Okay, brief CLIFFNOTES passage here:

-Had AC swapped to r-134 from r-12. Guy said the compressor had a small leak, could take 2 weeks or 2 years to empty. Took 1 week.

-Went to different shop they said compressor is dead and to get a new one. But first I need to do a whole engine coolant power flush. The coolant was all rusty and if I put a new compressor in there with the rusty water it will kill it too.

-This weekend I did a couple things.
1) Bought the Prestone Back wash kit. Pretty cool
2) Got 2 bottles of the Prestone Super Flush stuff to cleanse all of the rust and nastiness out of the radiator and the system
3) Poured in Bar Leak to save the water pump from the rust removal.
4) I emptied the coolant resevoir because it was so rust-sludgy and nasty.

Well it was neat and disgusting seeing all that rust come out. My driveway has a nice copper rust stain all over it. I will check it again and do the whole process over this weekend if it gets sludgy.

Some questions:

1) There is still some caked on rust in the resevoir. It hasn't made the water brown. Is it ok, cause I couldn't get it out. Or should I spring the cash and buy a new resevoir?

2) When it comes time to install the new compressor, because all of the R134 escaped, will the compressor still be under pressure, or can I simply remove and install w/o something blowing up?

3) Now since I already had the Retro-kit done, and there is nothing in the system because of the leak, will those recharge kits fully recharge the system with a couple recharge kits to save some money, or should I just take it to a shop to have them do it? I just don't trust shops anymore.

Thanks for reading my book, let me know if you have suggestions or things to add.

-Kevin

 

ok.. never go back to that shop, the rusty coolant has nothing to do with your a/c system.

when you change the comp. you really need to have a vacuum pulled on the system, so i would reccomend taking it somewhere.

 

Whatever shop you took your car to should be closed down. I work hard to be as honest a technician as possible and places like you went make us all look bad.

While it sounds like you really needed a cooling system flush, it has nothing to do with you A/C system. I personally wouldn't sweat the reservoir.

While the EPA would have a fit talking about releasing refrigerant into the atmosphere, the best thing to do would be open one of the fittings slowly to relieve any remaining pressure. If you open it too fast, you may see a fog come out. This is oil - you don't want to lose too much, so slow down.

Once you have the new compressor on, all the air will have to be taken out by pulling a vaccum on the system. Unfortunately, this isn't a task you can do at home (unless you have a really expensive R-134a service cart). When your local shop pulls the vaccum, they will add the correct amount of refrigerant, so don't bother with the little cans from the store.

 

Dammit, I am running out of places to go for car service.

Ne1 know of a good honest A/C shop in Phx/metro area?

 

Too bad you don't live closer, I could vacuum the system down for you and throw a charge in it, no problem. I just retrofitted my own car last week. I have also retrofitted 4 other cars of mine with A/C.
I agree with the others here, the system has to be vacuumed down to remove any moisture in the system. It is also a good idea to install a new reciever/dryer any time the system has been opened, if it was replaced when the system was retrofitted you should be ok in that respect, if it was not changed I would spring for a new one, they only cost about $30 for our cars so it's not alot of money and cheap insurance. Hope you find someone you can trust, goodluck, Larry.

 

Where do you live?

 

I live in Cincinnati, Ohio, I noticed you are in Arizona. I would be glad to help out if I was closer, it only takes about 1/2 hour to suck it down, and about the same time to charge it back up, not a big deal at all. I bought my own equipment many years ago from a garage going out of business, along with my own tire changer and wheel balancer etc....I like doing most everything myself as I am alot like you, I don't trust many people.
Funny thing, my family and I all plan on moving to Arizona sometime in the near future, we love the weather out there and my wife is originally from California so she would be alot closer to here family, plus she hates the Cincinnati winters here.
So we may possibly be neighbors in the future, probably not soon enough for you though, I am sure it is getting warm out there already and you need that A/C working.
I can't wait to live out in the hot dry climate, my allergies are killing me here Good luck getting it fixed, later on, Larry.

 

Hey thanks. I hope to get it running soon. However I just checked the coolant and it's poop brown again. AAaaarrgggHHHH!!!

So it has nothing to do with the ac system? I can go ahead and replace the compressor and be fine with it like it is, all brown and nasty?

I will once again, flush it out this weekend, but it's over 90* here.

As for your allergies, I am afraid here isn't much better. With all the dirt. pollen, and dry air, along with the mini-Los Angeles polution, allergies are quite potent here as well.

 

Flushing your coolant again sounds like a good idea. It has nothing to do with the A/C. You can install your new compressor and get that working without worrying about the engine coolant.
My allergies mainly bother me when cutting grass here. I am nearly bed riddin for 3 days after cutting grass if I don't have medicine. We visit out west all the time, don't know what it is about the air out there, but I feel completely different when I step off the plane. My head clears right up. Nothing out in Arizona or Nevada seems to bother me.
My doctor says I can't keep taking this medicine forever, it's hard on the kidneys. So a move out west would do me some good, and I love the Arizona weather out there, the hotter and dryer the better off I am. I nice yard with nothing but desert sand and a few rocks would suit me just fine. No more grass cutting. It will be a tuff move for us, jobs, etc..we are going to do some price looking, house hunting this June when we visit. Our biggest problem is moving all 8 cars out there, very expenisive to have a courier move them, about $800 a piece. Plus we have to find a house with a big enough garage to house all of them, or else build a garage on existing property. It's going to be a pain but we will make it all happen eventually. Good luck getting the A/C fixed, sounds like you need it out there already, later, Larry.