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So just to get some newbie questions out of the way before I decide to buy some manifold gauges vs paying a shop to evaluate my system: 1) How do I know whether my system needs to have some more PAG oil added, or if the previous owner did one of those "insta-fill kits" and added too much at some point previously? Or is there a way to vent/expel extra oil built in to the a/c system already if there's too much? 2) I saw you were doing R-152a instead of R-134a, is it materially better/more efficient to use than R-134a? Or more of a "R-134a is going away in 3 years anyways, might as well convert now" type thing. I don't think I'd want to convert if there's nothing wrong with my system aside from being a little low on coolant(it just hit the 10-year mark), but if something's toast and a repair necessitates completely opening it and replacing things would I do better to fill it(or have it filled, more than likely) with R-152a? The a/c system still cools pretty well but with it being 10 years old now and the compressor short-cycling it's probably better to check it out before Texas summer hits and something goes kaboom in July.
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Mar 16, 2014 02:05
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| # ¿ May 14, 2024 13:58 |
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Thank you, that's all good to hear. Thankfully the previous owner doesn't seem to have touched the AC system at all so I think it's clear of any redneck engineering on that front. I really wasn't even thinking about converting unless there was very measurable benefit that came along with it AND something was toasted and needed replacement, so that's also good to get confirmed. Looks like gauges it is, then. Luckily(or not, had to buy one to see which spots the cat had marked on the carpets), I've already got a UV flashlight so I can check and see if there's any dye spots before even checking the high/low pressures. I suspect integrity is just fine though, my old Corolla's A/C went lovely on me the last summer I owned it and it took forever to get cold whereas the Ranger still gets cold in moments. e: Is there anything to that "Quickboost" stuff in the Arctic Freeze brand or is it all just marketing b.s.? I know the "ULTRA SYNTHETIC" stuff is all just marketing since this stuff doesn't exist in nature in the first place, but would I even want to bother with stuff that has ingredients purporting to neutralize acid and absorb water or is a can of dyed and a can of regular all that you want to put in there? Kilersquirrel fucked around with this message at 03:25 on Mar 16, 2014 |
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Mar 16, 2014 02:44
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That's what I figured about the "does everything and even makes fries" claims but hey, better to confirm than not when you're getting your toes wet in a new thing. After I think about it with the (very limited) chemistry knowledge I have, anything that would actually bind up water or neutralize acids seems like it would likely release a gas product or turn into a precipitate/goo of some sort. I can't imagine either being anything other than disastrous inside a circulating pressure vessel, plus I think LeChatelier's principle would come into play heavily and reverse reactions as products drastically change their local pressures. I'll still trade you magic cylinder repair gunk for some radiator insta-fix fluid if you like, though.
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Mar 17, 2014 05:14
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So I bought some gauges and checked things out, it was indeed a bit low and bouncing off the low-pressure cutoff switch when short-cycling. I put probably 3/4 of a can worth of dyed R-134A in and drove it around for a day and rechecked just now, here's what I got back for results: Ambient temp was 80-85F (everything was in the shade, but the wind kept blowing and changing my temp readings in the engine bay), car had not been turned on since about 7:30 last night, pressure was about 90 psi. When running at 1.75k RPMs, I have the following pressures: code:With the throttle at idle and a/c clutch disengaged, I have the following pressures for a moment before it kicks back on: code:Does this all sound right? I did check last night with the UV flashlight and saw no glowing spots anywhere so that's always good.
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Mar 21, 2014 22:03
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I have no idea what the low pressure cutoff is set at, but my guess is about 20 PSI since that's what it was bouncing off of when I bought the gauges and checked things out the other day. The low side did seem a little too low as well(relying on the pressure chart in the OPs and my completely untrained judgement), but given the cycling was taking much, much longer to occur(and the "off" portion is now just seconds long) I wanted to stop before I ran the risk of totally overcharging it and blowing a seal somewhere. e: I forgot to state this earlier but it's an '04 Ranger 3.0L, XLT trim level. And it's red.
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Mar 21, 2014 22:22
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Yeah, it can't really "go bad" so I'll just keep the can tap connected and top off as needed, or save it to use in a friend's vehicle if they start having problems. e: I forgot earlier, the links the OP are malformed and don't work. The forums software substituted periods in the middle to shorten the URLs and wrecked them. Kilersquirrel fucked around with this message at 01:14 on Mar 22, 2014 |
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Mar 21, 2014 23:02
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Motronic posted:Yeah...he's a bit low, but nothing that ought to cause issues. I mean, worst case the evap will freeze if it nasty humid out, but I doubt even that. I don't think freezing the evap is a huge risk, I'm in the DFW area and we're experiencing a drought and about to hit the really hot and dry period of the year anyways. The only places drier than here have hosted atomic weapons tests. Once the temperature quits fluctating so much here(80+ during the day, 40 at night, 58 the next day? Make up your goddamned mind, nature) I'll give it another check and make sure everything is sitting pretty close to correct. What's the normal lifespan on a compressor? If it's approaching "beat to poo poo" territory I might as well just budget for replacing it and the vac pump/seals/accumulator while it's still nice to work outside. To give an idea of wear, this generation of Rangers runs the compressor at all positions in the switch except for Floor-only and Vent-only, and it previously lived around the north Atlanta area. e: as an addition to that, will shops recover the refrigerant for free if you let them keep it, or am I going to get charged standard labor rate to give away any refrigerant in it? I haven't looked at vac pumps too closely but it doesn't look like there's an "out" port on said pumps to recover your gas with. Kilersquirrel fucked around with this message at 20:55 on Mar 22, 2014 |
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Mar 22, 2014 20:51
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Looks like it's not worth worrying about unless something starts to outright fail then. I'm kind of surprised that a vac pump and a recovery machine are so different, it seems like you'd just need an extra piped/valved outlet and maybe a few valves on the manifold to make one. I suppose seal materials could be a problem too depending on how the refrigerants react with synthetic rubbers at various temps. I googled around a bit and saw how some people have used opened R-134 cans packed in dry ice and wetted with 91% isopropyl to do recovery at home, but that kind of begs the question of why they have so many empty refrigerant cans sitting around anyways. Shops buy the stuff in giant tanks, not like you could just drive around and ask for their empties.
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Mar 22, 2014 21:25
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Well I meant empties as in the small consumer-sized cans but that's good to know that you can pick up the big tanks for low-to-no money. Paired with a pancake compressor, seems like a good way to set up a tire mounting/setting rig for very little money - I would have figured there was a deposit on the tanks like other compressed gas tanks have. And yeah gently caress pulling a valve core, I kind of like the idea of keeping a livable climate. Kilersquirrel fucked around with this message at 22:14 on Mar 22, 2014 |
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Mar 22, 2014 22:12
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Fords have a vacuum component to their fan/AC position selector switch. My Ranger does the same thing, and my dad's previous-gen Ranger also does this. It's just the vacuum dissipating noisily, the older the seals in the switch get the louder it tends to be.
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Apr 21, 2014 07:37
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Weird, I got nothing then. Maybe a capillary or other tube was partially blocked in just the right way? Pressures equalizing could conceivably cause one to vibrate like a trumpet mouthpiece under the right circumstance.
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Apr 21, 2014 08:25
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Yeah it's really just a barely-educated guess on my part, Motronic is probably going to lay out exactly what was happening once he catches up on the thread.
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Apr 21, 2014 14:43
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| # ¿ May 14, 2024 13:58 |
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You'll (strictly speaking) only have to replace the compressor and drier, but make sure you flush the whole thing very thoroughly. Metal shavings and flakes will get up into all the lines and the condenser when a compressor seizes, and they will destroy a new one in very short order. What you should do is flush the ever loving poo poo out of it, then take the pipes apart and replace all the seals with ones made of the same material as the seals recommended way back in the beginning of the thread. It probably has a capillary tube setup, and you should replace the capillary tube as a preventative measure(they're generally real cheap), yours probably clogged when the compressor ate itself.
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Nov 17, 2014 05:14
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