2nd Gen Non-Engine/Transmission Poor AC Performance, Am I Alone?

[kscheffler]

My AC needs to be on Max and full fan to be comfortable. I have complained since day one on the AC output. Dodge says that it is working fine and that the problem is make black leather interior. Do other 2001's have the same problem? I see there is a thread running in the 3rd generation forum and it appears that the 06's are worse...

 

[DVR]

i have owned four 2nd gen rams. two had leather interior. the a/c in all of them has been able to freeze you out the truck in our hot SE climate.

 

[WestTN]

My 2001 with tan leather isn't the greatest either. If the humidity is above normal I have to go to recirculate to stay cool in 90 degree weather. And my truck is white. I'm thinking about checking the blend door to see if it is closing properly. I have also had filters on mine to keep junk out almost since new.

 

[kscheffler]

The thread in the 3rd generation says that they are hitting the system with some additional coolant (refrigeration) and that is really helping. I wonder if some of us are not operating on a full charge in the coolant system?

 

[Bob Wagner]

ice chest on wheels here since day one

 

[georgej]

These things leak r-134 to the tune of about a can a year. Every year I add 1 can to the system before I head south. I add enough refrigerant to bring the temp down to 45-50 degrees(on a 80-90 degree day). The low pressure fitting is just to the left of the turbo. I'm not a HVAC guy just a cheap Dodge truck owner :-laf

 

[Nate]

My A/C is 2-70... 2 windows down and 70mph. The actual A/C sucks, as does the heat. I would probably need to pull the dash apart, but I'm not going to unless it gets real bad.

 

[litespeed]

That is total B. S.



My A/C will freeze your @ss. My truck is Black, my interior is dark Grey Leather.



Plus I live in South Florida..... It is hotter than 40 hells down here this time of year.



No A/C problems here. I just replaced the Compressor clutch (it broke). Easy fix.



AJ

 

[Regcabguy]

These things leak r-134 to the tune of about a can a year. Every year I add 1 can to the system before I head south. I add enough refrigerant to bring the temp down to 45-50 degrees(on a 80-90 degree day). The low pressure fitting is just to the left of the turbo. I'm not a HVAC guy just a cheap Dodge truck owner :-laf

I guess I'm fortunate and have never had problem one with the A/C. Never added refrigerant in my '99 CTD or my 95 Voyager van. I wish I could say that about the rest of the truck.

 

[BigPapa]

K,



When I first bought my truck, used, my A/C performance was lacking also. Bought it from a fellow in north Georgia, lots of pine trees. I pulled the blower motor off and found the blower box full of wet pine needles.



I got all I could out with my hand, be careful not to bend the fins on the evaperator, and cleaned the rest out using a piece of heater hose taped to a shop vac hose. It's small and flexible enough to get down in there.



Since then my A/C is PLENTY cool.



Scott

 

[Nyoest]

101 in the shade last week and you could hang beef in my truck!

 

[Vaughn MacKenzie]

My '98 cooled well when it was 112 on Sunday. I have a dark truck.

 

[kscheffler]

Going Back to the Dealer

I am going to print these and go back to the dealer and get this fixed. I did read the shop manual last night and at 90F ambient the "accetable" discharge temperature in the cap is 60 to 70. Which seems pretty high so I can all ready hear them telling me that 70 is within specification.

 

[Nate]

How do you pull the blower motor off?

K,



When I first bought my truck, used, my A/C performance was lacking also. Bought it from a fellow in north Georgia, lots of pine trees. I pulled the blower motor off and found the blower box full of wet pine needles.



I got all I could out with my hand, be careful not to bend the fins on the evaperator, and cleaned the rest out using a piece of heater hose taped to a shop vac hose. It's small and flexible enough to get down in there.



Since then my A/C is PLENTY cool.



Scott

 

[BigPapa]

Under the dash in the passenger floorboard. Looking up under the glove box, the round part is the bottom of the blower motor. Three screws and she's out. The one closest to the firewall can be hard to get to. I use a 6" long 1/4" extension with a u-joint and the proper socket. I cant remember what size it is.



Scott

 

[Nate]

10-4.



I had to pull the one off my Jeep a while back (98 Grand Cherokee) cause it was making a horrible noise. Ended up being a huge leaf, like 7" long that was stuck in the squirell cage. No idea how that made it all the way in there!

 

[RustyJC]

We just got home from a trip to Sevierville, TN pulling our 5th wheel. The in-cab overhead thermometer was showing an outside temperature of 106 degF at times on the run from Little Rock to Nashville. As usual, you could hang meat inside the truck cab - it will freeze you out even in Houston summertime heat and humidity. The A/C has never been serviced nor had any R-134a added.



Rusty

 

[duaneparks]

I am going to print these and go back to the dealer and get this fixed. I did read the shop manual last night and at 90F ambient the "accetable" discharge temperature in the cap is 60 to 70. Which seems pretty high so I can all ready hear them telling me that 70 is within specification.

I went through this not too long ago on mine, and the system can do better than what you are experiencing. In the Houston area during the summer (95 degrees, 90% humidity), my truck will put out 45-50 degree air at the vents according to a thermometer I have in my driver's side vent by the door, when on recirculate. It's about 50-55 degrees when not on recirc in a dark garnet red truck with tan leather.



If you get no joy with the, ahem, "dealership," head to a reputable A/C shop. Hope this helps.



Duane

 

[Extreme1]

I thought I read a while ago that too much refrigerant would cause the system to not work as well. I had mine apart a couple years ago and it didn't work too well afterwards. I recently replaced a line that my Mallory Mount chewed through, put in the specified 2# of R134a and it gets cold now.

 

[59Turbo]

Recirc MUST be used for max cooling other wise your trying to cool off hot air all the time but in recirc you keep recooling the air that's in the cab. Also with a dark leather interior it will take some time to cool everything off so don't expect it to blow 40 degrees in 10 minutes. Maybe try another dealer or independant shop and make sure the system is fully charged or just have it evacuated and recharged. If your evaporator is original and you have some miles on it, it could be partially clogged with leaves, pine needles and whatever else. Good luck