So this is the first summer that i have had the truck and it isnt even HOT here in houston yet. and i can feel that the a/c isnt as could as it should be. i was wondering if there was some sort of "maintenance" i could do to it to bring it back up to par. lol

i also remember when i was buying the truck that the guy i bought it from mentioned that they would go and get "a bottle of freon" put into it once a year. what exactly does this mean? not something i can do my self i assume because i dont wanna screw up my a/c even more. haha

so if yall have any suggestions or advice for me please let me know. thanks guys

 

Go get a ac check to make sure your not leaking anything. They put a color die in your ac system, then you use speacial glasses and light to look for leaks .

 

well is it "normal" that i would have to put freon into it once a year? or is there something messed up to start with?

 

no its not if they had to put freon in it then they knew it was leaking take it somewhere and get it tested unless you have the equipment to do it yourself.

 

I hate to say this, but my first thought is evaporator core....sorry to say. I hope I am wrong too.

 

hmmm...well i knew this could be a possible problem when i bought the truck...and i figured i would deal with it in the summer...but guess what, the summer is here! lol

they said they have had it like this for years before i bought it and all they have done is added a bottle of freon once a year. i guess i will take it to an a/c shop and see what they have to say for it.

is that a common practice to just add a bottle once a year or is that something yall have never heard of?

 

no not really i have a 97 grand am with the motor out of it for 3 years now and its still got a full charge of freon in it. it may be nessesary to give one a little boost every now and then but you probally have a leak and if you ve got a leak chances are youve gotten contaminents into the system like water vapor and air. you know its really not all that hard to service the a/c if you get the equipment to do it. a set of manifold gauges( can be bought at autozone for about $70 with the hoses) a vacuum pump (which can be had really cheap at a place like harbor freight especially if you have an air compressor to run one of the kind that run on air not electric). is basically all you need.

 

Automotive air conditioning systems use an open drive compressor as opposed to a hermetically sealed unit like residential home units. The big disadvantage to open drive compressors is the crankshaft seal on the compressor. In time, they start to leak. Most likely this is your case. If the leak rate is small enough, it may only be using a cans worth of refrigerant each season, which is what it sounds like yours is doing. If the refrigerant has been completely depleted, then, as a previous poster stated, contaminants such as non-condensables may enter the system. As long as there is some refrigerant pressure left in the system, contaminats will stay out. The only way to fix it correctly then is to find the source of the leak and repair it. This would be followed by a system evacuation to remove moisture and non-condensable gases, followed by a refrigerant recharge. It usually isn’t a cheap fix as parts and labor can be somewhat expensive. I’m not sure if your system uses R-12 or R134A. If it is R-134A, a can is a relatively inexpensive “fix”, especially if a can will last you a season.

 

i stopped by our local shop today and he told me it would run me probably around $80 to $90 to get it filled and he said he would put the dye in it so i can bring it back in a few months and they will see if they can find the leak.