I need help with the AC on my girls teg. She told me that it started blowing hot air yesterday, so I figured it just needed some freon. Well today I have her start up the car and turn on the AC to see for my self. I heard the Compressor kick in, but it was blowing hot air. So I let it run for about 5 minutes, and then I heard a loud pop, and a cloud of mist came out from underneath the car and into the vents of the car. I popped the hood and found the AC hose busted and was spraying freon. My question is, what could have caused this? Do AC systems get clogged? Here's a picture of it:

 

Anybody?

 

you most likely have a bad drier reciever....only because the drier is a filter for your AC system.....i would start with that and then look through the lines

 

Where is that located? Thanks.

 

Does anybody know where the drier receiver is located?

 

Silver colored long aluminum canister usually right below washer reservoir. two metal tubes coming out of top. 1 to compressor. 1 to condenser. you have to take off fittings first 22 or23 mm and 25 or 27 at condensor.
System should be evacuated by a pro first.
HTH

 

So I can't do any of this myself? How much do they charge to replace that part? Thanks.

 

Just get a new hose and see if that fixes it. I just had to replace that hose because it had a bad leak in it.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by DSayavan &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">So I can't do any of this myself? How much do they charge to replace that part? Thanks.</TD></TR></TABLE>
You CAN do it yourself after a shop evacuates the system for you.
The shop by my house charged me $7.00 to evacuate.
Some will do it for free.
New reviever/dryer is $75.00 - $100.00
If you have 134a just go to Pep Boys and buy a refill kit and 2 cans of 134a, recharge it yourself.

 

And after I have them evacuate it, and take off the drier receiver, how do I tell if it is bad? Thanks for you help.

 

I am not an A/C expert so I CAN"T tell if it's bad by sight. I would take the word of someone I trust, who knows A/C systems, though. And then you are on your own, Replace it and hope it fixes the problem.
That's what I'm doing right now.

 

So I might as well just take it to a shop then, huh? Because they'll probably charge me to take all of that apart and find out if its bad. I'll swing by a shop tommorrow and have them check it out. Thanks 4crx4me.

 

No problemo, mang

 

You should evacuate the system, but you dont HAVE to. Considering it has just been opened it you do this soon it shouldnt matter. I am not recommending you do, I am just simply stating in some cases its possible. My system was off for awhile and I installed everything on a saturday afternoon. Well I have no patience, shops were not open till monday. So I charged the system without evacuating it, and it works fine. Receiver dryer is an aluminum canister located in front of the drivers side tire bolted from the inside of the engine compartment (behind your headlight).

Good luck!

 

Does it make a difference if the system hasn't been running in a while? I just put the AC belt on a week ago because the previous owner cut if for more power. How do shops test the drier receiver to see if its bad? Thanks.

 

Does anybody else have any insight on this problem?

 

Do you have another question?
Or you'd just like more opinions?

 

Just wondering if there is anything that could have clogged the drier receiver. And once I get it off, how do I test it? Thanks agian.

 

**UPDATE**
I went to the AC shop and they said it could be 1 of 2 things. 1)They said that the Fan could have went out, and that it overheated and blew the hose. OR 2) That the drier receiver has a clog in it. The guy said either way, I have to replace the drier receiver now because the system has been opened. Is this true, or can I reuse the same one if it's good? Also, he said there's no way of testing to see if the fan works until he replaces the drier receiver and hose, then he can test it. I thought that you could jump something on the AC system to make the fan come on? I just want to make sure that this guy isn't trying to screw me over. He quoted $300 for the drier receiver and $300 for a new fan. Either way I'll be spending atleast $300, if not $600. Any help would be apprecitated.

 

Well, now that the system has been opened. That DOES change things.
Yes according to the Helms if the system has been opened for more
than 1 or 2 days the reciecver/ dryer DOES GO BAD THAT QUICKLY.
The way it goes bad is. There is a dessicant bag inside it.
A "dessicant" is a material that absorbs moisture in the atmosphere.
Like the little tube of silica gel that comes in "new" camera boxes.
Anyway, I digress. The bag becomes saturated and can no longer absorb
any more moisture , hence becoming clogged and useless. There is no way to identify it by eye, and no definitive way to test it. Replace it and see if the new one fixes your problem.
This is part of the reason you need a further evacuation. AFTER re-install.
You really NEED a helms, there are too many small things to cover here.
Evacuating the system serves more than one purpose.
It removes excess moisture from system, which harms reciever/dryer.
It gives the system a negative pressure, that it needs to run right.
And it shows all components are hookd up correctly.

And your repairman seems to be truthful. You cannot test the system while it is open to the atmosphere. there are safety switches built into the A/C system so that if the temp/and or pressure increase or decrease rapidly these switches shut the A/C system down, to prevent major damage to car and/or a/c. And if it got to the point of blowing open a hose, one or all of those switches ARE NOT working correctly.
HTH


Modified by 4crx4me at 3:36 PM 7/21/2003

 

Thanks agian 4crx4me, I've got a Helms manual in the mail. So after I swap out the receiver/dryer, and replace the blown hose, it should be easy for them to find out which switch is bad? If that's the case, I'll swap out the receiver/dryer and line myself and let them do the rest. Agian, thanks for your help!

 

Helms can fiddle with my nuts!! hahaha JK Its true you should replace your reciever dryer, I was broke and desperate for cold air. So I tryed my luck. My reciever dryer was off my car for atleast 6 months. Everything was off, lines/condensor/compressor... damn people trying to get power by removing luxuries hahaa. Well I installed all the old stuff, recharged it (without evacuating the system) and by golly, I am a lucky fawk. It works great till this day, I reinstalled it over a month ago and use it daily.

Good luck with your install of the reciever dryer.