2nd Gen Non-Engine/Transmission Think I need to "top" off my A/C coolant

[JCyrbok]

After 10 years I think I may need to top off my A/C charge. It still blows cold just not as cold as it once did, LOL.



Is it as easy as getting a can of refrig with the hose/coupler attached and running it into the system? Can be that easy can it, nothing in my life is, LOl



If it is not that easy, does anyone have a link on how to do it on our trucks and what it needed?



Thanks

J-

 

[BGlidewell]

to do it right you need to know how to meter both the low and high pressure sides. You need a good set of gauges and a fair knowledge of what the readings mean. I think a lot of shops will look at it for a reasonable price.

I have gone to wallyworld (people here will warn you not to get the leak fixing blend, just the refrigerant) that has a gauge on it. You could hook that up to the low side and see if you are below the green zone which is between 30 and 45 pounds or so... adding back until you are in the middle of the green should not hurt anything...

 

[FourBarR]

Just been through a problem with mine , took it to the 5 star dealer that I have used once before about four years ago. All the A/C equipment is original so can expect problems after 13 years. They filled it and checked it for leaks,said it was good with no leaks. After 3 days it was blowing warm air . took it back and another tech found schrader valve was leaking ,fix at no charged. Four days later warm again ,went back and talked to service manager, he called in the tech and agreed to do another dye check. there were no leaks detected so
,its the evaporator. cost to replace along with new heater core,is evaporator 223. 99, heater core 178. 87,insulator 28. 47, labor 7. 6 hours 711. 36. tax 143. 09. misc. total about 1300. 00. I have no time to deal with this as it would cost me more in lost business than the cost to have them do it. All the parts are oem no chinese.

 

[SHobbs]

I went through this in 2009 when I had the evap. and heater core replaced by a dealer. I was told that a/c systems do lose a certain amount of freon over time. True or not I don't know. They did tell me that I had just over half the amount of freon I should have had. To me it is worth having someone that knows what they are doing check it out. You may not have any problems at all, until you start screwing around with it and create a problem.

 

[WestTN]

If your truck has held it's freon this long it is doing a great job.



The aftermarket freon kit gauges give both pressure readings and coler notifications of whether the system pressure is safe, doubtful or dangerous. read the instructions carefully and you can top the system up without any problems at all. I have done it many times.

 

[krtcummins]

I just replaced my heater core and recharged my A/C on my 01. Took me 4 hours to do the job. But, i was a tune up, electrical and A/C tech with Ford dealerships for 20 years. My A/C was not as cold as it used to be is the reason I recharged it.



To do it RIGHT, you need to evacuate the system down to 30" of vacuum and then recharge. My 01 states 1. 8 pounds of freon on the sticker. I put two pounds in. I thought the A/C was cold before, you should feel it now! If you don't know what you are doing, you will be money ahead if you have a shop evacuate and recharge your system.



Yes automotive A/C systems loose freon over time. It leaks past the front seal on the A/C compressor. It is normal. Good luck!

 

[surfbeetle]

I just did mine tonite with one of those cans with the trigger and guage on it. My system has only been recharged once about 2 or 3 years ago and I had a shop do it. But now, one of the springs on the AC clutch is broke and I have 206,000 miles so I figure this wouldn't be so bad if it makes it colder for a while and it did. I am going to need a new compressor and clutch soon so it was worth a shot.

 

[firefighter_2000]

Radiator

Before you go to adding refrigerant, you might want to consider cleaning the radiator. Have you ever completely removed & cleaned the radiator? The trucks with the blow by tubes on the front are notorious for having clogged up radiators. I completely removed my radiator, intercooler, and cleaned out the condenser up front too. After I cleaned & refilled the cooling system, my A/C was close to twenty degrees cooler coming out the vents. It made quite a difference. Try that before you add any refrigerant. Im sure there are some others here who've had similar experiences. My truck is a 99... Cools great... Never had an ounce of refrigerant added.

Craig

 

[HHhuntitall]

I'm always working on these ranch trucks, and you should see the crap coming out of the radiators!! They don't get any attention until they start to run hot or the A/C quits!! I washed one out earlier this week for an hour, and once it dried, I picked it up, bumped it on the concrete, and it STILL had crap coming out of it!! You can imagine what the intercooler and condensor look like!! I spent another hour washing on them. The truck cools like new now, though!! I put a new compressor on it 6 years ago, fully recovering the system and recharging it, and it hasn't been touched since. The clutch fan is locked up on it, too, and I accidentally forgot to put a new one on. It'll keep the hands from burning it up, I hope. And yes, it has a screen in front of it..... two, in fact. Those little grass seeds and dust just filter in over time..... I love it when the Ranch Foreman comes driving up with the window down, A/C on, complaining about how it won't cool..... roll the flippin' window up, you genius!!!

 

[krtcummins]

Wow! Yea I bet ranch trucks are used and abused big time. Our trucks out here in CA are like city trucks in comparison. Even though I live in a very rural high desert area. My nearest neighbor is 1/2 mile away. I worked on some fleet truck accounts in my time and they were a dirty ***** to work on. But ranch trucks,,, do you have an out side shower to clean up in after working on them??

 

[HHhuntitall]

Wow! Yea I bet ranch trucks are used and abused big time. Our trucks out here in CA are like city trucks in comparison. Even though I live in a very rural high desert area. My nearest neighbor is 1/2 mile away. I worked on some fleet truck accounts in my time and they were a dirty ***** to work on. But ranch trucks,,, do you have an out side shower to clean up in after working on them??

Yep. Grab a handful of Gojo, hang a garden hose in a tree and get busy. I keep a bucket by the back door to soak my clothes in carpet cleaner. The worst thing about these trucks are the grass burrs!! They'll just be packed inside the frame!! If you look at my pic gallery, you can see a pic of the underside of one of my '98s. It looks polished, 'cause it is!! All the brush we drive through. You can wash on these babies for hours, but you'll never get all the burrs out from under 'em. And when you stick you hand inside the frame or grab the top of the frame to push a wrench..... #@$%! Keeping the A/C working is just about a full time job in itself. :-laf Were pretty dry, so they don't rust too bad, and we just keep rebuilding the old 12 valve trucks and sending 'em on. Costs a lot less than a new one that wants to burn itself down every 30 minutes or so..... there are days, long ones, were we'll drive 150 miles and never get over 20 mph or get on a gravel road. The DPF trucks can't take that. And they'd burn down wayyyy before they did a regen!!:{

 

[JCyrbok]

Before you go to adding refrigerant, you might want to consider cleaning the radiator. Have you ever completely removed & cleaned the radiator? The trucks with the blow by tubes on the front are notorious for having clogged up radiators. I completely removed my radiator, intercooler, and cleaned out the condenser up front too. After I cleaned & refilled the cooling system, my A/C was close to twenty degrees cooler coming out the vents. It made quite a difference. Try that before you add any refrigerant. Im sure there are some others here who've had similar experiences. My truck is a 99... Cools great... Never had an ounce of refrigerant added.

Craig

Yep been there, done that, actually clean it once a year and completely remove and clean every other year. Plus lost the breather bottle and relocated the breather tube about 8 years ago.



J-

 

[The patriot]

I'm told that if you put an electric fan in the front of these, between the condenser and grill, they really blow cold air.

That's assuming everything else is GTG.

If youre all clean etc, it could probibally use a puff.

I had my ac fixed about 3 yrs back and it dont quite feel 100% this year.

It cycles a little too much, it needs some gas I believe.