours! ive had good luck red angel brand ones, but only on vehicles that arent too old and only have rings that are in nearly decent shape. you may also have rotted out holes in the lines, components or leaky service valves. you can throw in some uv die into the system and see if it shows up anywhere in the system. dont service it yourself however, the system needs to be evacuated into a collection machine before its opened for service/replacement... r134 is not environmentally friendly in the least bit, dont be one of those 3rd world quality shade tree mechanics who thinks just a single cars worth of leaked freon wont hurt anything!

 

Thanks for the reply and -Roger That- as far as evac system into atmosphere- Thats something I'd leave to the pro's anyway! Question tho- wouldn't the air be warm at driving speed and idle if there was a leak? Its very cold while underway- just not as cold while stopped. Thanks again pal

 

What settings do you have your a/c set at, are you recurulating the air?
Either your system level is wrong per his gauges or you may have a plugged up filter.

 

I have it set manually at LO both sides, recirc button engaged and blower on Highest setting- What filter would be plugged? thanks pal

 

update- just checked pressure with an over the counter freon recharge hose with the ac set at coldest and fan at highest---and its reading about 33psi- the low side lines are COLD and have alot of condensation on them and the high side is very warm to the touch...also the condensor fan is runnning and the truck is idling in the driveway...ambient temp in Tampa is about 85 degrees

 

God, I am drawing a blank for the name of the inline filter, I can't believe I am doing this, must be old age. Did some more checking, could also be because of the drier or a plugged expansion valve.
Any way, there is an inline filter that can over time begin to plug up, it may be that, a good a/c man can tell you for sure.
Hope you of this helps.

 

Thanks for the help all!