has anyone tackled this job? my a/c is dead, i think the refridgerant is either gone or lost its effectiveness. we're in the middle of another heat wave and i hate driving in it.

if you've done it, let me hear your experience. thanks.

 

just a note, the job looks easy, but it does warn not to add more than 2 cans of refrigerant, that's the part that worries me. do i need to dump any old refrigerant before i do this job or what?

 

Your air should be cold if there is any refrigerant in the system. The only time that it will get warm is if there is a leak and the coolant is leaking out. I did convert a friends car from R-12 to the 134 stuff and I was told that you need to pressurize the system before putting new stuff back in. We didn't and it never seemed like it was ever really cold like it should. If you do this yourself I would suggest getting a gauge so you know what the pressure is so you don't add more then the right pressure. Last thing I would put a bucket under there so in case something does come out you can dispose of it. IMO I would pay someone cause it's not that expensive, here in PA anyways($80). Good luck

 

well, i went out and bought 2 cans of refrigerant and a charging kit (it even came with a gauge :thumbup: ).

i attached the hose w/ the gauge, turned the car on (it was already at operating temp) and put the a/c on max (4), with the coldest setting. checked the gauge, system was empty, as suspected. i went ahead and removed the gauge, attached the nozzle to the can, attached that to the hose, pierced the can and opened her up. let that sit forever, til it emptied out, removed it, installed the gauge, checked the system. there was still room for more refrigerant, so i went ahead and added the 2nd can. finished that all up, checked it out, gauge read that i was good.

just came back from a drive, and all i have to say is brrrrrr.. and it only cost me $40.

 

nice job I'll attempt to do it myself when the time comes.

 

i was gonna post on this...sounds like an easy job.

so you didnt have to dump anything?

 

i recently added refrigerant to my a/c cuz everyone was complainin that it wasn't cold enough...especially the girls...anyways after i added the refrigerant i had the problem of my fans shutting off and the air getting hotter than the air outside. does anyone know what this problem would be? even with just the vents open in the fresh air mode would give me warm air at night. is there something wrong with my whole unit?

 

i was lucky enough that i didn't have to, since my system was empty (if you call that luck). i'm still not sure what i would have done if i had to empty it, but the best bet is probably to take it to some place and have them empty it.

the gauge that came with my charging kit was key. i knew for sure that i wasn't overcharging, which is the only thing i was worried about.

GSRacer93, how many cans did you add? did you make sure they completely emptied into the system? did you have a gauge to read the pressure in the system?

 

I'm pretty sure it's illegal (in Canada) to change your own refrigerant, or mess with your A/C system, unless you're a licensed technician.

 

yeah, but it's canada. :fawk: