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In the past on other vehicles, I've evacuated it with vacuum, weighed my tank, added until the said amount was removed from the tank.
However...
1. A/C clutch shim possibility
2. My original gauges "on loan" but nobody knows "who"
3. Vacuum pump with gauges. see above
4. Scale with pump and gauges
So...I picked up a new set of gauges, have my large-ish tank of R134a, and am ready to jump in...without a scale and vacuum pump.
From the writeups I read, to check the clutch/shims, run the A/C on high and if it isn't cooling, check the clutch is engaged (A/C pump turning), tap if it isn't, then adjust shims as needed (I have to look that up, too)
I am thinking I should do that first, then try to add/top of refrigerant?
Yeah, I'm a bit slow today, MANY moving pieces at the moment
Thank you for taking time to spoon feed this stuff today
Si I let it idle with freon on it, low side 45psu, high side 275psi a few mins then upped idle ro a 1500rpms, hifh side jumps to 350psi, liw to 38 with freon off.
Thi king I should go back to loidle ans wait with freon on?
High side is too high which indicates a restriction somewhere, probably a clogged orifice tube. Iirc, my high side is 175 at idle in 75 degree ambient and low side is 40. Low side pressure and temp should track pretty close with R134. Once evacuated, mine calls for 2lbs 10oz of R134 and 9oz of oil when I replaced the compressor.
High side is too high which indicates a restriction somewhere, probably a clogged orifice tube. Iirc, my high side is 175 at idle in 75 degree ambient and low side is 40. Low side pressure and temp should track pretty close with R134. Once evacuated, mine calls for 2lbs 10oz of R134 and 9oz of oil when I replaced the compressor.
Thanks. Any idea what is involved in replacing that orifice tube? Rock auto has it cheap enough
Did you watch the sight glass while evacuating the charge? Mine looked pretty dirty. A new orifice is less than $10 and I circled it in your pic.
Remove the black safety clasp and then you'll need an AC/fuel line disconnect tool. Yank the tube apart, then you can pull the orifice out with needle nose pliers.
If the orifice is clogged, you should think about replacing the accumulator and flushing the entire system. If there's metal in the orifice, I'd replace the condenser too.
Take it out and drive it, you may not be getting enough air flow over the condenser sitting in park. At some shops I've seen them use big fans to force air through. Mine has a tough time when not moving, but when moving it gets right chilly, discharge into the 30's. I took it in last Saturday and it was 10 oz low, they said pressures were good after recharging but I have a slow leak at the shaft seal. Haven't had it checked in 5 years.
Seat of the pants method is to charge till the evap outlet pipe gets close to the same temp as the evap inlet pipe. We use to do it that way all the time on our old R12 systems but evacuating and weighing is really the right way to do it nowadays.
Hey Brad thanks for the pics, good to know. I was not aware we had sight glasses though.
I was referring to the sight glass on his gauge manifold. But that would be cool if there were one.
Expacamper, I just realized you have an Excursion, here's some info from a sticker under my hood. If you have rear AC, there may be a second orifice and evaporator in the rear.
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