I need to replace/repair the AC compressor I my '99 Chevy Blazer and want to clear the system the “right way”. I thought someone at the space had a unit they’d bring up occasionally, but I don’t remember their name.
My other option is is take it to a shop to empty the system, then repair/replace the leaking compressor. If I can get the shop to put back the captured/filtered refrigerant, great. If not, I’ll draw a vacuum and fill it myself.
Thoughts? Know any shops that might work with me?
I’d also like to have a reclamation system.
I don’t think you can put the refrigerant back in the system. Doesn’t it go to a recycler, who takes all the crud out of it and gets it back to a usable state?
I bought a case of R-134a off of Amazon for less than the cost of 3 cans at the local parts store. Free shipping, too.
In the back of my mind I seem to remember that you have to have a license to evacuate an A/C system. I could totally be wrong.
@bgangwere, I’m sure you do…if you are following the rules…and I’m trying to follow the rules.
The person I’m thinking of from several months ago had his license and the recovery machine. I don’t remember if he could put back what I take out, or just recover it for proper disposal.
I’m no expert, but I can certainly turn the right wrenches and read the right gauges. I really just want to get it FIXED once and for all. This Blazer has had NO AC for the last 3 years and was “repaired” every 2 years before that. I need AC and want to do it right, once and for all. I just don’t want to spend $700-$1400 for a good shop to turn wrenches and read gauges.
Hopefully the person I’m thinking of…or someone else with the right licensing/equipment will see this. I’m happy to work around their schedule, but I’d like to work on this before the rest of the gas leaks out and the AC stops doing anything again.
Most systems used by shops recycle the refrigerant by running it through a filter/dryer system to remove all the crud and then put it back in. Others just offload it to be shipped out for recycling. So it depends.
It’s been a few years, but no license is required for R134a for anything. R12 requires a license to purchase (as do some other refrigerants used for other heat exchanger systems e.g. home a/c.)
EDIT
Here’s an FAQ from the EPA.
Turns out, you do have to have a license “to service MVAC R12 or R134a” systems.
Not sure what that means…
Obviously, it’s stated repeatedly that it is illegal to knowingly vent any refrigerant or refrigerant substitute during servicing, regardless of your status as professional or ordinary person.
Have you actually put a gage on it and know you have anything in the system? You could be worried about nothing if it is empty already…
It’s still cooling, just not as great as it did a few weeks ago when I had it serviced. All the shop did was replace some incorrect sized o-rings they found, flush the system, then pressure test and then refill it. It blew ice cold until about a week ago.
They added uv dye and I couldn’t find any issues for a while, but over the last week I thought it felt like it wasn’t cooling as well. I got out the black light and I can see uv dye seeping from the front and maybe middle seals on the compressor.
I could just add more refrigerant to keep topping it off, but that’s a bandaid. I just want it fixed.
Oh wow! I love it when the uv dye does its job so clearly! Sorry I can’t be helpful. Looks like you need a licensed tech and evacuation station to stay completely above board. Which is, of course, right where you started. …
Hello again, Square One, old nemesis…
I’d have it evacuated by a shop and then replace the compressor yourself. Make sure they tell you how much PAG oil the recovery process took with it so you can put that much back in.
I used dry Argon to pressure test mine after component replacement, but the standard is Nitrogen since it is cheaper.
[Edit: replace the accumulator at the same time if the system has been open to the atmosphere for a while. Cheaper to replace more components at one shot than to have to reopen the system later]
Sound advice with one adjustment: play it safe and replace the accumulator every time; that “open to the atmosphere” phrase can be tricky, and the truth is the accumulator is the system’s filter, so all the “crud” is in there even if the system’s never been open. If you could somehow put the vehicle into a vacuum, evacuate the refrigerant, pull the compressor, put the resealed unit back in, all without exposing the system to atmosphere, the accumulator should still be replaced because of the system filth it may have absorbed during its tenure.
Good advice. “I’ll buy that for a $1!”
I’ll also add that I replaced my condenser when changing out a seized pump; everything I’ve watched on the YouTubes say that you can’t flush all the metal bits lodged in the tiny tubes so you’re just setting yourself up for another failure if you don’t replace it.
Well, a seized compressor is different than a leaking compressor…
Also, the expansion valve, or orifice tube/filter should be replaced if any debris is suspected (bursted desiccant bag, grenaded compressor, etc.) and we always did them along with the dryer/accumulator.
Having said all that, I HAVE, on my own stuff, flushed condensers and evaporators which worked fine afterwards for years and re-used cleaned up expansion valves to the same effect. But I was able to swap those out in less than an hour in those days and “freon” cost me nothing, so I can’t recommend it for others these days…
EDIT
Turns out, by virtue of once having been ASE Licensed for “Refrigerant Recovery and Recycling” which at the time allowed the purchase of R12, I MAY be licensed in the eyes of the EPA. I’ll have to dig up my license and see.
Buut…
YOU, too, could be licensed for only $19 and a short quiz: http://www.ase.com/Tests/cfc.aspx
None of that gets the machine, though…
I thought about recovery of 134a while replacing my compressor. The simplest method I think is just condensing it into a tank, preferably an empty 134a tank. The boiling point of 134a is about -26C. Dry ice sublimes at -78C, and a mixture of ice and calcium chloride can achieve -40C. Connect your hoses to the low pressure side, connect to tank, submerse in whichever coolant you choose, and wait for the lowest pressure on the gauge. I like the calcium chloride bath because one can recover, and reuse most of the calcium chloride by evaporation.
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