My A/C died this summer, we quickly found the culprit, one of the valves are leaking and only the cap itself kept any of the gas in, this is what it looked like:



Has anyone ever had this issue before, just what happened that could cause this? And how easy is it to fix?

I talked to a guy at a local mechanic shop and he said that this could be bad if they couldn't get that "needle out" so they can replace the valve with a modern one, he said the connections on this old system where so old that practically nobody can fill it up anymore.

He mentioned some adapters that could be screwed on to replace the old style valves, and that could seal up this leak he meant, if that needle there could be removed. If it's stuck or really broken then I might be screwed out of any cheap solutions (15 bucks for the adapters, 120 to flush and refill with R134a is the cheap solution, tho R134a would apparently lead to other issues in the future).

His ideal solution would be to install the adapters if possible and fill it with old fashioned R12 if I could find some somewhere. I dunno much about A/Cs so I figured I could post this here and see if anyone has had similar issues. Esp. with regards to that valve.

 

BTW can someone tell me what the part there is called, maybe I could find a whole part online? It looks like it's part of some hose or pipe... Help...

 

Your high side schrader valve is toast. No big deal.

Schrader valve removal tool

GM high side schrader valve replacement

Basically you stick the thing down into the hole. You can't see it from your picture, but there is a little lever in there that once you get it lined up, will just feel right. Then you simply twist counter clockwise and the old schrader valve will come out.

Schrader valves come with a tiny o-ring on them. Old ones tend to leak there or simply tear a bit. Yours looks to be crooked. But I suspect it's just the upper stem that is crooked. The actual part in there that seals the hole should be level as there is no way I know for it to be screwed in there crooked without being severely stripped (if it's even possible and I don't think it is)

WARNING: Unscrewing the schrader will shoot out any refrigerant left over in the system unless it's been evacuated. At the very least, wear safety goggles and gloves.

Super neat low side tool

The tool above is nice as it allows you to pull the schrader valve out without releasing any refrigerant to the air. It feels great in your hand. And allows you to hook up multiple cans of refrigerant without letting any air in or refrigerant out of your car during service. But, it's for the low side. Wouldn't fit your high side.

I own all of the above. The $6 valve stem removal tool is nice because it's a bit longer than most other brands. And it doesn't slide in your fingers as you turn.

 

I don't know about Finland but here in California a CARB/EPA death squad would drop from the sky and.... Well you can imagine the rest. Wait until it's really dark. 1/2 the year?

 

Thanks a lot! At least I can get the valve fixed it seems like. Now if I could find some R12 I might just be in the free. Would it still be worth to get those adapters this other mechanic mentioned? Or are those adapters only for R-134a gas?

Also, assuming that whole thing is truly toast, do I need to replace the whole pipe or hose that the valve is attached to, if so whats the part name/number I would be looking for?

 

I had one vehicle that needed a/c repair. I had it converted to 134 because it was cheaper to convert it than fill it with R12. However, there's a thread here somewhere that mentions another product that can be used and is not as expensive as the R12. ES12?

 

I called around to local mechanics and AC shops and this one guy has something called ISCEON 49 which he says is a really good alternative to R12, don't even have to vacuum out the old system or change oil.

So I think I'll go on that one. I've googled on it but can't find anything overly negative.

Another local alternative is RS24 but that would requre the system to be flushed before refilling.

 

The reason for the R-134a adapters that go over the service ports is to quickly let people know that the R-12 has been removed and the car has been converted to R-134a. The EPA in the USA also recommends putting an R-134a sticker under the hood (over top of the R-12 information)

Now actually hooking up a set of A/C manifold pressure gauges doesn't require one style of port or the other. I own one set of manifold gauges. They have the R-12 "screw on" hoses. But I can hook up the gauges to an R-134a car by simply using some R-134a adapters that screw onto my R-12 hoses and then "press click" on to the R-134a service ports.

Living in Finland, the EPA rules are moot. As those are USA rules. I have no idea what the legality of buying R-12 is there or what the fines would be for venting R-12.

Although, if we put aside the law and concentrate on common sense, why would it be legal to do nothing to the car and have it continue to leak R-12 through that schrader valve, when you could replace the valve and put R-12 back in it and not have it leak?

It would be like saying that pouring gasoline on the ground by dumping the tank is illegal. But driving around with a hole in your gas tank would be legal.

Unfortunately I'm not sure what the A/C lines are called that you're looking for. But I think RockAuto.com sells them.

 

I believe what is illegal here is simply selling and buying R12, I've tried finding it but nobody I've found has any.

I just bought a new dryer/accumulator from Rock Auto as well, plus orifice tubes.

 

Lest we forget, legality has little to do with common sense. Also, the key reason for evacuating (25"H2O for 30 minutes minimum) the system before charging is to boil out any moisture and to create a vacuum, void of air or other non-compressibles, to accept the new charge. R134A is a very small molecule and will leak out of an R12 system very quicly if the system is not verified leak free, using an electronic leak detector, after charging. Even a vacuum leak test will not verify the system seal because the HFC134A molecule is significantly smaller than air molecules. The new accumulator is a good idea because that's where most of the moisture collects.

 

I bought the dryer and orifice tubes, but are there any other gaskets, seals or o-rings I should also get while I am at it?

 

precisely why no sane person would willingly live in "california"

 

So, nothing but the dryer and orifice tubes need replacing then, no gaskets, seals and o-rings that will need swapping when I swap it out.

 

Well I swapped the dryer, orifice tube and schrader valves last night. Need a new pressure switch though, old one looks pretty crappy.

I'm wondering that now that I've changed these parts, could I have an AC shop to flush the system convert it to R134a? I mean would flushing clean out the compressor of the old oil and all that?

I haven't changed all the hoses but superficially they look fine to me.

 

Go get (Freeze 12) which is a substitute for R12. Actually they say it is a little bit better. I takes mineral oil like R12 does and you don't have to screw with changing ports and oils etc. They took R12 off the market because it destroys ozone but the ozone is several miles high in the atmosphere. R12 is very heavy, much heavier than air but since it hurts the ozone they decided to pull it. The number one thing killing the ozone is cow flatulant (farts). I don't see them banning cows. The second worst thing is jet liners but they keep booking flights the third thing I remember seeing listed was volcanoes which I think they should outlaw immediately and impose a very large tax on. It is simply mostly about money.

 

I dont mean to thread jack but this is exactly the same problem I had with my high side port but the thing was so messed up that it took me forever to remove the stupid shrader valve.

Does the high side require a special shrader valve compared to the regular R-134a/R12 valves?

I bought a set of 6 that come in a bag from the parts store but when I put the new valve in, it seems like its way down in the service port.