Uh-Oh, I smell fuel – let’s not turn this thread into a “flame war”. I may have (inadvertently) done damage by inferring less than required understanding & expertise for the original poster, but sometimes you can read between the lines and get a good sense of what’s going on. Therefore my recommendation to take it to a shop *before* unnecessary “sealant” ends up in the compressor, receiver, expansion valve, etc.. Once that happens, a simple flush, vacuum & recharge (per Southern_Son) is not going to be enough. Contamination inside an AC system is *not* a good idea. If someone is hell-bent on doing something improperly, even after being told the correct way, trouble is certainly brewing; therefore a recommendation to take it to a professional is not meant as a personal insult, it is meant as *help* to avoid much greater problems than what already exists.

As far as AC work not being “rocket science”, I couldn’t agree more; however some understanding of the basic principles & practices is a good idea. This is where Southern_Son & dlswnfrd were much more gracious than I, and did a good job explaining some of the basics regarding the hoses, fittings, & how to approach the problem from a semi-DIY perspective.

JRBrown provided some good links, and I thank you for that!

And last, Southern_Son, I am pretty sure that dlswnfrd is not a religious zealot. He has displayed a good sense of humor on this board & has been an invaluable contributor. I believe that his reference to separating the wheat from the chaff was meant quite simply as - ‘go to it, and see what the result of your efforts are’. Of course, I could be wrong; that is known to happen from time to time.