A/C Rear Line Leak

[peterk9]

Hi everyone. New here and have a question on my 2011 xlt explorer. I noticed a puddle of coolant on the garage floor this morning below the drivers side muffler. Upon inspection there is a coolant leak from a flange where the ac and coolant lines meet (see pic). There was a white "fog" escaping as well. I assume that's ac refrigerant. The leak appears to be right at the base of one of the nuts. You can see a drip coming off the nut and it's "fizzing" from the gas escaping. Anyone have experience with this issue? I'm not sure if it's just a seal or if the lines are shot. I can't seem to find a diagram anywhere. Ford wasn't much help and told me to bring it in. Any help would be appreciated!

Welcome to the Forum.
Your thread was merged with this existing one. Looks like it could be an expensive repair if you want to continue using the rear A/C.

Peter

 

[KayGee]

Hi everyone. New here and have a question on my 2011 xlt explorer. I noticed a puddle of coolant on the garage floor this morning below the drivers side muffler. Upon inspection there is a coolant leak from a flange where the ac and coolant lines meet (see pic). There was a white "fog" escaping as well. I assume that's ac refrigerant. The leak appears to be right at the base of one of the nuts. You can see a drip coming off the nut and it's "fizzing" from the gas escaping. Anyone have experience with this issue? I'm not sure if it's just a seal or if the lines are shot. I can't seem to find a diagram anywhere. Ford wasn't much help and told me to bring it in. Any help would be appreciated!

View attachment 158435

That looks like a refrigerant leak (green dye) at the connection - you may get lucky and just have to replace the oring/gasket and recharge the system.

 

[peelman]

The longer you leave this open to the environment the worse off and more expensive the end repair will be.

 

[MiWiAu]

Is there a drain hose for the auxiliary evaporator in the back? I got my sniffer and wanted to confirm whether or not there's a leak from the auxiliary evap. I found the heater and AC lines running up through the left rear quarter, but didn't notice a drain line to sniff back there.

 

[peterk9]

Although no drain is shown in this diagram, I'm quite sure there must be a drain since there is an evaporator and the water would have to go somewhere. AC & Heater Assembly - Ford (DB5Z-18C424-D) | Auto Nation Ford White Bear Lake
EDIT: found this with the 'Search' feature. Not sure if it also applies to a 2013; AC Drain location

Peter

 

[MiWiAu]

Good news: I found the leak.
Good news: It’s not leaking from the evaporator under the dash.
Bad news: it’s in the second worst possible place - an under-body line running to the rear aux unit, which requires removal of the rear sub-frame to replace.
Good news: it’s a hole in the hard line (attached)
Bad news: it’s in the elbow, so a Dorman splice won’t work.

Can lines be successfully brazed/soldered?

I figured one other option would be buying a new line and splicing the last couple feet into the old line behind the left rear shock.

I don’t really have $1500+ to have the dealer replace the whole line.

Thougts? Thanks for the help thus far!

 

[peterk9]

I've 'repaired' pin hole leaks in copper water pipe with a piece of rubber and a hose clamp. One such repair was done more than 10 years ago and still good.

Peter

 

[MiWiAu]

I've 'repaired' pin hole leaks in copper water pipe with a piece of rubber and a hose clamp. One such repair was done more than 10 years ago and still good.

Peter

I ended up ordering one of these Uniweld kits off Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Uniweld-P4KD...-catcorr&keywords=aluminum+solder+kit+uniweld

I have a new desiccant cartridge on order from Rock Auto, which I will install if/when I confirm the leak is fixed after first evacuating the system with a vacuum pump.

The one area I'm still unclear on is compressor oil. There is definitely an oily residue near the leak site, but this is all the way at the aft end of the system, pretty much as far away as possible from the compressor. Assuming this aluminum solder patch works, should I plan to add some oil back into the system? From what I can tell adding an additional ounce into any system seems to be a relatively "safe" practice, and I'm guessing I did not lose more than an ounce of oil...

 

[peterk9]

...........Assuming this aluminum solder patch works, should I plan to add some oil back into the system? From what I can tell adding an additional ounce into any system seems to be a relatively "safe" practice, and I'm guessing I did not lose more than an ounce of oil...

I wasn't aware there was oil required or where you would add it. Are you sure the oil isn't from somewhere else? I've never checked or looked at my compressor.

Peter

 

[MiWiAu]

I wasn't aware there was oil required or where you would add it. Are you sure the oil isn't from somewhere else? I've never checked or looked at my compressor.

Peter

I’m not sure what else the oil would be coming from. In that area (where HVAC lines go through the floor to the aux unit) I only see two heater lines and two A/C lines.

In my Service Manual (Section 412-00A: Climate Control - DATC, General Procedures), there is a section called “Refrigerant Oil Adding.”

For a “refrigerant hose/line” replacement, it says to add PAG oil “60 mL (2.03 fl oz) added to amount collected during refrigerant recovery.” Method of adding - “inject to low-side service port during system charging.”

I didn’t recover any oil, since pressure all leaked out. Full system capacity is 7.3 oz of YN-12-D PAG compressor oil.

I don’t see any specific way to actually check the system levels, only a recommendation to replace what was lost during component replacement.

 

[peterk9]

Interesting. Hopefully another member can add more info on this.

 

[sr71_1]

My two cents: 2015 Explorer Sport. Barely 3 years old but out of warranty due to mileage. A/C stopped cooling. 2 Holes - both inaccessible. Seems rather a stretch that a rock punched a hole in fairly new steel lines. Dealership wanted $1800 . Asked for service manager to call but ....no call so went to my trusty local shop. Still had to replace the lines but $1000 instead.

This was the first Ford we've had in awhile.... still like the Sport but dealership won't see my cash any more.

 

[Astrobuf]

Just heard back from my stealership that both hoses that link back to the rear evaporator on my 2011 Limited Explorer (with about 75000km) have cracks in them that let all the coolant gas out. What gives??? It seems that they have rusted out near the evaporator.

OK, granted I live in Canada with ****ty weather all year long, but come on Ford! Of the 4 times a year I use my A/C and cooling seats in a year I find out the hoses are shot and the stealership is quoting me 1200$ + taxes to fix it (600$ for the 2 hoses and 600 for the work).

I'm thinking of pluging in the 2 damn hoses and says goodbye to the rear AC. Never used it really, except for cooling off the dog! Anyone else had these issues?

My son's 2011 Explorer has the same issue. The aluminum lines are corroded by road salt which we have plenty of in MN too.

Ford was cheap, they should have put these lines in a plastic tube, or otherwise better protected them.

I suspect they did a better job on later models. The 11 was the first unibody/fake explorer;-)

 

[peterk9]

My son's 2011 Exploder has the same issue. The aluminum lines are corroded by road salt which we have plenty of in MN too.

Ford was cheap, they should have put these lines in a plastic tube, or otherwise better protected them.

I suspect they did a better job on later models. The 11 was the first unibody/fake explorer;-)

Welcome to the Forum.

Peter

 

[Dantoosi]

I’m not sure what else the oil would be coming from. In that area (where HVAC lines go through the floor to the aux unit) I only see two heater lines and two A/C lines.

In my Service Manual (Section 412-00A: Climate Control - DATC, General Procedures), there is a section called “Refrigerant Oil Adding.”

For a “refrigerant hose/line” replacement, it says to add PAG oil “60 mL (2.03 fl oz) added to amount collected during refrigerant recovery.” Method of adding - “inject to low-side service port during system charging.”

I didn’t recover any oil, since pressure all leaked out. Full system capacity is 7.3 oz of YN-12-D PAG compressor oil.

I don’t see any specific way to actually check the system levels, only a recommendation to replace what was lost during component replacement.

So how did the solder repair work out? I just noticed a green puddle under mine today. At first glance it looks like it’s an o-ring leak but I have to clean it up tonight and take a better look.

 

[peterk9]

So how did the solder repair work out? I just noticed a green puddle under mine today. At first glance it looks like it’s an o-ring leak but I have to clean it up tonight and take a better look.

Welcome to the Forum.
Green fluid indicates an engine coolant leak. Is your coolant level low in the tank? Where in relationship to the vehicle's parked position did you find the puddle? Just wondering if it could be the rad or worse, the water pump.

Peter

 

[Dantoosi]

Welcome to the Forum.
Green fluid indicates an engine coolant leak. Is your coolant level low in the tank? Where in relationship to the vehicle's parked position did you find the puddle? Just wondering if it could be the rad or worse, the water pump.

Peter

It is refrigerant leaking from one of the rear AC lines or o-ring connection... it was recharged last summer and had leak detect added at the time of recharge. Fluorescent green and not mistakable for my yellow coolant that couldn’t possibly be leaking from the drivers rear quarter.

I asked a question wondering if the solder trick worked or not just in case it is a pin hole near a bend that would eliminate the possibility of splicing it. That being said it looks like one of the o-rings is leaking at a connection point but I haven’t had a chance to clean it up and inspect to determine that.

 

[MiWiAu]

I asked a question wondering if the solder trick worked or not just in case it is a pin hole near a bend that would eliminate the possibility of splicing it. That being said it looks like one of the o-rings is leaking at a connection point but I haven’t had a chance to clean it up and inspect to determine that.

The solder repair held up all last season post-repair without any further leakage. Hopefully when I fire up the A/C again this spring it still works.

If it’s an o-ring, it should be a relatively simple fix. Regardless, you will need a vacuum pump to properly evacuate any moisture from the system if your system is completely empty. I just got a cheap one (with a manifold) on Amazon and it worked out well.

Good luck!

 

[peterk9]

It is refrigerant leaking from one of the rear AC lines or o-ring connection... it was recharged last summer and had leak detect added at the time of recharge. Fluorescent green and not mistakable for my yellow coolant that couldn’t possibly be leaking from the drivers rear quarter.

Thanks. The 2012 Manual shows the OEM engine coolant as either green or orange. That is why I thought it might be coolant. Good luck and please keep us updated. Thanks.

Peter

 

[Dantoosi]

The solder repair held up all last season post-repair without any further leakage. Hopefully when I fire up the A/C again this spring it still works.

If it’s an o-ring, it should be a relatively simple fix. Regardless, you will need a vacuum pump to properly evacuate any moisture from the system if your system is completely empty. I just got a cheap one (with a manifold) on Amazon and it worked out well.

Good luck!

It is not empty and the AC actually still functions fine so it’s a very small leak. I will more than likely repair the leak and bring it in to be recharged.

Thanks