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JM - 03 Jul 2006 22:21 GMT

Hi guys,

Simple question for you, I have a 99 Altima and had it into the dealer
last year or the year before to have the A/C looked at as it seemed to be
not cooling as well as it used to. They found it was about 1 lb low on
refrigerant, so they topped it up and put some u/v dye in to check for leaks
down the road. On my next visit they didn't find any leaks except a few
slight signs around the fittings that they thought might be solved by
cleaning them. I decided to hold off on that at the time, since it was late
in the season.

Anyway, yesterday I happened to unscrew the cap on the low side valve, and
there was a pretty good hiss of gas escaping for a moment, and when I looked
inside, the whole area was covered in a bright fluorescent yellow film, and
was wet. I assume this is the dye they used.

My question is, how likely is it that once that small space under the cap
gets filled with R134, it would be able to leak past the rubber seal on the
cap? I'm just wondering if this leak is worth worrying about.. since I
didn't see any dye outside of the cap, I'm guessing nothing has leaked past
there, but maybe the R134 could get around the seal while the dye wouldn't?

Also I'm wondering if that valve might just need to be tightened up a bit...
I don't have the proper tool to do it, is that something that's readily
available? I have a tire valve stem remover that does the trick for tires,
but this valve would require a bigger version of that.

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AS - 03 Jul 2006 23:13 GMT

It is not uncommon to find the oil traces under the service port caps.

Normally it should be just that, traces. If you want to make sure,
prepare soapy solution (water and detergent) and cover the port with a
film of the solution to see if it bubbles. It should not.

Leaks from the valves are supposedly stopped by the cap and the oring in
it. If there was a leak past the cap, you would see the oily dirt
residue around the port and cap.

Yes, the tool you need is bigger than the one for the tires and with
extreme care you could use needle nose pliers to deal with valve, but
unless you have the proper tool to tighten or replace the valve core,
without having to empty the refrigerant from the system, I would leave
it alone.

Good luck

> Hi guys,
>
[quoted text clipped - 22 lines]
> available? I have a tire valve stem remover that does the trick for tires,
> but this valve would require a bigger version of that.

Reply to this Message

JM - 04 Jul 2006 02:14 GMT

Thanks.

> It is not uncommon to find the oil traces under the service port caps.
>
[quoted text clipped - 41 lines]
>> readily available? I have a tire valve stem remover that does the trick
>> for tires, but this valve would require a bigger version of that.

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