What should I do about my A/C?
 

The air conditioning in my '85 300D does not blow very cold. For example, last summer it wasn't blowing cold at all. I put a can of R-12 in it and it blew a little cooler but still not cold. It was about 100 degrees outside and the a/c would only blow out at 80 degrees. If the car was already hot inside, it would never cool down.

I really hate to take my car to a mechanic out of fear that it will cost a lot of money to fix. I have thought about purchasing a compressor and evaporator on my own and replacing these two items by myself and then taking it to a mechanic to finish the rest. By replacing these two items myself, I presumably save a lot of money. However, I really don't know what is wrong with the a/c so these parts might not need replacing at all.

Thoughts?? Comments??

Thanks,

Scott

You can get all the tools you would need to do a good job of this yourself... for less than a typical shop would charge you ... plus you can use it the next time or help others that need help..
Just read all the cautions.... and wear goggles all the time you are dealing with anything with pressure.....
You can find lots of good info by doing a search .. we have had some knock down dragouts over AC..... LOL.... was a LOT of fun .
Check out aircondition.com and call Carlisle in San Antonio and ask Trey if you have any really technical questions.... he has been dealing with this stuff 20 years... Carlisle is one of the sponsors of that site....

Ok, I am in Dallas area and it is barely 40 degrees outside. Wait til June to be asking about AC :D :D Serioulsy, check this out:

http://business.baylor.edu/Richard_Easley//autofaqs/recirc.htm

Looks promising for your problem.

Thanks for the info. Yes, I know it's only February but I'm going down to Miami in a few weeks and want to get it working by then. (I might also be moving there later)

Scott

You probably have air in your A/C lines in addition to your Freon. You can check that by looking at the sight glass on top of the drier(the cylindrical looking part near the front of the car in the engine bay) with the car running and A/C on. If you see bubbles you've got air. Usually if you have lost any Freon, good chance there is a leak somewhere and you'll have air in the system. A good A/C shop will be able to "sniff out" any leaks for you. Most of the time the leaks are at the connections due to bad O-rings. Unless you have an evacuation/collection system for A/C's it's not a good idea to try to just recharge them on your own. A/C systems are best left to professionals.

yes,, I sure was not suggesting " just recharge"... I mean doing it right... as you that have watched the AC wars know... I believe in doing it so well that it will be years and years before anything else will have to be done... this means flushing, new seals, new oil, new inline filter, probably new txvalve, new reciever/dryer, ... and I am including a proper vacuum pump and gages in what he could acquire and still come out cheaper...
But it is good to have someone check for leaks before starting the process...

Leathermang, I wasn't trying to criticize your post by any means. I just wasn't aware that the equipment for doing the job was available for a reasonable price. Also I didn't read your earlier post that carefully.:o

I did not take it that you were... but saw a chance to state my position.... I had resisted that and referencing the AC wars to keep from possibly overwhelming him with info right up front...
And ' reasonable' is a matter of opinion... but the amounts charged by so many shops are not reasonable.. giving the possibility of getting the right equipment and still beating their price....

"Also I didn't read your earlier post that carefully."

Now, THAT really Hurts......LOLOL

I guess that's what happens when you're a "speedreader".:o I did catch the part about "You can get all the tools you would need to do a good job of this yourself... for less than a typical shop would charge you". I guess I don't know what A/C service costs anymore. The last time I had some A/C service done was about 15 years ago when I installed a complete system into a car that never had it before. I took it down to a friend's shop to only have it evacuated and charged with Freon. He only charged me for the cost of the Freon which I don't really remember how much it was but it wasn't very much at all. My dad has owned that car for the last 10 years and as far as I know the A/C system in it still works fine.
BTW what is AC wars? I've never heard of it.

I consider the " alternatives to R12" thread and some similar which went to mulitiple pages the ' AC wars"..... LOL
Lots of good information in them.... but one would want to ' read carefully' LOLOLOL

I guess the pen is mightier than the sword, in this case the keyboard. I guess you're still hurting?;)