Poor access might explain why they have become dirty. Mine are a PITA to clean ( stacked coils) , but it needs to be done every year ..or two... or three.

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Air flow restriction or low freon are the two most common

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Im betting its low freon

Same here - wish I was closer we would already be done.

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86 Holden Jackaroo Turbo D
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The outside won't freeze, only the inside will. For 2 reasons, low refrigerant or dirty coil. Or both.

Don, you can bring the hose in the house. It's not that big of a deal.
Put the coil cleaner in a sprayer.
Spray coil.
Wait 15 minutes.
Turn hose on.
Rinse coil.
Turn hose off.
Clean up.
It's not that hard.

If you let the tech clean the coil he'll want to remove them. Plan on spending a lot of money. Or clean them yourself for a lot less.

If your lucky the tech may charge the system without cleaning the coils. More than likely he won't do anything until the coils are cleaned. I wouldn't work on a system with dirty coils if I were a tech. I would want to do the job right and I wouldn't want to be called back.

The choice is yours. Or at least your girls choice. Good thing it's not your house!

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second issue, the hose is only a 50 foot hose and will not reach even if I wanted to do so.

I know car A/Cs have a switch (either pressure or coil temp) that cycles the compressor to keep the inside coil from freezing up. Do home A/Cs have the same switch? Possible reason #3.

The ac tech just left. He did not find any leaks or issue with the coil or unit outside. He did add refrigerant but he said his high side pressure shot up fast which leads him to believe there is a restriction in the system. The thermo expansion device ( what I take is the expansion valve) needs to be replaced at a minimum and possibly the coil. The coil has rust on the exterior but no leaks.

Awesome, so who wants to come do the work?

I'm willing to bet that the inside coil is dirty. I lived in Florida for many years and had that exact same problem.

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If he had the jug upside down (liquid) it would shoot up quick as opposed to vapor.

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00 E420
98 E300 DT
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97 S500
97 E300D
86 Holden Jackaroo Turbo D
86 300SDL
(o\|/o)

Coil isn't dirty and he didn't have the jug upside down.

This is going to be an awesome bill

Quoted $475 to replace the expansion valve and $1450 to replace it and the coil.

Ouch. Guess we just got off cheap then, $100 or so for a service call to replace our 15 year old mechanical thermostat with a Honeywell 5000 series electronic version.

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'87 300D 212K miles
'87 300D 151K miles - R.I.P. 12/08
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Grumpy Old Diesel Owners Club