Newbie with AC Problem

[Pelallito]

Hi,
I am completely ignorent about A/C, please help!
My 98 4 door X LTD decided to get even with me. I have not given it the TLC that I should have, and it is letting me know it.
The AC stopped working. I get warm air through the vents In regular and max A/C. If I turn the thermostat it gets hotter.
I bought stopleak and 134, thinking that I was low in freon. But when I tried to install the stopleak, the gauge jumped to 90 PSI. I did have it on the low pressure side. None of the stopleak went into the system.
I called and went to the auto parts were I got the 134. The manager suggested it might be the accumulator or some sort of filter that resides in one of the lines. He could not get any information from his system to be able to tell me if my X had one of those filters from the factory.
Can anybody help me pinpoint my problem, and how to fix it? I really would appreciate it. It is pretty warm here in Miami right now and only going to get worse.
Thanks for the help.
Fred

 

[Pelallito]

I have continued to read a lot of threads on this site and have come to the conclussion that my compressor has gone bad. The cluth doesn't want to engage unless I tap it with a piece of wood. When it is turning, I still don't get cold air out of the vents.
Thanks to all that have posted on this site in the past and those that read my question.
Regards,
Fred

 

[TheJackal]

When you said the pressure jumped to 90 PSI, what was the pressure before? 90 PSI is way too high, and the compressor clutch won't engage unless the pressure is in the lower 30s or so.

If the orifice tube becomes plugged, it can cause a problem like this. You'll need to take it somewhere for service, though, because the system will need to be evacuated.

Don't put stop leak in your system A/C guys hate it.

 

[Pelallito]

thejackal,
Thanks for the advice on the stopleak. I did not know the AC guys don't like it. It was recommended to me when I asked whether it would be a good idea to put some oil in what I then thought was a low freon condition. I was told it contained oil, some freon, stopleak and leak detector all in one.
When I first got the clutch turning, I reconnected the gauge to the low pressure side and would have sworn I read about 25 to 30 PSI. Then the next time I looked it was over 80 and closer to 90 PSI.
One thing that I did not like was the fact that when the clutch started turning, it made a grindding noise. I sprayed a litttle penetrating oil in the area and the noise subsided.
I will find someone to check it out.
Thanks again for your help.
Regards,
Fred

 

[Glacier991]

remember refrigerant has a pressure vs. temperature relationship, which is why it works.

for 134, it is pretty close to 1:1 at normal comfort temperatures. In a system that is not running, the pressure wil be equalized, and the "low" side and the "high" side will read the same - and the pressure will be very close to the temperature when you are checking.... eg if it is 85 degrees, the pressure will be close to that. So checking a non running system with a "tire pressure gauge" type of checker will make a newb think his system is over full.... You can only check the system charge reliably with the system running.