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I don't know if this is common knowledge here. I recently fixed my A/C and had to replace the condenser because it was leaking. There are three bolts where the hood release mounts and I had to take those off and noticed they were not the same, two were. One was shorter and apparently goes on the bottom where the brace is. They were not installed that way and the bolt, I believe, caused the leak. I put the shorter one down there and it does not touch, but is close, I will get a shorter one. It doesn't appear to be bent or look to have had any damage in the area or anywhere up front actually. I took some pictures and where the bolt is, is not to clear but you get the idea (I hope). Also replaced the receiver/dryer, all the o-rings and added 70cc of PAG 46 oil. And R134. Working really good so far.
The bolt at the brace.
[I]Old condenser. You can see the leak and where the bolt rubbed.
Did you flush out the old oil? (I doubt it; I don't think there is any way to flush the compressor.)
A long time ago, there were some who argued that PAG was not compatible with mineral oil (and certainly not with the old orings, but you're ahead of that.) I think the right answer is that it doesn't really matter (except that your sight glass is now useless).
I researched all that scope and came to the conclusion that it will either work or I'll have a nuclear meltdown and cause the zombie apocalypse!
I agree, couldn't really see a way to flush it without removing it, so I just added 70cc, per the manual. The sight glass does work fine though. It was one thing I was watching as I serviced it. I have your post in my favorites by the way. I used it as a guide also. Your clean up inside made me debate pulling the evaporator. I liked how you used a bucket of warm water to deplete the cans. Worked great. Back in the day, , one aircraft shop I was in had a heated service unit to push it in. I wish my hook ups were in the same place as your 96. My first gen is on the compressor. I used a 90 degree on the low side and a straight on the high side. I also bought a valve for my Harbor Freight gauge set from Autozone, so I could leak check easier and shut off between cans. Here is the valve. http://www.autozone.com/test-scan-an...estid=12822966
The Evaporators get dirty in them. I clean mine at the carwash with low pressure spray. The dirt that is built up in them is alot. I since learned that you can replace the evaporator but here might be something of intrest to you, https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f116...trucks-286766/ for a little more flow. It is about an hour job. This would be quite similar for the 89-95 trucks as well. Their dash comes apart a little easier on the passenger side.
Another sign of a clogged evaporator is if there is a lot of debris behind the inner fender. Remove your passenger mudflap and then remove enough screws to pull the inner fender forward enough to see what debris is behind the mudflap and sitting in between the fender and cab.
Thanks Terrys87, I did see your post also. Another reason I debated pulling the evap.. It's amazing what you can find. I pulled the fan out and looked and cleaned in there, sometime before. Would that be a good indicator of what's in there? My 94 F250 I had was loaded. I don't miss the power door locks and windows much, miss the cruise a little. But the A/C, I missed that when it wasn't working!
If there is some debris in the fan assembly, it is an indication of what can be in there. If you got good air flow, you are probably ok. I see the worse is from trucks that spend alot of time in the country. The ones I see that live their lives in city or on concrete all the time isnt so bad. Parkng under a tree is a bad thing as well.
Cool, thanks. It was pretty clean in there. Mostly I find dirt inside this rig, the PO would take the top off while they hunted. It's in really good shape though, been well taken care of.
As scope recommended, I am following up in how the A/C worked. Still blowing cold and did a great job. The one thing I do not like is on the first use of the day, I will get a bump or squeal from the compressor. If you drive for awhile it will not do it. After the first time it will not do it the rest of the day. I researched this and found others reported the same thing on various types of vehicles. A 94 F250 I used to own would clunk on occasion. My sons 92 Bronco also. I don't know if it's the oil mix, but neither of my Fords were mixed. I wondered about being "overserviced", but the numbers were good. I checked the belt tension by hand or feel, and it is tight. I think I will check it next spring again. Or perhaps new belts.
Even during the winter months I like to run my AC for a few minutes at a time just to keep things lubricated and stirred up. My personal opinion is it is not good for it to just not go unused for 4-6 months at a time. Same with 4 wheel drive. Even though I usually don't need it, I still like to just operate it once in a while.
And wadda ya know, Toyota agrees with Terrys87. http://www.toyotapart.com/AC_COMPRES...T-AC96-002.pdf The TSB advises that you cycle the A/C compressor at least once a month (?!) for stored vehicles. Just as importantly, they advise getting the idle below 1,000rpm before switching on.
Compare that with the way everyone else drives: the A/C sits all winter, and on the first hot day (while speeding down the road at 3,000rpm) we jam on the compressor. No surprise they fail.
Yup! I do that with the A/C and hubs also. The "newer" cars use the A/C to help with defrost, IIRC, which keeps things going. Funny, I checked my owners manual today for 4WD use, just to be sure and it recommends locking the hubs once a month if they are not being used. Actually had to use 4WD this morning. Oh yeah, I ordered a "krikit" by Gates yesterday to check tension on these belts.
We got some much needed snow in my parts, after everything melted by my garage, and got some time, tackled that A/C belt today. It was loose, I'm surprised it worked. Didn't seem that loose. Used my new Krikit tool and adjusted it. Checked the other two belts, and adjusted the power steering also. Now I just heard the compressor engage and no squeal. I recommend the Krikit tool for doing these types of belts. Inexpensive and easy to use.
04-20-2015, 04:41 PM
, one aircraft shop I was in had a heated service unit to push it in. I wish my hook ups were in the same place as your 96. My first gen is on the compressor. I used a 90 degree on the low side and a straight on the high side. I also bought a valve for my Harbor Freight gauge set from Autozone, so I could leak check easier and shut off between cans. Here is the valve. http://www.autozone.com/test-scan-an...estid=12822966
