Though I will tackle just about anything on a car, I have always been intimidated by air conditioning work. A trip to a local repair shop helped me push past intimidation to action.
For the past few years my wife would start complaining when the weather turned warm about the A/C in the Trans Am. Being of sound mind, I learned the first summer that this happened that it was well worth the money it took to keep her cool. So my annual trip to the shop was made recently. These trips usually involve me going in and telling them that the A/C wasn’t working and that I knew that it needed to be charged. I always said, “Please check it really well for leaks because this happens every summer.” And every summer they told me that they charged it up, and that I owed them $200. $200 later I was on my way with Air Conditioning for a couple of months. Two months didn’t get me through the whole summer and I usually bluffed and delayed my way until the first cool day when I could say, “next year I’ll make sure it is fixed right honey!”
This year, I decided to keep a close watch on the car after I got it back. I cleaned all of the fittings with brake cleaner and watched for the leak detection dye to start showing up. It didn’t take long before I pinpointed the location of the leak–a fitting where the line went into the condenser. I could even see it bubbling out. I took it back to the shop and told them where it was leaking and asked them to check it and let me know what it would cost to fix it. They first told me that it was antifreeze, not refrigerant. I know that I was wearing a tie when I went in that place, but I was not an idiot. They were surprised when I told them that it didn’t taste like antifreeze. When you drive an RX7, you learn what different fluids taste like–it really saves time. Brake fluid with a hint of two cycle oil has a very natural flavor with a nutty aftertaste.
They agreed to take another look. I didn’t expect anything to be done for free mind you, but the answer that they gave me back has changed my air conditioning repair life forever. The verdict for this leaky fitting was an estimated $950 plus tax for a new compressor, a new dryer, new o-rings and something called an orifice tube. The good news was that they could have the parts here in a few days.
I gladly thanked them for their time and resolved that I wouldn’t be put in this situation again! Over the following weekend, I read everything that I could on the internet about automotive air conditioning. There are actually some great videos on youtube that are informative about the subject as well. By Sunday evening, I had ordered a dryer, a new o-ring set, and a pressure switch. I also ordered a vacuum pump (to evacuate moisture from the system) and my new prized tool, the manifold gauge set. All of this set me back about $175.
Notice that I didn’t order a compressor or an “orifice tube.” The car didn’t need a compressor–it produced cold A/C fine until the refrigerant leaked out. This orifice tube intrigued me. I didn’t know what one was, but it sounded nice. I thought that I might order a couple extras to have them around. There have been times where I was feeling low and thought that something was missing in my life. Could I have been unknowingly yearning for an orifice tube? Well guess what—the Trans Am doesn’t have an orifice tube! Funny how it was on the written estimate for the part and the labor.
Of course I had a certified repair facility evacuate the old refrigerant before I started my work. It is said that if you vent refrigerant into the atmosphere that you can hear a baby duckling scream. We don’t want that, so don’t ever vent refrigerant into the atmosphere. Al Gore might show up at your house and want to stay a while.
By the end of the following weekend, I had A/C blowing so cold that they say that global warming stopped. In fact, they had to rename it global “climate change.” There have been no leaks over the past month and my gauges show that it is holding pressure just great. My wife tells me that the A/C has never worked this well.
Automotive air conditioning is a simple system. It was some of the easiest work that I have done on a car. The investment in the gauges and the vacuum pump will save me thousands of dollars over my lifetime. I have already serviced two friends air conditioning with some R134 out of the case that I bought at Sam’s Club (only $3.75 per can!!)
That brings me to “finding beer.” Recharge A/C for a buddy and accept a case of beer as payment and it is like found beer. I would wager to say that everyone likes finding beer!
