Hi, I'm new to the group! I have a 1993 Explorer. Last week, I took mine in to get the air-conditioner fixed. I had not been getting any freon. The mechanic said it had been a leak. I went to pick it up Wednesday afternoon, and was pleased when I got in and it worked. I was driving around without sweating for a change. Unfortunately, this was not the case by the time I got home. Sure enough, it got hot quickly. I was getting hot air. I made a run by the mechanic shop. The only person there was his son who was closing up. I told I was sweating and that this problem was supposedly fixed, and he said he would let his father know. But, right before I got home, it started to cool again. So, I decided to wait and see. However, it has blown nothing but hot air over the weekend. This is a big problem. I got the A/C fixed last July! Then, I sunk a few hundred dollars last week to get it fixed again. Now, it still doesn't work! What's the deal? I'll let the mechanic know tomorrow. Thanks for any help. JR

comments inline

JR, Just sounds like the leak didn't get fixed. If you have a 93, it may be time to get all of your seals replaced. This really isn't that difficult, but is hard to get done commercially because you will get charged for vacuuming your old freeon out (they charge you even if it doesn't work, cause they say there is residual freon in the system) then they charge you to add the freon (is it about $20.00 a lb at 3-4 lbs now?) The they charge you for the seal replacement. AC systems is a big scam now. I do my own work and have a friend with a freon tank. (I only have to work on them once)   If their diagnosis is the same (replacing all the seals) mention that the repair books says there are only a few and the estimated time is only 1 hour. Say you got it out of a chilton book you read at the part store.  

Don't know if this is true or not, but I have a friend who is a mechanic. He told me the reason for the evacuation is twofold. 1. To get any residual Freon out. 2. Drawing a vacuum on the system will help detect leaks as well as remove moisture. Water boils in a vacuum, and you can withdraw the steam. The physics involved make sense, and I would think that any Regular Air in the system along with moisture would reduce the effectiveness of the coolant. David

David, This really is true. It is the best way to do it. My little rant about just putting the new freon works, but is not near as effective as the "evacuation" in addition to removing moisture, what really is happening, if the system goes to 0 pressure, that means it has regular air in the system. co2. That too need to be removed.   I'm just really disgusted at the clear attempt to reduce the number of people that can do this type of work, making it more lucrative for those who do it.   CR
Don't know if this is true or not, but I have a friend who is a
mechanic.  He told me the reason for the evacuation is twofold.

1. To get any residual Freon out.
2. Drawing a vacuum on the system will help detect leaks as well as
remove moisture.  Water boils in a vacuum, and you can withdraw the
steam.

The physics involved make sense, and I would think that any Regular
Air in the system along with moisture would reduce the effectiveness
of the coolant.

David

You will get no arguement from me on that. I too am disgusted by the changes that have made it imposible for the home mechanic to fix certain things on their own vehicles. I take pride in the fact that I repair my own vehicle, and I sit in my office and chuckle at the ammount the guy two doors down spends to get his fixed. Specialty tools, and restricted substances really burn me. I wish we could go back to the days when things weren't overengineered, and all you needed was a good quality socket set, a couple of screwdrivers and a timing light. David

AMEN!!!

The main thing is to remove all moisture, which causes corrosion and oil deterioration. Secondary - remove all "non condensible gasses" because they raise head pressure, reduce capacity and shorten system life.  If replacing with R12, residual Freon is not an issue. George   On Mon, 09 Jun 2003 15:02:34 -0000 "shadovve" <