97 850 - Sears guy now says too old for AC recharge

[xHeart]

Our 97' 854 is one reliable daily driver.

Last summer, a DIY effort of filling up with Freon took 2 cans, it kick started the compressor. But the joy lasted few weeks. The cold air will come and go. I then, decided to check-in with local SEARS last September. The recharge was done, but then again cooling did not last past few days. Cold air will come and go.

A follow up visit yesterday with SEARS ended with no direction. The technician did not remember/recorded if the dye was added or not, even if they did, the dye may have just evaporated during cold temps. WHAT?

SEARS said it will add Freon to test, then came back with: 1) car is too old for recharge; 2) it is not equipped with high port for proper recharge procedure.

Never a dull moment. Any direction?

[chrafael]

Dye doesn't evaporate. It will stay in the system until it's cleaned out. You've got a leak somewhere. Look for oil around the entire system, especially around the compressor. Have the leaks fixed then get an experienced mechanic to flush, check the oil level, vacuum and refill the system.

[erikv11]

By far and away the most likely place for leaks is in the evaporator core, you basically confirm this by looking around but not finding the dye anywhere. Because it is all inside the core containment, buried in the dash.

[kahl]

I would recharge the system with dye. Then look for leaks as the system bleeds down. On one of the 2000 V70s the leaks were located at the front of the car. The A/C hoses going to the condenser were leaking past the "O" ring due to corosion damaging the fitting on the condenser side. We are keeping this car for several more years so I replaced the hoses from pump to condesor, condenser to dryer, new dryer. So far the A/C has lasted these past 5 weeks.

[dosbricks]

No such thing as too old to recharge. You will just need to find the leak and fix it--no small chore if it's the evaporator core.

[Klausc]

To old for a charge is a lie. The 850's were known for evaporator leaks, about 8-10 hours of labor to replace. But add dye, which does not evaporate or wash off with water. Check for a leak at the schrader valve where you add R134a, the rubber seal will eventually dry out.

If you decide to R&R the evaporator, there are some nice write-ups with pictures. You will need PAG oil.

Have you checked the clutch on the compressor? If the gap is too large, it will not engage when hot. Search for 'bread clip'

[abscate]

You can also pop out the climate control blower fan and have a peek at the Evaporator without taking the dash out - even better if you look with a borescope.

[Clemens]

Are you sure it's leaking and not the clutch gap? Alit of mechanics interpret this wrong. Let alone the sears boys who claim it is too old...

[Ozark Lee]

The high pressure port is handy but not necessary. Anything with pressures is a bit of a "by the seat of the pants" charging method since the pressures are totally temperature dependent. A shop that does A/C work professionally should always evacuate and then recharge the system based on refrigerant weight. The weight is a constant and is not temperature dependent and, as such, it is always an accurate method.

The borescope method that Steve described is a good one to look at the evaporator core but I have used the UV light (the little LED UV flashlights that come with the leak detection kits) and a "mirror on a stick" to look back at the core with the blower removed. The UV light along with the amber glasses makes the dye light up like a Christmas tree.

One of the most common leaks I have had is actually the toughest to detect and that is at the schrader valve on the low pressure port. It is tough to find because there is naturally dye in that area since that is where it is added in the first place.

...Lee