Postby disallow » Mon Mar 28, 2011 9:34 pm
Well its been another winter here in Manitoba. Lots of really low temps, mixed in with lots of warmer weather. Similar to 2009, when I had the same problem. When it warms up outside, I can hear a hiss coming from my expansion valve under the dash. Last time, I brought it to a local shop and it ended up being about $400 to replace the low pressure AC pipe (runs along the firewall). I hate that they make these pipes out of aluminum, they are quite prone to cracking, especially at the tees.
Anyways, being in a similar situation, and not too excited to shell out $400+ again, I was wondering if anyone out there has ever just recharged their AC themselves? In Canada its pretty difficult, you can't even buy R134a without a license. There is this Duracool or RedTek stuff, which I have heard is just refined propane. But you have to totally purge your system, and the jury is out if the stuff even works well.
Last time I was in Fargo (about 4 hours south of here) at Target, I recall seeing R134a in 6oz cans for about $8. So is it really as simple as shelling out the $8 + buying the tool with a gauge to see if the charge will hold? My theories behind this strategy are:
1. The constant temperature changes caused the refrigerant to leak out. So no real leak, and maybe I just need to top off after long periods of extreme cold.
2. I have a slow leak, and maybe a can or 2 will keep me going for the summer or longer. Still cheaper than taking it in.
One thing that scares the hell out of me is the reports on here about rear AC and water lines corroding and leaking. From what I gather, unless you are really lucky, these are pretty much impossible to fix without lifting the body off the frame of the truck. Seeing how they run AC lines at work, I would be tempted to fab up my own copper or rubber lines and snake through the frame versus repairing these. Hopefully my leak is not back there. I've visually inspected what I can, and checked the rubber grommets holding the pipes, and there does not appear to be any issue.
Anyone have any thoughts to my problem?