2003 Explorer XLT AC question

[boybach]

Hi - new to Explorers, just got this 2003 4-litre xlt one to pull my boat around. I was planning on vacuuming down the AC and refilling the system, but when I opened the hood saw the label I admit I'm a bit confused ..I managed to locate the hi and low ports but the quantities on the label refer to front and rear? AC ...looked in the rear seat doesn't appear to have separate controls ...is this a generic label ? Do I have rear a/c? the explorer trim seems pretty basic oh and just got the heat fixed replacing the blend door actuator and that was a fun job for sure. Anyway, what do I do here? charge 32 oz or 56 oz????

thanks

Larry

 

[Fix4Dirt]

Hi - new to Explorers, just got this 2003 4-litre xlt one to pull my boat around. I was planning on vacuuming down the AC and refilling the system, but when I opened the hood saw the label I admit I'm a bit confused ..I managed to locate the hi and low ports but the quantities on the label refer to front and rear? AC ...looked in the rear seat doesn't appear to have separate controls ...is this a generic label ? Do I have rear a/c? the explorer trim seems pretty basic oh and just got the heat fixed replacing the blend door actuator and that was a fun job for sure. Anyway, what do I do here? charge 32 oz or 56 oz????

thanks

Larry
View attachment 431099

do you have vents in the rear console? i take it as if you have the rear AC opt then ya need 56, but if you dont have rear AC then 32

 

[boybach]

do you have vents in the rear console? i take it as if you have the rear AC opt then ya need 56, but if you dont have rear AC then 32

Yes there's a vent in the back of the armrest with a cig lighter etc, pretty normal, no controls tho ...my other cars have this too - is that what's classed as rear a/c? seems haywire to me but there ya go

 

[Fix4Dirt]

Yes there's a vent in the back of the armrest with a cig lighter etc, pretty normal, no controls tho ...my other cars have this too - is that what's classed as rear a/c? seems haywire to me but there ya go

i think... or at least thats my understanding. lets wait for someone else to chime in however. rear ac us usually just having ac in the rear to my understanding

edit: also forgot to say, howdy and welcome to EF!!!!

 

[boybach]

i think... or at least thats my understanding. lets wait for someone else to chime in however. rear ac us usually just having ac in the rear to my understanding

edit: also forgot to say, howdy and welcome to EF!!!!

Hey thanks for the welcome buddy! After a quick think and a read of some other threads here I'm almost sure my explorer trim is very basic and no option on the dash controls for rear climate control ....so looks like I've just got plain vanilla front A/C with a tube out the back for the guy who didn't get to ride shotgun on the way to the marina ..so 32 oz it is ..or I might just try 20.8 oz of "duster" instead ...R152A ...if it doesn't work can always go back to R134A, right?

 

[Fix4Dirt]

Hey thanks for the welcome buddy! After a quick think and a read of some other threads here I'm almost sure my explorer trim is very basic and no option on the dash controls for rear climate control ....so looks like I've just got plain vanilla front A/C with a tube out the back for the guy who didn't get to ride shotgun on the way to the marina ..so 32 oz it is ..or I might just try 20.8 oz of "duster" instead ...R152A ...if it doesn't work can always go back to R134A, right?

aint no ac guru, but i suspect that there is supporting mod needed for 152. iirc from the old refreigerent in 1G there was work needed to run the r134a form the 2G

 

[boybach]

aint no ac guru, but i suspect that there is supporting mod needed for 152. iirc from the old refreigerent in 1G there was work needed to run the r134a form the 2G

No, an R134A system can run R152A with no issues, oils compatible too. Just uses less by weight. The conversion factor from R134A systems is 0.65, so 32oz x 0.65 = 20.8 oz. should do it. I'll report back with results and temps.

 

[Fix4Dirt]

No, an R134A system can run R152A with no issues, oils compatible too. Just uses less by weight. The conversion factor from R134A systems is 0.65, so 32oz x 0.65 = 20.8 oz. should do it. I'll report back with results and temps.

cool alright! i learn something new everyday!

 

[boybach]

Update:
The system pressure was down to about 10 on the low side, so it had some R134A in there -but not enough to start the compressor. I had about a can and a half of duster around and as today was Canada Day everywhere was closed so I couldn't buy any more.

No matter, as R152A and R134A are fully compatible with each other I just thought I'd pop some in there to see if things improved. The ambient temp today was about 80°f so my target pressures in straight R134A would have been 40-50psi on the low side and 175-210psi on the high side. The rule of thumb when using R152A in an R134a system is to reduce the psi figures by 10% for a given temperature range, so if I was running straight R152A in 80°f ambient, ideally my readings should be 36-45psi low side and 158-189psi hi side.

Of course after adding R152A to the system I'd be running a mix of the two, so I set my target about 1/2 way between the two ranges - 38-47psi low and about 164-200psi high. I think I put in roughly 16ozs (10oz can plus about half a 12oz) before I ran out of refrigerant. As luck would have it, this amount of R152A "duster" got the readings very close to my target pressures and gave me about 35°f at the centre vent.

So, all in all, a good day!

Larry

 

[Fix4Dirt]

Update:
The system pressure was down to about 10 on the low side, so it had some R134A in there -but not enough to start the compressor. I had about a can and a half of duster around and as today was Canada Day everywhere was closed so I couldn't buy any more.

No matter, as R152A and R134A are fully compatible with each other I just thought I'd pop some in there to see if things improved. The ambient temp today was about 80°f so my target pressures in straight R134A would have been 40-50psi on the low side and 175-210psi on the high side. The rule of thumb when using R152A in an R134a system is to reduce the psi figures by 10% for a given temperature range, so if I was running straight R152A in 80°f ambient, ideally my readings should be 36-45psi low side and 158-189psi hi side.

Of course after adding R152A to the system I'd be running a mix of the two, so I set my target about 1/2 way between the two ranges - 38-47psi low and about 164-200psi high. I think I put in roughly 16ozs (10oz can plus about half a 12oz) before I ran out of refrigerant. As luck would have it, this amount of R152A "duster" got the readings very close to my target pressures and gave me about 35°f at the centre vent.

So, all in all, a good day!

Larry

woot!!!! congrats!!!!