I have a leak somewheres in my air conditioning system, and from looking at the manual, it appears some of it is routed through some pretty difficult places to access, so naturally I'm sure it's in a place where they'll have to dismantle the entire rig to fix it.

Anyway, whatever the outcome is (if you hear loud weeping from Eastern Oregon next week, that's me) got any advice before I take it in to a shop? I'm going to find a real air-conditioner service place, are there any oddities peculiar to my model of truck? Any common scams I need to look out for?

thanks much!

 

Well,first,what makes you think it is leaking?and if you want to try and get an idea if it is a leak,most of the time when there is a leak it will leave a oily residue around the leak.say if it is a loose fitting or a bad o-ring then it will have residue around that particular fitting,also look at your a/c condensor through the grille it is the thin radiator looking thing in front of your radiator,see if you see a stick or something poking into it,does the a/c clutch cycle at all?

 

I know it leaks 'cause my local shop put 3 pounds of freon into it, and within a couple of days it was all gone. I'm rather ticked off at them, 'cause at $22.50 per pound that's an expensive mistake. I told them to look for a leak, because the AC didn't work at all. The dealer I bought it from charged the system before I took it home. It worked that day, but never again.

I'll poke around and see if I can spot anything obvious.

 

I just read your reply in the bs post and had to laugh when I got to Well Duh,too funny,but anyway back to your truck.If this shop did everything the right way,they would have evacuated the system,which puts the system into a vacuum.they would then have closed all the valves on their equiptment and let it sit for about 20 minutes to see if it held the vacuum,and only after it passed this test would they have recharged it.With that said,there are other things that would make your system not blow cold air,such as a bad pressure switch.If you know what your a/c compressor is then you could help me help you by telling me cycle rates,what that means is from the time the a/c clutch turns on to when it turns off to when it turns on again.

 

dsllady,

dont take it to a dealer for starters. second, take it to an independant shop and have them dye the system, a few days later they can find the leak with a simple UV light.

 

And the saga continues. Finally I got it fixed- all it needed was a full charge of freon. I got me some hell raisin' to do, because:

1. the dealer I bought it from claimed to have charged the system. It was in December, so I couldn't tell if it was making refrigerated air

2. Warm weather arrived, and no air conditioning. So I took it to the local shoppe. They really blew it. They don't have the equipment to do the job right, they should not have taken the job. I told them to look for a leak, so they gave me a song and dance about 'tightening stuff.' And they supposedly stuffed 3 pounds of freon into the system, which is amusing, because it holds 2 lbs 6 oz. They charged me $125.50, including $67.50 for the freon. I hit the roof over getting a bill for $125.50, and nothing was fixed. Their excuses became ever more tedious, so I deferred final resolution for a calmer day.

PS- guys, the fastest way to really tick off a customer is to NOT LISTEN. When I am unsatisfied with mechanical work, I want to talk it over. I want to be sure my concerns are being taken seriously, and I want to be sure I understand the mechanic's point of view. When I get attitude, that tells me they're lying their heads off, and deserving of no mercy.

3. I took it to a shop where they knew what they were doing. I hovered over the mechanic, and had him test for leaks every way he knew how- pressure test, dye, calling Madame Cleo, doing a Vulcan mind-meld.

The first thing he found out was the system was charged to the correct pressure- with air. There was 1/2 lb freon.

So he gave it a fresh charge, and lo and behold it works like a charm. For $79, and it would have been way less except I made him do everything three times.

Oh, and he charge $5/lb for the freon. He buys it in 30-pound bottles for $80. Just like the other shop, which charges $22.50/lb.

Tomorrow I'm going to pay a visit to ye olde neighborhood shop. They get one chance to give me a full refund.

Anyway that's the latest, and I sure do appreciate you sharing your expertise, it helped.