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At the first of summer I had typical A/C Clutch cycling not much cold air
Checked the Low Press side said it was low PSI took a Gamble that the pump was good and just filled it worked great
Lost All A/C the other day checked it out thought it may have small leak somewhere but clutch didn't cycle hardly at all Had a gut feeling it wasn't simple leak
Well I just found a Hole in the condenser at the bottom Tube that runs across
So looking for new condenser
I also don't know what to do with recharging it and the ac oil in the system how much? maybe its safe to say most the oil was pumped out.
Would standard procedure be to repair it then FLush cooling system to get to a baseline and then refill prescribed amount of oil and Freon
It takes 10oz of oil and 42oz of Freon for a full load. You can buy a flushing fluid at Advance and the oil as well. Believe it's the one marked 42 and you can get it pressurized in the can and add it like Freon or non-pressurized just dump it out of the bottle straight into the system. I'd also spring for a new orifice tube.
I had a similar problem with my AC. At the end of May, I lost all AC so I took it to the local quick lube place that has a former Ford mechanic on staff. He happens to own a 6.0. He said they could not find anything conclusive so they evacuated the system and added R134A and the proper amount of oil. Total cost for the diagnosis and refill was $97. The Ford AC on our trucks is basically Ford generic and used in many Ford products. I think there is no 6.0 mystery.
On August 11th, I started the truck and there was no AC. Took the truck back to the mechanic and he said that there was nothing conclusive but there appeared to be some leaking around the inflow and outflow pipes on the condenser. They replaced the condenser and $317 later I was on my way.
Right before labor day, I started the truck and there was no AC. There was no R134A in the AC system so they pulled the orifice valve and it was completely gunked up with black matter and some metal shavings. Apparently, this raised the pressure when going at full blast and blew out seals and connections. The compressor was shot. When they took it off, the bolt holding the clutch was missing. It was the original compressor. The key fact is that you need to look at the screen on the orifice tube to see what is floating around in the system.
They replaced the compressor, the accumulator and the orifice tube. They source their parts from O'Reilly's so I looked up my cost with the veteran's 10% discount and my cost including tax was about $218. Their price to me for the parts was around $375 plus tax based on the list price from O'Reilly's. I asked if they could cut the cost on the parts. They said if I would provide the parts, they would do the job for just the labor which was four hours and came to $400.
I think it would be worthwhile to check the orifice tube yourself, buy the parts from O'Reilly's and install them except for the last hookup to the accumulator. Let someone else charge it and check for leaks. I think the technology for charging has changed since I did it last with a beer in one hand and the other hand trying to keep the gauge hoses out of the fan. It was worth the $97 to me to have someone else do the leak test and the charging. Good luck. Post back with your results.
Benny because the condenser is metal it can hole up to more gorilla handling
unlike the plastic nipples on the radiator tanks. I am just getting ready to hit
the sack but I recall somewhere on my computer I have a list of how much oil
to put in for each part that has been replaced. I think it's from Ford. I'll look
for it and posy when I find it. EDIT : For a vacuum pump try a pawn store. You will need fresh vacuum oil for it.
Your lucky Benny. The last AC leak I had was in the evaporator. What a PIA to change that. Whenever I open up an AC system I always replace the dryer and orifice tube. I don't like doing things twice because I cheaped out. Costs more in the long run.
Flush the lines before you install anything new. Don't want to contaminate the new parts with the waste that's going to come out. Will you be replacing the compressor?
