Hey everyone ive got another a/c situation for ya. The compressor clutch was not engaging so i checked the fuse--it was fine. Then i was told that the clutch will not engage if the freon level is to low so i recharged it and now the clutch kicks in and out but no cold air, any suggestions? The dealer said there might be air in the system and they were gonna charge me $60 dollars to remove and put new freon in. Should i have them do this? Also the truck blows extremely warm in the winter but there is no adjustment its either hot or cold. I think it needs a new blender valve. Anybody whos put one in, do you have any advice?

Thanks

 

How much freon did you put in? may still be low.

 

I bought a gauge and charged it to the top of the recommended level but i should check it again to see

 

Dave, unless you have a good gauge set, don't waste your time with that cheap filler gauges.

Are your lines going to the drier sweating?

 

Hey pat i ran the ac for a while and checked the drier lines and they are warm. Another thing that I did notice is when checking the pressure at the low side port the pressure would go from the low side of the gauge to the normal part of the gauge in about five seconds then as soon as it did that it would lose pressure then the clutch would kick back in and do it over again. Any thougts of what this could be?

 

Sure sounds like your still low on freon...The fast cycling is a indication the charge is low....What I found is on our diesel trucks the AC compressor engages and stays engaged for a very long period of time, due to a lower RPM of a diesel truck..

 

Sounds like it is still low to me. Put another can in, when you see it sweat, stop and see what the air temperature is.

 

Yup you guys were right i added another can of fluid and the clutch is cycling normal and it blows cold! Yeah those gauges are crap i just didnt add enough, but i figure its better to go a little at a time than to overfill it. Ill have to see now if it stays charged or if I have a leak...

Thanks for the help guys!

 

Be prepared to either rip you dash out or keep adding a can every so often...... I would almost bet a case your Evap. is like our Evaps....

 

alright man, well see what happens... ive always wanted to see whats behind the dash

 

"ive always wanted to see whats behind the dash"

OK. You spend a day replacing that evap core and then come back here and verify that statement. You'll be cussing Dodge before the day is over. Take a tip from someone who has seen the other side of the dash. Have anew heater core on hand. By the time you get eyes on both of them, you will have allready had enuff.

BTW it'll cost you 6-800 for a shop to replace the evap. Another 100 to do the heater while they are in there. Do some reading up. You can do it yourself. Just take time, replace everything, and dont throw any wrenches out into the field. You'll need them later and have to go get them.

Oh. Get some CLOSE CELL foam on hand too. The foam seal around the evap will tear up and the new one won't come with any. Dont used open cell. it'll hold water and stink.

I actully replaced my dash before my evap leaked so i knew what it took to get in and out of there so I had mine tore down and back on the road in about 3 hours.

 

Oh yea. Another test for bad evap. if anyone that ever rides with you comments that your ac doesnt sem to blow as much as theirs, they are probably right. The evap will have a film of oil on it and collect dirt. Mine was about 95% blocked. I'm not sure how any air was blowing out at all.

Alos, replace your drier too. Pour in one once of oil for each, so two ounces total of you do the drier. Pour it into the evap and put the plastic caps back on it.

You'll also need a standard set of ac line tools. Look in the help section of any auto parts store. it's a split plastic ring set. Slips up into thehose connection under a spring and lets the two simply fall apart. Works great if you got them. All but impossible to get apart with out them.

 

Thanks 1-2-3 for the info. That was my lame attempt to be sarcastic. I have already budgeted in the cost for at least one broken shop window from the pair of pliers that are sure to go flying at it at some point during the installation. Also, I noticed that the blower motor sounded strong, but not much air is coming out, good to know because hopefully the new evaporator will take care of it. Hey 1-2-3 do you have a recommendation on where to get the replacement parts. Im gettin ready to go back to college and funds are tight so if i get the chance i am gonna research and study up and try to do this myself. i couldnt stomach handing over 800 bucks to a mechanic to do the job that i could've done, even if it is extremely frustrating. I have a decent farm to work in ill try and get ahold of the right tools and well see what happens.

 

I got all my parts from an O'Riley. It just so happened that I went in there with a friend who was with me that needed to drop off a spring compressor he borrowed. it was a new store and they had a box on the counter and encouraged us to put our names in for a drawing. I actually made a comment to the guy that I never win anything in those so I'll pass. he talked me into it. About a month later, I got a call from a corporate lady that I won the grand prize which was a $500 O'Riley card. I used that to get about $350 in parts and some other fun stuff.

So that's where I got all my parts for that project.

You can get a simple vacuum pump and gauges from a Harbor Freight. The gauges will be marked metric but a simple chart printed and kept in the box will overcome that.

 

I also replaced my evaporator and heater core about a month ago...Our trucks have bad evaporators and are common to go bad...