cool air on driver side, warm to cool on passenger side

[tjm]

Ordered a new denso compressor, and mopar fan clutch. anyone have any opinions on a good condensor?

 

[Tuesdak]

I could only vacuum down the system to 27.5 in of Hg over a 1 hr period. In 30 minutes I lost 2-4 inches of mercury.

So it's not holding a vacuum? Leak indicated, but, this has always been a grey area as I notice refrigerant that's dissolved in the oil change the vacuum reading after I shut the pump off. When in doubt vacuum it longer. What's an hour to you vs. the "in a hurry shop" that does only 15 min. I am used to GM systems that use a pressure switch. Dodge RAM systems use a temp probe. The difference being when running low on refrigerant the low side on Dodge RAM can be in a vacuum and any leaks will allow moisture in the system. You could be boiling moisture out of the system with the vacuum pump and that takes time.

Evaporator leaks were said to be common. Hard to find. The sniffer goes in the condensate drain after sitting in a closed garage windows down. R134a is heavier than air. The blower dilutes all but massive leaks in the vents to a sniffer. Sometimes you can see dye in the drain. I would pull the compressor clutch off and inspect the shaft seal for oil to help verify you found the leak.

Generally a A/C leak will have an oil stain around it. The charging valves are famous for leaking esp. after service. I automatically replace both every single time I touch an A/C system.

Trade the ECT for FAN-PWM % on your display. (The temp gauge on the dash if it moves: back out of the throttle.) Is the ECM calling for 100% PWM on the fan trying to get the damn thing up to speed from A/C high side pressure? That info will tell you. I set the box to alarm at 400psig and immediately would cut the HVAC blower speed down.

How old is your fan clutch? IMO the RPM around 300 indicates an old clutch that is going to take a long time to lock in and get up to speed.

Generally on startup one wants the highest fan speed setting. Interior is hot, you are hot, it's hot out... However if the engine fan isn't over 1K RPM at idle or below ~45 MPH you are going to watch the A/C high side spike over 400 psig. Start the fan speed on a lower setting until the PWM on the fan is less than a solid 100% or the fan is spinning over 1K RPM at idle. Recall the fan pulley is smaller than the crank pulley so the fan can spin faster than the engine RPM. The PWM on my 2003 was either 100% or 0% and when it reached the desired fan RPM it would start changing from 100 to 0 then 100% again. (I recall: No 40% etc. just reads like on/off.)

I would use a new MOPAR condenser and have it coated. Expensive but worth it.

https://www.turbodieselregister.com...thermal-dispersant-on-an-ac-condenser.264486/

 

[tjm]

So it's not holding a vacuum? Leak indicated, but, this has always been a grey area as I notice refrigerant that's dissolved in the oil change the vacuum reading after I shut the pump off. When in doubt vacuum it longer. What's an hour to you vs. the "in a hurry shop" that does only 15 min. I am used to GM systems that use a pressure switch. Dodge RAM systems use a temp probe. The difference being when running low on refrigerant the low side on Dodge RAM can be in a vacuum and any leaks will allow moisture in the system. You could be boiling moisture out of the system with the vacuum pump and that takes time.

Evaporator leaks were said to be common. Hard to find. The sniffer goes in the condensate drain after sitting in a closed garage windows down. R134a is heavier than air. The blower dilutes all but massive leaks in the vents to a sniffer. Sometimes you can see dye in the drain. I would pull the compressor clutch off and inspect the shaft seal for oil to help verify you found the leak.

Generally a A/C leak will have an oil stain around it. The charging valves are famous for leaking esp. after service. I automatically replace both every single time I touch an A/C system.

Trade the ECT for FAN-PWM % on your display. (The temp gauge on the dash if it moves: back out of the throttle.) Is the ECM calling for 100% PWM on the fan trying to get the damn thing up to speed from A/C high side pressure? That info will tell you. I set the box to alarm at 400psig and immediately would cut the HVAC blower speed down.

How old is your fan clutch? IMO the RPM around 300 indicates an old clutch that is going to take a long time to lock in and get up to speed.

Generally on startup one wants the highest fan speed setting. Interior is hot, you are hot, it's hot out... However if the engine fan isn't over 1K RPM at idle or below ~45 MPH you are going to watch the A/C high side spike over 400 psig. Start the fan speed on a lower setting until the PWM on the fan is less than a solid 100% or the fan is spinning over 1K RPM at idle. Recall the fan pulley is smaller than the crank pulley so the fan can spin faster than the engine RPM. The PWM on my 2003 was either 100% or 0% and when it reached the desired fan RPM it would start changing from 100 to 0 then 100% again. (I recall: No 40% etc. just reads like on/off.)

I would use a new MOPAR condenser and have it coated. Expensive but worth it.

https://www.turbodieselregister.com...thermal-dispersant-on-an-ac-condenser.264486/

thanks @Tuesdak. Your threads on this topic are very insightful. I've been experiencing the same problems as you with the high pressure. So I started the engine with AC off, fan low, turn on AC and watch the pressure, seems to help but my Fan Clutch is 18 years old so have to watch the AC pressure for about 5 minutes or get the truck moving.

Clutch is 18 years old. so I have a new one ($500) ready to install. Mopar condensers are obsolete so ordered a GPD replacement from rock auto. Denso AC compressor is in the shop (New Mopar is $600+!). I have all new lines except the liquid line from the condenser to the orifiace tube (back ordered with no date in sight). Im also going to replace my idler tensioner, pully and belt (if needed) while I'm in there. I'll replace the high side shrader as well.

Gonna do all of this next week as I'm off and have the time to do it.

On a side not I happened to notice some moisture on the charging port form my 2014 Jeep WK2. having all the equipment to evacuate, vacuum, weigh, and recharge came in pretty handy.

Noted on the FAN RPM % will change that soon as theres a good chance I'm going to go pick up some hay this weekend.

Tim

 

[tjm]

Well she's all fixed. less than 1 degree delta between driver and passenger.

I vacuumed everything down to 29 bar of Hg for 2 hours, left it alone over night and in the morning the dial hadn't moved. so it was the compressor. change the compressor, change the accumulator. so ended up replacing the entire AC system except the liquid line from the condenser to the orifice tube. I replaced the "new" oriface tube the shop put in because I noticed they crimped it in a few places to make it line up with the evaporator input. Should have to do that and they also didn't tuck it into the clip that keeps it in place so it doesn't vibrate against the transmission stick.

Replaced fan clutch, tensioner, pulley and belt while in there as well.

its about 93 out, at idle, worst case ac line pressure so far has been 386 psi.

I think I could of gotten away with just a fan clutch, accumulator and compressor. But since I was tearing it apart opted for an overhaul. I did flush the one remaining line with AC flush - it came out clean.

The one thing I'm not entirely confident about is the condenser. I bought this from rock auto https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.php?pk=4214790&cc=1430810&pt=6708&jsn=1

came in a silver (zinc) finish. I had to thin the mounting flanges as they were about twice as thick as the original mopar flange. The Moapr version seemed more heavy duty compared to this one.

when re-assembling I stripped a couple of bolts as described here :
https://www.turbodieselregister.com/threads/aluminum-fan-shroud-bolt-hole-on-engine.273988/


Thanks again to all who provided me with such valuable information. Much appreciated.