Air Conditioning Problems In An Older Car: Search For & Repair Leak, Or Just Add Refrigerant?
Last June we bought a '98 Subaru Outback. The AC was adequate for the Arizona desert, tho definitely not as cold as our newer car. We quit using the AC probably in December (that's desert life). Didn't turn it on again until a couple of weeks ago. No cooling at all. Being automotivally challenged, I'm always afraid of getting ripped off at repair shops. My guess is we have a slow leak somewhere. Don't want to put much money into a car this old, but it runs great & I'd like to keep it a couple more years. I actually don't like the frigid AC system of a new car. My question is, should I go to the shop & just have them recharge the AC, or is it worthwhile to have them look for a leak & repair it?
Answer:
All vehicles since 1994 use R-134A refrigerant. You need to find a shop that will add refrigerant dye to your system, and then evacuate and recharge it. Then go steam clean the engine compartment, giving extra attention to the a/c lines, compressor, condenser, and the a/c condensation drain at the bottom of the firewall below the a/c lines. This way you will have a/c again, and the next time it goes out, all they have to do is use a u/v light to pinpoint the source of the leak. Any a/c leak will bring a small amount of dye/refrigerant oil with it as it leaks. With dye in the system, the leak will glow brightly under u/v light, and since you cleaned all the components well, you can be certain that this the actual leak, as it will be fresh after the cleaning job. Most shops will charge about an hour of labor for this, max is 1.5 hours. Dye is about 25 bucks, and R-134A refrigerant is about a buck an ounce. If you are still running R-12 in the system than look out that stuff is running about 125.00 a pound, and you will need about 1 pound and a half. Now if you go to pep boys they sell a kit that you can put in yourself and it's about 40 bucks. It's the new R-134 but you have no choice but to use it. They also have a dye that you put in to check for leaks.