My AC and me at the shop today

[JohnnyS]

Hello,
Following your advice, I went to a local shop to check my AC.
It wasn't the clutch, and they could not find any visible leaks of freon.
They think there is a leak in the evaporator, but couldn't take it apart because didnt have enough time today.
So, I had them charge up the freon, and the AC is working fine...for now.

I am now thinking,..is it possible for the AC system to gradually lose the freon NATURALLY without a leak over the years? I haven't had to put anything in there for at least 4 years. Does it evaporate??

Maybe there is no leak and this is a natural thing? To just recharge freon once in a while?

Please let me know because they are licking their chops to replace my evaporator, which is costly...

Thanks,

 

[wicsmith1997]

Check your Orifice Tube. See if it is clogged up with black Teflon flacks.

My system works and blows really cold for about 10 to 15 minutes then it cycles off and never cuts back on. Turn it off wait a spell turn it back on and cold air again. If this sounds like your issue my money is on your Orifice tube being clogged. And if this is the case you'll need to replace a lot of parts.

From my research this is called the Ford AC black death. And it is caused by seals in your compressor going bad and sending these flacks all through the system. Replace just your compressor and this stuff is still in the lines. clean the lines with Alcohol or some other solvent will not purge it adequately from what I read. Hope this is not the case for you but its what I would check before you spend the cash to refill your system.

 

[JohnnyS]

Hi There,
After it was recharged, I drove it for 1 hour here and there, and the aircon worked fine throughout...Does it mean that I don't have the black death?

 

[wicsmith1997]

I would lean toward no unless your shop replaced the orifice tube. What exactly is the problem your experiencing? I jumped to Orifice thought when you said it wasn't the clutch because that was my first thought with my system before discovering my clogged Orifice tube.

 

[JohnnyS]

Oh i see.
My AC all of sudden stopped working (the AC clutch didn't engage), so I checked the fuse and electric current to the clutch and they were ok.
ANd the technician checked the freon level and it was empty.
Since we didn't have time, i had them put freon (recharge), and my AC started to work again. Nothing was replaced.

So I am wondering if people normally put new freon in after a few years or so becuae it somehow evaporates or whatever, or if I definitely have a leak...

 

[wicsmith1997]

I could be wrong but I don't think a System is suppose to loose any freon unless a leak. You'll need to have shop pump your system to create a vacuum and then add the freon. I'm sure they know that though. But you'll not get the proper fill till that's done.

 

[JohnnyS]

They did exactly that to refill.

I am just wondering if it is normal to refill freon every few years...

 

[wicsmith1997]

Knock on wood. I've never had the freon refilled or replaced on my 1994 Mazda B2300 200k+ miles.

 

[Goochwarmer]

Not normal to recharge every few years, you may have a pinhole leak that will take years to lose the freon. Happens with older vehicles alot, get it recharged and it starts to lose freon and efficiancy...could range from two days to two years on a recharge.

 

[JohnnyS]

Is it ok to keep on changing freon without finding out the root cause of the problem? Am not so keen on paying for that evaporator (which the mech "think" is the problem) and labor...

 

[ncranchero]

If it's a professional shop that repairs A/C then they're bound to have a leak detector of one sort or another so this "think" should be a "know"......

 

[Clusterpup]

You probably have a very small leak, maybe that charge will last you another few years or perhaps the leak will get worse over time. It isn't normal to have to recharge the system, it isn't supposed to leak at all. I would wait and see.

 

[ncranchero]

The spring-loc fittings Ford uses are not one of their better ideas. They are prone to leaking and that's probably where you'll eventually find yours is.