I just moved to Las Vegas and all of a sudden the A/C on my 1998 Ford Explorer stops blowing cold air. I was going to pay a service station to recharge it but saw that it takes 134a and that they sell little recharge kits at the local store for prices ranging from $4.50 (a little 2.x ounce bottle with a fitting that looks about the size of the male end of a garden hose) to kits that cost $34 and include all sorts of bottles, guages, and valves. Any advice on how hard it is to do, and whether a $4 kit might be worth trying. Also, where in my explorer would I plug it in. I looked all over under the hood for something that matches the device on the top of the $4.50 bottle (the low side of the system?) and didn't see anything like that. I have 1998 with SOHC 4.0 L six in it. Eddie Bower edition. -Mark

 

I'm not sure where your low pressure fitting is on your 98, but it should be easy to find. You need to be careful that you don't overcharge the system and blow out the compressor. The correct way is to evacuate the system and then recharge. This process does require special equipment.

 

I guess in my mind if it takes $30+ worth of equip to do it right, and an hour of my time, it sounds like I'd probably be better off taking it to some local garage or lube-n-tune up to even $100 just for the peace of mind. What should one expect if it's a "standard" no brainer "put more 134a in" at jiffy lube or my ford dealer, vs horror story 300 and 600 dollar "fixes". -Any coments? I see places out here that will "test" my system for $20. At this point do I bother, or is it like a battery where if I know that my car needs it and this is its first time, I just tell them "recharge it". -Mark

 

Are there any signs of leakage in the system?? If it's a slow leak, then you can probably get away with a recharge. Do you know when the last time it was recharged, or how quickly it went to blowing hot??

 

I bought the Eddie B brand new in summer of 1998. It's had perfect service record, low miles, and 2 years ago I moved to Vegas and about 2 months ago was the first time the automatic climate control couldn't cool the car. Up til then, I don't think its ever been serviced. The engine, however, has had all of the usual maintenance stuff, plus oil changes every 3K. The car is flawless, and this air not cooling is the only blemish on an otherwise flawless, low-mileage machine. (for a 1998 I've only got 41K on it and most of it was LA to Vegas freeway drives 500 miles at a time). I bought the car under my business, drove it between LA and Vegas for "work" (if you can call it that!) and it sits in the garage when not used. Since it's my work car, it gets treated deluxe since I pay for it's maintenance out of my company funds. I have had older cards way back when (20 years ago) that took the older R12 (was it) freon and I had a little hose doo-dad that attached to these $250 canisters you get at any autoparts store that had freon in them but I always felt that it never worked as good as the factory air setup once you started playing with those kits. So I doubt the car is leaking (unless that's common in the heat of Vegas) but it does seem like it went from iceberg cold all of the time, to no cooling at all. Almost like the Vegas heat did something to it. Being a small biz man, if it's $100 for a dealer to "do it right" vs me messing with one hour and a $30 kit, I'd rather the dealer do it. If it's a no-brainer to get a $4.50 can with an attached nozzle/adapt and people do this all of the time I'll stick my head under the hood and give it a try. I just didn't want to kid myself if its best left to a pro who can really measure and evact and do it right. I just got excited when I saw these $4.50 kits in the autoparts store and everyone here in Vegas talks like its a common do-it-yourself thing. Plus, I've never worked with 134a and didn't know how it compared to the old stuff... -Mark

 

You charge the 98 (at least in my OHV) near the passenger firewall. Some of your kits come with a pressure gauge that tells you if you are low, good, or too high. I recommend one of these, they add $10 to the kit but its worth it if you don't blow out the compressor. However, if it just stopped blowing cold air spontaneously fear the dreaded blend door malfunction.