AC Refill (R134) DIY?
08-29-2003, 11:16 PM
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AC Refill (R134) DIY?
As the summer winds down, I find that the air conditioning has become a lot less effective and hisses a lot when the car is idling at a stop. Acceleration and raised RPMs revive the cold air and reduce the hissing.
These are surely symptoms of being low on R134.
Now, I know it's best to have the system evacuated, the contents measured, the right amount of oil and gas filled, et cetera; and more importantly, to find out if there's a leak! (I'll certainly have that done at my next service, which will likely be in October.) But as a temporary measure, I thought I could by one of those refill kits from the local auto parts store and add a bit of 134, especially as the leak seems minor based upon the very slow degradation of the cooling ability.
Upon reading the 993 service manual, I see that the low pressure side should read somewhere between approximately .7 and 1.2 bar (10 and 17 PSI?) at 30 deg. celcius. However, the information on the cheap refill kit (and prior recollections from other vehicles) had low-side readings around the 35 PSI range. Is there really a disparity among these systems? Or, other than R134 capacity, is the 993 system (who makes it anyway?) just another AC that I can feel safe adding a single canister of 134 to?
Should I buy the cheap refill kit (with an inexpenive gauge), or is the common wisdom against this? A search through the archives revealed almost no DIY information that I could find.
Thanks for any thoughts or advice,
Jonathan, 1997 Carrera (US)
These are surely symptoms of being low on R134.
Now, I know it's best to have the system evacuated, the contents measured, the right amount of oil and gas filled, et cetera; and more importantly, to find out if there's a leak! (I'll certainly have that done at my next service, which will likely be in October.) But as a temporary measure, I thought I could by one of those refill kits from the local auto parts store and add a bit of 134, especially as the leak seems minor based upon the very slow degradation of the cooling ability.
Upon reading the 993 service manual, I see that the low pressure side should read somewhere between approximately .7 and 1.2 bar (10 and 17 PSI?) at 30 deg. celcius. However, the information on the cheap refill kit (and prior recollections from other vehicles) had low-side readings around the 35 PSI range. Is there really a disparity among these systems? Or, other than R134 capacity, is the 993 system (who makes it anyway?) just another AC that I can feel safe adding a single canister of 134 to?
Should I buy the cheap refill kit (with an inexpenive gauge), or is the common wisdom against this? A search through the archives revealed almost no DIY information that I could find.
Thanks for any thoughts or advice,
Jonathan, 1997 Carrera (US)
08-30-2003, 01:41 AM
#2
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Jonathan,
You sound like you know exactly what you're doing so the answer really is how comfortable are You with putting on a BandAid for the time being? Don't get me wrong, I KNOW BandAids...some are acceptable "fixes," others less so. I remember putting in Freon with a kit exactly like you mentioned from Kmart in a buddy's car with no ill effects...but that was in high school where a scarcity in funds dictated more "creative" solutions. If you've got a handle on it, you'll probably be fine until you get it checked for leaks. Good luck
Edward
You sound like you know exactly what you're doing so the answer really is how comfortable are You with putting on a BandAid for the time being? Don't get me wrong, I KNOW BandAids...some are acceptable "fixes," others less so. I remember putting in Freon with a kit exactly like you mentioned from Kmart in a buddy's car with no ill effects...but that was in high school where a scarcity in funds dictated more "creative" solutions. If you've got a handle on it, you'll probably be fine until you get it checked for leaks. Good luck
Edward
