GeorgeK

Th AC in Shrek is dead. It leaked out competely overnight at the AC shop.

They are very thorough and helpful, and have setup a plan for it to work again, including conversion to R134, for about 3K$. They mean well, but want to change about everyting.

Somehow I feel this is overkill, so I have used the search button, and have come up with these as indispensable for the converson:

- Bleed/fill connectors on the compressor
- Evaporator in the heating/ventilation in the dashboard/front trunk
-Dryer

And these as optional:
- Seals at every connections, to swap to the green ones,
- Rubber lines.

Anyone who has done this can confirm? The weather sucks here so I am tempted to not have AC this year and do it step by step this fall/winter/next spring as the car proves itself.

gr1275

GeorgeK,
My first thought would be to have the shop isolate the source of the leak. Once this is identified, an appropriate plan of action can be developed.
I believe it is the evaporator that is in the trunk and is very labor intensive to replace.
The conversion to R134 is well documented here and can be considered fairly common place.

Gary

springer3

The factory designed all 964s for R-134A. R12 was used through MY 92 as using up old inventory was still legal. The seals and hoses need not be changed unless they are leaking.

I agree 3K is a shocking tab for fixing an AC leak. As Gary says, if the evaporator needs replacing, that is a big job. I would first check the schrader valves - notorious leakers, and all the joints in the system. The compressor seal is a potential leak location. Leaky hoses always get oil-stained near the fittings. The original hoses on my 92 are still OK. I have not added gas in years, but your's is three years older and could have hoses from a different production lot.

There are electronic sniffers sensitive enough to locate leaks as low as a couple onces per year. If it leaks down overnight you should be able to hear the leak. Have they told you where the leak is?

psiegel

I have a problem now with a leak in the high pressure line of the aluminum tubing that is under the rocker panel. You can hear the gas coming out under some pressure. The pinholes can occur when rocks/gravel get inside the rocker panel area and wedge themselves between the body and the line and eventually vibrate a hole. The lines are expensive to replace. This is the second time this has happened to me. The first pinhole was on the low side and i was able to fix it with $5 worth of JB weld and it has lasted two years and is still good. My latest hole, on the high side lasted about 15 minutes with the JB weld so i am in search of some used lines for the high pressure side.
So in your case, as what has already been said, find the leak first as it might be easy or not. Since it has a leak, you can pressurize with air and just listen and hopefully you will isolate the location for further exploration.
Good luck

GeorgeK

The leak is the main question/problem. The AC guy says it leaks from everywhere.. I guess he does not know that the car can take R134 with the stock steup, and believes all the junctions leak. And I think he did not check the condenser as it is hidden pretty well. I must go and see him again to make him be clearer on the leaks

What is certain is that the 2 hoses in the engine compartment leak, and the condenser leaks.

I think I will start with these, and the obviously bad parts upon inspection and have him test it again.

Is the Griffith condenser still the way to go? or the factory Kit?

griffiths

George,
The common leaks are evaporator, hoses in the engine compartment, not too often the condenser.
Verify with your shop which items are leaking, they can put R134a in it just to check for leaks using and electronic leak detector (for the evaporator you would sniff the vent outlets and the condensation drain tube).

CraigC

Psiegel,
I had a leak on an American car(Pontiac) on the high pressure side of the system many years ago while I was on a trip. It had a hole rubbed into it by another hose. A stop at Wal Mart provided 2 small hose clamps and a thick piece of rubber that I clamped to the aluminum piping. I refilled the system and the wife was happy once again, as we completed our journey. It held for the following 3 years and was still not leaking a bit when I sold it.

psiegel

Craig
Nice fix. I should have tried that before I heated the unions which i still could not separate. I took it to a dealership and they could not get it apart either but I am afraid the tubes and the gaskets are all buggered up at this point so unfortunately a bad problem with a not so hard solution as you point out, gets worse. I will give that a try NEXT time. I am still search for new tubes. Oh, yes to avoid this problem in the future, and fix the design flaw of our cars, I cut a hose and clamped it to the tubing which will protect from future exterior damage from rocks and gravel.

DDotson

Just had my A/C fixed - leak was in one of the hoses, but I had the conversion to R134A done and replaced the drier and the expansion valve (I think that's the correct name for it). Saved a bundle ordering parts from Pelican Parts and Auto Parts Warehouse compared to the parts prices from the dealer - for example, the "o" rings from the dealer were $4.91 vs. .25 cents - difference in total for all parts was close to $700 saved by ordering the parts myself. Still had the mechanic at my dealer do the work who always does a great job. All total with parts and labor ran me about $1,250 and now I have cold A/C

altarchsa

GeorgeK, I had my A/C checked at am independent foriegn car specialist garage and they said it had a leak inthe system. Quoted about $2,200 to repair it.

Not having that kind of money to spend on A/C at the time, I took it to a specialty A/C shop and they identified the resistor type fan switch on the condensor fan in the front left wheel well as the problem. Seems the switch is located just below the battery vent line to the exterior and tends to corrode. With the fan not operating, the condensor overheatedand caused the system to shut down. They quoted a $135 proce to repair it. I paid them for their analysis and opened it up myself. Temporarily bypassed the resistor so that the fan runs at the high speed all the time and it works fine.

When I confronted the frst shop about their analysis, they swore the system had a leak in it. The A/C shop said they probably heard a noise associated with a pressure release switch which equalizes the pressure within the system when the car is shut down and assumed it was a leak.

At $3,000, I think I would get a second opinion if possible. These A/C systems are apparently a little different than the norm and your shop might be mis-analysing something.

Good luck with your repairs.

springer3

The shop is either incompetent or dishonest. Determining if the system is charged is trivial and one of the first things done when troubleshooting.

altarchsa

Obviously