F-150 Refrigerant

[Dr.Dick]

Can anyone tell me what type of air conditioning refrigerant is used
in a 1998 Ford F-150, 4.6L engine.

The truck takes Forever (40 minutes or more) to cool down to an
acceptable comfort level.

Ford says it is working fine and is putting out the correct
temperatures.

I'd like to add some refrigerant to see if it makes a difference.

Thanks.

[Thomas H. Moats]

If the correct amount of refrigerant is in the system, adding more will
damage and not result in better cooling. The question is, has the vehicle
been sitting in the hot sun with the windows up? If so it can and does take
awhile for all that heat to be removed.
"Dr.Dick" <sniff...@home.com> wrote in message
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[LaneB...@mailcity.com]

When you first turn on the AC you should place the control in the
FRESH or outside air mode, open a window partially to push the hot
air our of the vehicle. After a time move the control to the MAX or
re-circulation mode to re-cool the conditioned, dehumidified air, from
inside the vehicle.

[Rick D.]

In addition to the other posts... A reflective sun shade for when it's
parked might not be a bad idea either.......

Some vehicles just take awhile to cool especially if they've been doing the
oven thing. I know my Sable does.

There *are* supposed performance enhancers out there. KMart/Walmart sell
Maxi-Cool by Interdynamics, it's supposed to make cool-cown time a little
shorter and maybe make the temp a degree or two cooler, coats the insides of
the system with something (sounds a lot like some kind of Teflon coating to
me). I've been tempted to try it, a friend who has an a/c license says some
of these enhancers contain forms of propane and butane, not so sure I want
those in my a/c system, although the casepacks the Maxicool come in are
labeled DOT non-flammable gas like the R-134 casepacks are. The
Interdynamics web site offers no info that I can find that their Maxi-Cool
product even exists, so I can't figure out what's in it. Ingredients list
on the can mentions only the basics (oil, propellant), their secret formula
is a secret I guess.

BTW that F-150 uses R-134 of course- should be on a label under the hood
somewhere. Everything in the U.S. from '94 on is exclusively R134. Year or
two b4 that is a combination, have to check the label under the hood of each
vehicle to make a determination.

Rich
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"Dr.Dick" <sniff...@home.com> wrote in message
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[Chris]

Look under the hood. I think after 1993 it was all converted to R-134.
There should be a sticker indicating how much refrigerant, oil and other
items to add to the A/C system. You may have a leak of some form, possibly
a low/high pressure switch. I'd get it checked out sometime soon.
Atmosphere in an A/C system is bad. My '93 Protege has R-12. Can't buy it
anywhere thanks to the EPA. So I'm screwed into a car w/o A/C.

Test the system. Get a meat thermometer, stick it in one of the vents and
see if it cools off around 20 degrees lower than outside.

Look for leaves near the air intake. If it's restricted, it should be
cleaned out.

Have you cleaned the system? Try some Frigi-fresh from BG. It (well in the
past) worked well. Little white can ... like $8.

"Dr.Dick" <sniff...@home.com> wrote in message
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[Greg]

"Chris" <servicee...@earthlink.net> wrote in message
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My '93 Protege has R-12. Can't buy it
> anywhere thanks to the EPA. So I'm screwed into a car w/o A/C.
>

Look harder, R-12 is still around. Although it costs an arm and a couple of
legs!
Greg

[Don]

If it has R12, it will have an R12 coupling; If it has R134a, it will have an R134a coupling. Either way, you would be better off taking it to an A/C shop than a Ford dealer. If the A/C shop finds something wrong, I would take up this issue with the Ford zone rep.

Don

AZGuy wrote:

> It's got to be 134a. It should not take 40 minutes to cool down
> unless you are just sitting in stop and go low speed traffic. It's
> also possible the radiator fan is not working right. 134a systems can
> be very sensitive to the amount of refrigerant in them. Too much or
> too little can really lower their cooling capacity. If you sure it's
> not working right you may just have to take it to some other shop for
> a second opinion if Ford can't find anything.

[Rick D.]

Well if you don't want to take it to get recharged (don't blame you) and you
can't find a private individual with some for sale, there's always either
converting to 134, or taking the EPA test. You can take it online at
http://www.epatest.com/

For them that can buy it I recall hearing it's about 30 bucks a 12-oz can,
that per pound on one website if your billfold can stand to buy it in a 30
lb cylinder..... !

Rich

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RickyRaccoon's Tree
http://rickyraccoon.50megs.com/

The Rusty Maverick/Flaky Mopar
http://rustymaverick.50megs.com/

"Chris" <servicee...@earthlink.net> wrote in message
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[PattiW.]

36 - 48 degrees at the center ducts is optimum after 3 minutes at 1500 rpm.
56 degrees on a balanced system is about max.

"Chris" <servicee...@earthlink.net> wrote in message
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