My mechanic wont fill my a/c comp since it is us under 70*?
 

He was going to help me put on my new a/c comp(had just put on a new one but after 1500 miles it is leaking again) so he is like "well, i cant cause it has to be over 70* to do it" ?WTF? I also wanted to do plugs and wires at the same time, since there will be more room w/o the comp. WTF is going on with him, is he just pulling this out of his butt or what? I cant use the defrost b/c it makes my belt squeak awfully.

I just found out my IM is leaking again too, after i just fixed it in june:( UGH! I hate this POS

hmm, thats a new one to me? The plugs thing isnt that bad even with the ac compressor in there, the alternator is the only thing that u would need to remove and the ypipe too to give yourself some more room. I think im gonna heat my garage im out there so much. Anyway, hope that helps. -Michael

Yeah, that's a good question. I just replaced my compressor and was going to add freon but when I put the A/C in max cooling and hook the freon up to the low side, it doesn't seem like it is taking any. It is cold outside and I don't know if that make a difference or not. I do know there is a low pressure cutout. Some people have said to disconnect the battery for awhile, then reconnect it and try again. Personally, I've never gotten this to work.

I was gonna just do plugs/wires in the driveway buy dont know if i can do it. I am afraid i am gonna F*** someting up andnot be able to start it again. IT just looks really tight in there.

you are supposed to get all the air vacumed out before you can add any r-134a (not freon anymore...) , this is just what i have been told, i dont know if it is possible to do or not without having it vacummed

true you should evacuate the air out of the system before adding refrigerant. if it is too cold out you can not properly charge the system due to low suction pressure.

but if you know how much refrigerant the system holds that could give you a good starting point until it warms up and you can trim the charge. the vacuum will also help pull in the refrigerant. by the way freon is a name brand by dupont. like clorox is to bleach.

adding "freon" in cold weather
 

In order to get freon in you system it needs to be warm so the ambient air temp. swith will work. This can be simulated by putting the car in a warm shop overnight and let all parts of the car warm so when you try it again it "thinks" it is springtime;)

The mechanic is not really lying to you. When the system has been opened (replacement of compressor) a vacum needs to be pulled on the system to prevent premature failure down the road.

Also is using r 134a you only fill a r 12 system to about 70 or maybe 80 percent capacity. What i am saying is that you should not use as much 134 a as compared to r 12 to refill the system.

R 134 a operates at a higher pressure.

My brother is a referigerant technician so this is pretty accurate; to the best of my knowledge.

Capacity is 2 lbs of R134a..

We do A/C jobs all year round at work(Firestone), unless temps drop below 50. First DO NOT put r12 into a r143 system, your asking for trouble. Second you need to pull a vacuum on the system to make sure there's no leak and to get rid of moiseture along with air. Third let car run for at least 30 mins to warm car and parts. To guage if your system is taking r134 use a thermometer in a vent to see if a/c is starting cool or not. Most auto a/c can cool down into the high 30/low 40s. Most f-bods I've seen only cool down to around 42-44.

If your doing this yourself with the small cans, try putting the can in a bowl of hot water to keep the can from freezing.

Oh yeah put the a/c on defrost so the compressor will kick on.

Actually I found out that vacuuming the system out is to remove excess moisture as freon combined with water creates an acid which would eat your lines from the inside out. I was able to add freon to my a/c last night by simply putting the can in a small pot of warm water and it filled up rather quickly.