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Meh a/c

blu3fan

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Arizona
Hey guys. So I finally after years got the ac in the jeep working .
The compressor had a sticker that said prefilled with oil.
In short. Two weeks later. 3 drives probly 2 hour runtime after the fill
Hot air. So I figured leaks.
I was gonna pull and recharge with r134a but after contacting the compressor manufacturer to find out what oil is in the thing he tells me...


The oil in the compressor is for storage and shipping only. You have to drain and add the proper type and amount of oil back to it


So

Pretty sure the compressor is a gonner.
Is this new dryer and put another can of cleaner though the evap ?

Ugh
Best course of action? Pull the compressor apart or no?
 
I should add. Ac never worked. I replaced everything *new* cept the evap. That I put a can of cleaner and air through.
 
If it were my car, I'd evacuate the system of all oil and R134A and put the right amount of the proper oil in . Then I'd add a couple of cans of Red Angel (#1 rated) A/C sealant, jumper out the low pressure switch (to prevent clutch cycling) and charge with R134A to the proper pressures required for the ambient temperature. Finally with the engine off, I'd pull a vacuum on the system to remove moisture until I got to about 500 microns. Then I'd see if it was fixed. If not, then I'd start replacing components.

Best regards,

CJR
 
If it were my car, I'd evacuate the system of all oil and R134A and put the right amount of the proper oil in . Then I'd add a couple of cans of Red Angel (#1 rated) A/C sealant, jumper out the low pressure switch (to prevent clutch cycling) and charge with R134A to the proper pressures required for the ambient temperature. Finally with the engine off, I'd pull a vacuum on the system to remove moisture until I got to about 500 microns. Then I'd see if it was fixed. If not, then I'd start replacing components.

Best regards,

CJR

I was thinking about giving this a go. Glad someone else thinks that is appropriate.

Is it worth opening up the compressor or is that just asking for more problems?
its a brand new compressor. or was LOL.

well... I know what my weekend looks like :)
 
since the oil is distributed thru the entire refrigerant volume, the amount of oil required is dependant on the size of the entire system. This is why the pumps dont come with the "right amount" of oil in them. The true right amount is dependent on the entire system volume.

Now your system stopped working, and we also know if did not have the correct oil in it.

did it stop working because...
1... Freon is gone, leaks! leak can be from pump running with no oil, which causes shaft seal to fail, or you got a leak elsewhere unrelated to the oil issue.
2... Pump no longer compresses the Freon, pump died do to lack of oil.

so first do a vacuum leak test, if she leaks, well stop and find the leak, maybe it is a pump seal, maybe something else.

if system is currently leak tight, ie you still have Freon in it, that means the pump is probably bad.

now if the pump self destructed, you may have metal debris in the system, which means things need to be cleaned before being brought back into service, you dont want metal shavings clogging things, or recirculating thru the pump.

so job one is determine if you lost the Freon or not. if no freon, find the leak(s) if Freon is there, and you are leak tight, then the pump may have failed. inspect for bits of metal in the hoses, tubes, coils, etc...

keep cool!
 
When my compressor blew years back, I bought a replacement that came charged with oil. I recall the directions saying something to the effect that it had the amount of oil for the compressor, but not for the entire system. I had to pour it out, measure it, and add the extra amount to cover the rest of the components. I installed a new compressor, condenser, expansion valve, and dryer as well as flushed the lines and evap, so my system was bone dry.

Vacuumed, recharged with R12 and it still blows about 40F on max.

A few pics of the carnage.

o3IJTxWm.jpg


EVN7f85m.jpg
 
After looking at these pics.
gonna evac it.
Put my oem compressor back on.
and rip this new one apart.

if its good. ill proceed to fill with oil. if not. I got some cleaning to do. hopefully it's not terrible.
 
Went to get her drained. The only pressure was in the cap. So refilling with oil and r134a and giving this another go

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pulled a few of my connections apart and found one O ring had split. probly my leak.
replaced it. system vacuumed, gonna let her sit overnight and see if we lose pressure. then fill her up.
 
I bought a UAC.
I have found no metal shards and still tons of oil in there. looks good. gonna fill her up this weekend.
 
okay so I am a little confused and maybe someone can help.

So.
when I took the jeep to get it filled initially. the guy could not get it to pull refrigerant.
he messed with it for like 20mins bypassing the clutch and tightening and loosening the r12 fittings around the compressor eventually it filled and was good.

After it leaked. I did a quick check.
Everything seemed fine. no shards oil was still in the compressor.
so I added some more oil and went to fill her.
Same issue.
Wont pull.
She held vacuum. and when I turned her over the pressures changed.bypass the clutch I did not see pressures change.

is there something im missing here?
 
blu3fan said:
when I took the jeep to get it filled initially. the guy could not get it to pull refrigerant.

If the clutch isn't engaging, it won't create a suction.

blu3fan said:
he messed with it for like 20mins bypassing the clutch and tightening and loosening the r12 fittings around the compressor eventually it filled and was good.
What do you mean it was good? It took refrigerant and cooled off?

blu3fan said:
After it leaked. I did a quick check.
Everything seemed fine. no shards oil was still in the compressor.
so I added some more oil and went to fill her.
Same issue.
Wont pull.
She held vacuum. and when I turned her over the pressures changed.bypass the clutch I did not see pressures change.

is there something im missing here?

I'm confused. So it leaked out again? If you're trying to fill it and it won't take refrigerant, it sounds like your fittings aren't working right. They do have schrader valves in them, so you might be using the wrong type of conversion fittings.

Have you done a refrigerant leak test yet?
 
Now that I re-re-read the thread, I get what you're saying. It really does sound like you have a leak somewhere, and your charging issue is most likely with the retrofit r134a ports. Luckily, you can remove them without opening the system to atmosphere, so you might not have to vacuum it again. Unless you open it to replace another leaky component, but I suspect that's also got something to do with those charging ports.
Do you have a set of manifold gauges? They're about $50-60 at harbor freight, and they're well worth it for working on AC.

I hope you get it solved ��
 
If the clutch isn't engaging, it won't create a suction.


What do you mean it was good? It took refrigerant and cooled off?

**** clutch engaged. compressor was not pulling from the low side.****

I'm confused. So it leaked out again? If you're trying to fill it and it won't take refrigerant, it sounds like your fittings aren't working right. They do have schrader valves in them, so you might be using the wrong type of conversion fittings.

Have you done a refrigerant leak test yet?

**** I have left the gauges hooked up after pulling vacuum and no pressures dropped from -30.

Maybe it's not engaging the schrader valve. that would really make sense.
ill pull it off and test off the car and see if it engages.
 
Sometimes it depends on the kit. Some have a schrader valve already in the retrofit adapter, some just have a plunger. Of it has a plunger you should leave the original r12 Schrader in. If it has its own schrader valve you should remove the one from the r12 fitting. Also, those usually have an oring seal inside that you should lubricate with PAG oil (or whatever kind of oil the system requires) and make sure the surface it's going to seal against is completely clean before installing.

Now, here's a real nut kicker: when it got a vacuum drawn on the system, did it really draw a vacuum on the system, or did it just draw a vacuum on the fitting? Get what I'm saying here? If your AC guy had a hard time getting refrigerant in there, could he have possibly not known it wasn't getting past the fittings?

And one more thing: for less than $150, you can have your own vacuum pump and manifold gauge set. Then you won't have to take it to someone else to vacuum it and get it charged. (Search "AC vacuum pump and gauge set" on Amazon)
 
I bought gauges and a pump after it leaked.
But yeah bad valve is probably it. I'll post pics of these odd fittings to explain

Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk
 
Picture of the valve the chewed up right side "from the shop :/" is all the way open right now
2c02d3ef4a0f1122ce291f57162b8383.jpg
1883b4f43a02adfe68e0da22c59577af.jpg


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