A/C Low Side Port leaks

[BonesDT]

I did repairs to my A/C, evacuated, and recharged. Everything went well until I tried to disconnect the low side port from the drier/accumulator.

The guide I had said to disconnect the low side while the engine and compressor were running, then turn off the engine, wait until the high side lowers, then disconnect the high side.

But when I disconnected the low side, it was spewing out coolant with some oil. It was like the valve was stuck or something. The drier is aftermarket and it came with a pretty cheap cap. So I basically couldn't do anything until I screwed the cap on all the way. It seems the cap is keeping it sealed but I'm not too comfortable with that.

The high side disconnected no problems.

My A/C works great, it's just that one thing. Is this normal? Does it just need to get a little out?

 

[TheJackal]

No, that isn't normal. Sounds like the valve in the service port is stuck.

Normally this requires evacuation and recharging of the system but I've heard of some tools out there that allow the changing of the valve without evacuating the system. How much this tool costs I don't know, you might have to go somewhere to have this done.

The service port cap is designed to hold some refrigerant back, but is not meant to hold the entire system pressure.

 

[BonesDT]

Yea, the drier/accumulator I received was an aftermarket one. I was unhappy because it came unpainted and didn't fit perfectly, had to bend the pipes a little to get it in.

But more importantly, I was always concerned about the way the cycling switch fit. It didn't screw on as deep as it did on the old factory drier/accumulator. I understand how the cycling switch works, but this means the inside contact of the switch was that much further from the cycling switch port valve on the drier. Would this contribute to my problem?

 

[Cobraguy]

I would take that accumulator and toss it back to whomever you bought it from. Then go pick up a good one and start over.

 

[BonesDT]

Problem Solved

Yea, the "shrader" valve was busted. I took the aftermarket co's advice and used a tire valve tool to undo and tighten the valve, but still no good. I'm getting my money back.

Just received an OEM Motorcraft Drier/Accumulator from rockauto.com. $50 as opposed to $85 from the dealership and $40 for the aftermarket co. I could see and feel the drastic quality difference.

Moral of the story, there are some parts where you are better off getting just-as-good aftermarket and avoid the ridiculously high OEM price, and then there are others where you should stick with OEM. An A/C Drier/Accumulator should be Motorcraft only.

... and when you stick with OEM, look to rockauto.com first.

 

[96eb96]

Yea, the "shrader" valve was busted. I took the aftermarket co's advice and used a tire valve tool to undo and tighten the valve, but still no good. I'm getting my money back.

Just received an OEM Motorcraft Drier/Accumulator from rockauto.com. $50 as opposed to $85 from the dealership and $40 for the aftermarket co. I could see and feel the drastic quality difference.

Moral of the story, there are some parts where you are better off getting just-as-good aftermarket and avoid the ridiculously high OEM price, and then there are others where you should stick with OEM. An A/C Drier/Accumulator should be Motorcraft only.

... and when you stick with OEM, look to rockauto.com first.

I think I gave you some advice on this a while back.

I'm curious, did you get the bad drier from A/C kits? The one I got from them looked just like the M/C one. Some driers are total crap, and can destroy your A/C system because the desiccant eventually ruptures.. If he sold you that dryer I would would think twice about using them again.

 

[BonesDT]

Yes, I bought all my parts from ackits.com. I am trying not to say anything bad about them. They have a good site and a good forum. They carry everything you need, and also hard to find PEG DEC oil and Nylog sealant. However, the shipping took ~1.5 weeks, and they forgot 2 items of my order, which took another 1.5wks to ship to me.

I did get the bad drier from them. It certainly did not look like the Motorcraft one at all. It came unpainted, the cycling switch didn't fit right, the tubes were bent slightly off which required me to hand bend the evaporator tube, the port cap broke, and the valve was busted. They are giving me my money back, but I had to spend money on the 3 cans of refrigerant I wasted and recovering it at a shop.

I just got in from installing the new MC drier and evacuating and charging my system. I have a small leak around the drier again. It was too small to detect during the evacuation. The A/C is working right now, but I can hear the leak when I shut off the engine. Unfortunately, it isn't as bad a leak as the valve was, where it was spewing visible oil. Is this where the UV light becomes handy?

p.s. the shop charged me $25 to recover, is that a good price?

 

[BonesDT]

First one is AC Kits' Drier, second is the Motorcraft installed. The third is just to show off my new tools. Gauges from Harbor Freight (great quality besides the dials) and the vacuum is from ctd4ac.com.

 

[96eb96]

Yes, I bought all my parts from ackits.com. I am trying not to say anything bad about them. They have a good site and a good forum. They carry everything you need, and also hard to find PEG DEC oil and Nylog sealant. However, the shipping took ~1.5 weeks, and they forgot 2 items of my order, which took another 1.5wks to ship to me.

I did get the bad drier from them. It certainly did not look like the Motorcraft one at all. It came unpainted, the cycling switch didn't fit right, the tubes were bent slightly off which required me to hand bend the evaporator tube, the port cap broke, and the valve was busted. They are giving me my money back, but I had to spend money on the 3 cans of refrigerant I wasted and recovering it at a shop.

I just got in from installing the new MC drier and evacuating and charging my system. I have a small leak around the drier again. It was too small to detect during the evacuation. The A/C is working right now, but I can hear the leak when I shut off the engine. Unfortunately, it isn't as bad a leak as the valve was, where it was spewing visible oil. Is this where the UV light becomes handy?

p.s. the shop charged me $25 to recover, is that a good price?

$25 is not bad to recover.

I did make an issue before he sent me the dryer that the one in the catalog pic looked different from the one I had(looked like yours). He told me its updated. I'm surprised at them though. The one I got looked just like the M/C one. I feel bad now for suggesting to use them, but the times I used them I had pretty good results.


I know someone who had the desiccant bag rupture from an aftermarket dryer that was professionally installed, I trusted a/ckits for their reputation though. You cant go wrong with the M/C unit, it probably would have been marked up more than what you saved if you had it installed, so your costs there were a wash.

If you hear noise when you shut the a/c off that is perfectly normal, that is the gas suctioning back and equalizing. If you can hear a leak you probably won't have A/C the next day.