Cliffnotes: '91 TA got retro-fit R13, compressor is bad so it leaked out, went to different shop said, to powerflush engine (enough times until it's clean, and could take months between flushes before it is clean) and then replace compressor. So since I have home-flushed 5-6 times and w/i hours it's rusty again. I got the Prestone back-flush kit, the rust remover, put in Bar Leak, yadda yadda yadda, and all to no avail.

Now is that true? What does the coolant system have to do with the compressor? I mean coolant and refridgerant don't mix in the tubes, so why are they so adamant about me flushing this?

I need AC but I can't/won't do everything they tell me to cuz that is why I don't trust shops anymore cuz they are LIARS!!!

Please help.

 

The only thing I can think of, is that if your cooling system isn't
cooling (plugged radiator), then it will cause heat to build up in
your condenser (in front of your radiator), thus causing high head
pressures in your compressor. The R-4 compressor design sucks
bad enough without anything wrong, so it will rattle and eventually
die causing "black death". Black death spreads throughout your
a/c system, plugging up things like evaporator cores and condensers, causing even higher head pressures. Black death
cannot be flushed out with any kind of flush, professional or home,
replacement of these parts is the only way.
I would either replace the radiator or have a tank-off cleaning,
and run an in-line coolant filter (Wix offers a nice one-PN#24019
for the base, 24069 for the screw-on filter), and definitely have
it powerflushed. I've heard of people using K&W block seal to
'coat' the rust inside the block, making it less likely to fall into the
circulating coolant, but that seems a little cheesey to me.
Remember, your heater core will trap all the rust as well, so think
about that. Hope this helps.

 

Well the radiator was replaced last summer by the previous owner. The thing has only like 6k miles on it and still looks brand new. I am going to attempt and inspect the heater core. It may be rusted out and nasty.

Is a bad heater core pretty obvious to diagnose? Like will it be extremely apparent that it is no good or will they all have rust on them when removed? And besides removing them is there a way to tell if it's all rusty and nasty?

And like I said the car doesn't run hot at all. If I sit in traffic it will get to 210* but usually it's around 170 or so. I want to get a fan switch or make it so the fans stay on 24/7 cuz I never hear them nor seen them on.

Give me some more of your thoughts.

 

Are you an AC tech? If so maybe I can come down to Tucson some weekend pretty soon and you can point me in the right direction?

 

Btw, I just bought a new heater core. Hopefully I'll get it early next week in time for a surgery on my car next friday.