My 06 Chevy Express 2500 A/C quit working about a month ago. It may not have been cooling as well as should but with temps in North Florida down to the high 80's I did not notice until it quit totally.
The first thing I did was grab a kind of rusty can of R134 and my fill hose.
This is where I got too lazy. I should have removed 1 screw and moved the radiator overflow tank out my way. I could barely get the fill hose down to the low side port and struggled getting it connected at the angle I could reach.
Well 1 can 12oz can of Freon and the A/C is blowing cold again and that's good. What is bad is I can now here a bad leak at the low port connector. Those fill hoses need to be held straight when connected or the schrader valve can be damaged. So now I need a new valve.
I went to AutoZone and found a kit with 2 schrader valves, new caps and a little tool to take out the valve. Luckily the valves were the same and I replaced it easily.
The accumulator should probably be changed whenever the A/C system is opened but I did not want to do that until I have to. Remember this is still the lazy way.
I hooked up my A/C manifold gauges to both the high and low side ports. Then I pulled a vacuum for about an hour with my cheap 1.5 CFM Robinar vacuum pump.
Now I hooked up a new can of freon to the low side port and put the bottom of the freon can in a bowl of hot water. The hot water will help the freon flow in. With about 3/4 can freon in I start the van and put the A/C on max.
There is enough freon that the compressor is now cycling on and off and pulls in the rest of this first can.
I then put another can of freon in and the A/C is working great. The compressor is not cycling now and inside vent are putting out 50 degrees or maybe a little cooler.
I can't find the sticker on my van (most vehicles sticker is under the hood) that says how much freon in total is called for. My Haynes repair manual says it takes 2 lbs so with only 2 12 oz cans I am a little low on freon.
It is better too little than too much so will just stay with 2 cans for now.
I don't know how long this fix will last but it has been 3 weeks and working great. Was the reason it quit working originally just a very slow leak over the years until it got too low on freon? If I had not messed up the valve a can of freon may have fixed the problem without further work.
The Lazy way caused problems but also has it temporarily fixed without the grueling job of doing it right and replacing compressor, condenser, accumulator, orifice tube and new seals.
Hope this wasn't too long and hard to read.
A SEEKER
The first thing I did was grab a kind of rusty can of R134 and my fill hose.
This is where I got too lazy. I should have removed 1 screw and moved the radiator overflow tank out my way. I could barely get the fill hose down to the low side port and struggled getting it connected at the angle I could reach.
Well 1 can 12oz can of Freon and the A/C is blowing cold again and that's good. What is bad is I can now here a bad leak at the low port connector. Those fill hoses need to be held straight when connected or the schrader valve can be damaged. So now I need a new valve.
I went to AutoZone and found a kit with 2 schrader valves, new caps and a little tool to take out the valve. Luckily the valves were the same and I replaced it easily.
The accumulator should probably be changed whenever the A/C system is opened but I did not want to do that until I have to. Remember this is still the lazy way.
I hooked up my A/C manifold gauges to both the high and low side ports. Then I pulled a vacuum for about an hour with my cheap 1.5 CFM Robinar vacuum pump.
Now I hooked up a new can of freon to the low side port and put the bottom of the freon can in a bowl of hot water. The hot water will help the freon flow in. With about 3/4 can freon in I start the van and put the A/C on max.
There is enough freon that the compressor is now cycling on and off and pulls in the rest of this first can.
I then put another can of freon in and the A/C is working great. The compressor is not cycling now and inside vent are putting out 50 degrees or maybe a little cooler.
I can't find the sticker on my van (most vehicles sticker is under the hood) that says how much freon in total is called for. My Haynes repair manual says it takes 2 lbs so with only 2 12 oz cans I am a little low on freon.
It is better too little than too much so will just stay with 2 cans for now.
I don't know how long this fix will last but it has been 3 weeks and working great. Was the reason it quit working originally just a very slow leak over the years until it got too low on freon? If I had not messed up the valve a can of freon may have fixed the problem without further work.
The Lazy way caused problems but also has it temporarily fixed without the grueling job of doing it right and replacing compressor, condenser, accumulator, orifice tube and new seals.
Hope this wasn't too long and hard to read.
A SEEKER