Hi Group,
My wife's car has a slow A/C leak. We've had it at the dealer 3 times over
the past 5 years and they keep telling us that it's fixed, yet every spring
I have to recharge the system.
She just purchased 2 cans of R134A and one of them says "With Leak Sealer".
I'm checking with you experts to see if anyone has ever used this.
Is it safe?
Thanks,
Dave
'72 mach1
Jim Warman - 27 May 2007 01:11 GMT
The refrigerant with leak sealer is probably safe for use in your car....
however, most shops will refuse to hook their expensive AC recovery machine
to a system containing sealer. If the leak stop doesn't work as advertised,
you may be left with no shop that will work on the system...
I have had some success with slow leaks by pressurizing the system to 100
PSI or so using nitrogen and using soapy water to leak test the joints...
This is, of course after a very close inspection.... the refrigerant will
often carry minute amounts of oil with it and can sometimes act as a
tattletale...
> Hi Group,
>
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>
> '72 mach1
harry - 27 May 2007 04:54 GMT
just have them put some dye in with some oil, it will show up fast.
this is what is normally done with slow leak.
check with UV lite, after running a while
hope you are putting in oil too if you doing it yourself, cause that is
leaking out too.
the oil gets blown around through the system with the freon
Good luck.
> The refrigerant with leak sealer is probably safe for use in your car....
> however, most shops will refuse to hook their expensive AC recovery
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>>
>> '72 mach1
vince garcia - 27 May 2007 12:27 GMT
> Hi Group,
>
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>
> '72 mach1
I don't know if new cars work the same as the old so far as refrigerent
and compressors go, but one handy trick for those from the muscle car
era is to use the AC a little bit every month, even in winter
which--according to one mechanic I talked to on it--helps to keep the
refrigerent from leaking out. (I'm guessing it helps keep the seals
tight? Anyway, that was his trick, which he claimed worked well on his
vehicles.)
Kruse - 27 May 2007 17:26 GMT
one handy trick for those from the muscle car
> era is to use the AC a little bit every month, even in winter
> which--according to one mechanic I talked to on it--helps to keep the
> refrigerent from leaking out. (I'm guessing it helps keep the seals
> tight? Anyway, that was his trick, which he claimed worked well on his
> vehicles.)
Starting in the late 60's and early 70's, (almost 40 years ago) car
companies hooked the AC compressor to run every time you use the
defroster, with a few exceptions of course. It takes the moisture out
air so the windows don't fog up. I guess if you own a muscle car built
before that it's a little something extra to remember.
My Name Is Nobody - 27 May 2007 22:30 GMT
> Hi Group,
>
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>
> '72 mach1
The correct way for you to check this is to have them draw down a vacuum and
then lock it down and hold it. Since you have been having this recurring
problem, I would want to see ZERO pressure rise in 30-60 minutes. If it
can't achieve that there is a leak. Not a little rise, ZERO rise in
pressure, if there is a little rise, you have a little leak, and next year
you will need another recharge. often the tell tale signs of the connection
with the leak is the one with the gunk build-up around it.
It really is not rocket science, I have mixed and matched many different
years air-condition components and hoses on the same cars, (92 serpentine
fuel injected system into an 82 body) and sealed them all together with many
years of leak free service. I have been blessed to have access to a nice
dual recovery /recycle/deep vacuum/charge testing machine.
If there is a leak, the only true fix is to locate the leak and replace the
offending seal.