How do I add refrigerant to my 2001 PT Cruiser AC?
Pete E. Kruzer
running, the air is slightly cooler enough to straight outside air to
know that it is cooling the air a little. But it is no where close to
how cold the AC air was last summer.
TM
"Pete E. Kruzer" <tomk...@comcast.net> wrote in message
news:c2593e87-e403-460c...@p4g2000vba.googlegroups.com...
I sympathize with you, but a/c systems are not for the shadetree mechanic.
Take it in for a proper diagnosis. You can do more damage to the car (not to
mention yourself) by kludging around with it.
AFX
> "Pete E. Kruzer" <tomka...@comcast.net> wrote in messagenews:c2593e87-e403-460c...@p4g2000vba.googlegroups.com...
Unfortunately those mechanics (at least here) will charge you a
ridiculous fee for anything pertaining to the AC (again maybe just in
Houston since its so hot)
What I did with no knowledge of AC systems is went to Harbor Freight
and bought some AC meters (hi and low with an 134a input) and bought a
DVD from auto zone for 5 dollars that explains EVERYTHING about the AC
system. Worked out great, Ive since then had to replace 2 nearly
entire AC systems for friends as well as the reciver/dryer, evap core,
compressor and hi-line on my Concorde. Its not terribly hard if you
follow directions.
Bill Putney
> On Jun 7, 6:55 pm, "TM" <tee_...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>> "Pete E. Kruzer" <tomka...@comcast.net> wrote in messagenews:c2593e87-e403-460c...@p4g2000vba.googlegroups.com...
>>
>>> How do I add refrigerant to my 2001 PT Cruiser AC? The compressor is
>>> running, the air is slightly cooler enough to straight outside air to
>>> know that it is cooling the air a little. But it is no where close to
>>> how cold the AC air was last summer.
>> I sympathize with you, but a/c systems are not for the shadetree mechanic.
>>
>> Take it in for a proper diagnosis. You can do more damage to the car (not to
>> mention yourself) by kludging around with it.
>
> Unfortunately those mechanics (at least here) will charge you a
> ridiculous fee for anything pertaining to the AC (again maybe just in
If you saw the expense of all the equipment for refrigerant recovery and
everything else a shop has to have just to be able to legally work on
them, you'd understand the ridiculous fees for a.c. work.
But you're right, it is do-able with some self education. I replaced
the evaporator on one of my Concordes and did all the things it takes to
evacuate the system and charge it up, including the extra step that the
shops don't do of purging it with nitrogen before the re-fill.
Avoid putting sealers into a system. Besides sealers seldom stopping a
leak for more than a few days or weeks (if at all), I've read that if
you ever do have to have a shop work on that system, they get a little
testy about it and may charge you extra or refuse to work on it
altogether because of the sealer - messes up their recovery equipment,
so they either have to do special workarounds to not contaminate their
recovery system or they have to decontaminate their recovery system
after the work is done (if they found out after the fact that there was
sealer in the system). I doubt if your AutoZone CD told you that
(because they like to sell the "everything in a can secret super-cooling
ingredient/dye/oil/sealer for the DIY'er a.c. repair). :)
Adding makeup oil is a good idea, and adding dye is not bad (if it's not
overdone - too much can create problems), but sealer should be avoided -
if there's a leak, it should be fixed at the root cause.
There are two kinds of oil - Esther and PAG - you need to know which
your system takes - I think most if not all Chryslers take PAG oil, but
don't assume that.
--
Bill Putney
(To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my
address with the letter 'x')
Steve
While I agree that you can do a lot of damage by plunging in blindly, AC
repair is actually VERY simple and well within the capabilities of a
shadetree mechanic with good knowledge of AC and a few specific tools.
For the OP- the first thing to determine is whether or not its low on
refrigerant or had some other problem. Get a set of gauges (a manifold
set is best, but you can do it with single high-side and low-side
gauges. Measure the pressures with the engine running and the AC on full
blast (high fan, fresh air). The low-side pressure should be down around
30 PSI, the high side can be anywhere from 150 to 300 depending on
ambient temperature. If its in the 90s outside, then you should see in
the mid 200s (there's a table you can dig up that gives you the normal
pressure vs. liquid line temperature, so you really need a thermometer
that can measure the temp of the line from the condensor to the
expansion valve.) If those pressures are even close, though, I'd start
looking elsewhere. Is the electric radiator fan running when the AC
comes on? Best bet is to read a book or get a DVD on the basics of AC
repair.