Bought Daughter a 2010 Ranger, She Paid it Off, Blew Engine, I Replaced Engine.......

[410Fortune]

Those piercing cans suck
The new self closing ones not much better

If the can does not provide e ough pressure in the low pressure side to start the compressor cycling you can try a few things
Hold the can way up high and turn it upside down
Jumper the low pressure switch
This will cycle the compressor and it will start sucking in refrigerant … after it absorbs a few ounces it should start to short cycle the compressor and suck in the fluid on its own
Hood sticker will tell you how much r134 to add to an empty system 24-30oz somewhere in there. You only need to add oil if you using new compressor imo. I usually add a can of all in one like arctic breeze with stop leak and lubricants and synthetic cold agents etc etc those cans work really well and then follow up with the cheapo wal mart r134. Plan to return some cans hen the nozzles don’t work… so buy extra

 

[JoshT]

Then I went to use the can pierce hose attachment that came with the manifold. It sucks. It doesn't allow the can to push enough pressure into the manifold to charge the system. The instructions could be better, since there are virtually none included. I wasted three 12 oz cans of R134a trying to figure out how to get it to allow full flow, thinking it might be a bad can or two, or three.

No offense, but I'd have never bought that gauge set. Low reviews, all of them 5 star, and of the two that left comments, both got it through the fine program. Vine is a program where people are sent free products in exchange for reviews. Favorable reviews are not a requirement for receiving the free item. Lets be honest though, if you have a habit of leaving negative reviews, noone is going to want to send their product for review.

I'm good with a 4 - 4.5 star rating on Amazon as long as it has a bunch of reviews, and the majority of them aren't Vine. Especially if it's obviously user error from the negative comments.

Possibly a miss match between the hose and the can? Those cans come in both puncture and self-sealing types, and you've got to use the right type of tap for the right type of can. That said when I was servicing mine, I did have one bad self sealing can.

Also we had to do the jumper thing that 410 mentioned to get an initial charge on the system. Wanted to use the all-in-one cans like he suggested, but the first time around I had a bad compressor. Since the second time was with another used compressor, I didn't want to risk wasting the more expensive stuff. Also wally world had basic r134a for cheap at the time.

 

[BKennedy]

I'm over it. I tried. It's like automatic transmissions, I'll leave it to the shops.

R134a in California has to be CARB approved, so it's twice what it cost in other states. Last time I took my RV to my local trustworthy shop they only charged me $125. That's worth not dealing with it right there.

Edit: I never looked for the Vine program review label before. Didn't know it was a thing. I'll look every time from now on.

 

[BKennedy]

Some good news

CA abandons clean-air rules on diesel trucks

California’s efforts to reach zero emissions took a step back as its Air Resources Board withdrew waiver requests.

calmatters.org

 

[BKennedy]

I think figured out why the AC manifold I purchased wasn't working properly. Primarily, its their can tap. It's a combo pierce and self-sealing tap. It just doesn't work. It needs is a dedicated tap for each can type. All the other fittings in the kit appear to be very well made.

Additionally, the manifold literature claims it has a one way valve in the yellow (refrigerant) valve and it doesn't. A four line manifold should have that feature, especially since they claim it does. That right there is good reason not to order a can tap kit and keep it. When the seller makes false claims, I won't throw more money at it and hope for the best.

I buy a lot of products off Amazon for two main reasons; fast delivery, and free returns. Unfortunately, the fast delivery reason might dry up when I relocate to Kingman as Amazon uses USPS and UPS for deliveries out there.

 

[410Fortune]

I deleted the one way valve from my yellow hose, otherwise you have to swap it around each time you go from vacuum to pressurized can

I buy the can adapters at wal mart and keep an extra

No more piercing cans in the shop I only use the self sealing anymore and those are crap shoot about 1 in 5 cans of the cheapos simply won’t work

 

[BKennedy]

I bought a 4 line manifold (high pressure, low pressure, vacuum and fill) so I wouldn't have to switch things around. This one just doesn't work as advertised.

 

[BKennedy]

I did the trans pan drop and filter change today. Without a lift, that's a messy job. The book says it only takes three quarts of Mercon 5. Last time I did this with this truck, I let it drip for about three hours and got another quart out of it. This trans seems like it would drip for days at the same steady rate until it was empty. I let it drip for at least three hours this time while I changed the oil on the Explorer, cleaned up the garage and boxed up a bunch of tools and stuff I don’t use on a regular basis. I was able to add 4.5 quarts this time. The only issue with the job was the reusable OEM metal pan gasket was damaged so I had to use the Wix soft gasket that came with the filter. I had to set the pan and gasket out in the sun to get the gasket to lie flat to get it installed. I was going to install a drain plug on the pan, but realized the reason I didn't do it last time was there is no room for one.

Cleaned up the engine compartment. The only things I have left to do is change the fuel filter and get the AC system charged.

It's hard to fathom how a 4.0 or 5.0 fits in this space. The engineers must have decided they wanted to take up every inch of space with the 2.3.

 

[410Fortune]

Dex5??
Auto trans will drain for a long time
If you unbolt the valve body that’s when most of that trapped Fluid will Pour out

Home Depot sells mortar mixing trays for like $11 they make excellent drain pans easily
Large enough to catch the pan and all fluids from a trans pan drop

The v8 is easier to
Work on then the 4 banger in that same engine bay, the sohc 4.0 is the worst!
Well done! Bye bye money pit beemer hello reliable ford ranger!!!

 

[BKennedy]

Mortar mixing trays, genius!

Mercon V, sorry.

 

[410Fortune]

You did use Mercon v compatible trans fluid right? I use valvoline multi vehicle and I add a bottle of Lucas trans treatment for fords (red bottle)

 

[BKennedy]

You did use Mercon v compatible trans fluid right? I use valvoline multi vehicle and I add a bottle of Lucas trans treatment for fords (red bottle)

I used Motorcraft Mercon V. It was on sale through Rock Auto.

 

[JoshT]

You did use Mercon v compatible trans fluid right? I use valvoline multi vehicle and I add a bottle of Lucas trans treatment for fords (red bottle)

Does the Lucas additive make a noticable difference? I've got the Valvoline in my 4R70W. A lot of places out there say Mercon V only, but that stuff can be expensive. Valvoline stuff used to have Mercon V on the bottle as well, but I think they decided to stop paying for the OEM certification.

 

[410Fortune]

Not Lucas
Lubeguard

Yes it has an additive
Package in it that supplements your Mercon trans fluid and makes it better for your transmission

Lubeguard is the only oem approved trans additive
My trans builder knows his stuff and swears by this. We add a bottle with every new install or service

Research it! It is good stuff

The valvoline max life multi vehicle trans fluid
Is Mercon v compatible… a list of all compatible Fluids is available online,
Even if it is not listed on the package.

Whatever Mercon v you use… the lubegaurd is a good idea to mix in with it

Do not, I repeat do not put a NON Mercon v fluid in your Mercon v trans or you will destroy it

https://a.co/d/gvf1OQP

I also run the valvoline multi vehicle trans
Fluid which is Mercon v compatible, because like you, it is the best fluid I can get for the money in town. However you may also be surprised to find out how
Much your dealer charges for Mercon v… for me the ford dealer here is like $6-7 a quart for
Motorcraft Mercon v and the same as the parts stores is like $10-12 a quart!!!!!

 

[BKennedy]

Stock up from RA. It's cheaper than anywhere else.

 

[410Fortune]

What about shipping though? I’ll check. Man that’s a good price

 

[BKennedy]

I bought 5 quarts, 5 quarts of 5w-20, and trans, engine and fuel filters, and it was $7-8 to ship.

Does Lubeguard work for other than Ford transmissions? I'm thinking of dumping a bottle in the Ranger, my Silverado and the Allison in the RV.

 

[BKennedy]

RA has Lubeguard products at less than half the price of Amazon. Four bottles is $11.99 for shipping, so still way cheaper than Amazon.

Any reason this wouldn't work in my 700R4?

 

[410Fortune]

Yes Lubeguard makes different recipes for different manufactures and they also make universal additives

For example I can buy Mercon iii / Dexron and chemically convert it to Mercon v by adding the right bottle(s)

I love rockauto
I usually have 5% off code if you need it they encourage us to share

 

[BKennedy]

I ordered 4 bottles of trans treatment and 2 bottles of engine flush. I'm going to flush the Ranger engine and change the oil in a few weeks. The Explorer is getting a little rattle upon cold starts that goes away in a few seconds. Thought it might help both engines last longer.

Shipping was $11.99