Cryoseal AC Sealant
 

Does anyone have any experience with Cryoseal AC Sealant?
This stuff is supposed to be able to seal small to mid sized leaks in AC systems. My 87 560SL has been diagnosed with a leak in the evaporator core....understand this is pretty uncommon for the 107s, but nonetheless, mine is doing it. Only way to fix is to pull dash, etc, etc.....mechanic is already seeing dollar signs!

I have done some research and it seems to be legit. There is a shop in Houston (it is WAY too hot in Houston to not have AC - we put the top down in the winter and hard-top in the summer!)

Has anyone ever used this stuff?

Thanks

Yup, I have..with good luck on late 124's and 140's.

Even if it only buys you a couple of years it gives one time to save for a rather pricey job.

Jonathan

Hope you have your nomex suit and fire extinguisher handy, folks around here have some strong opinions regarding a/c sealers. Main objection is the sealer can activate in, and clog up, the refrigerant recycling machines which shops are required to use these days. For this reason alone you will find many professionals that object to them. Using one may limit your ability to get the cars a/c system serviced in the future.

That said, I've had some firsthand experience with sealers. Cryo-seal is the two-part kit with the dryer then the sealer, correct? I had near perfect results using that on a 124 to seal an evaporator leak. The car went from 1/lb month to no detectable leak with a single treatment. Unfortunately the compressor wore out after a year, so I only have that much data. But it definately worked. Don't skimp, change the dryer before installing the sealer. The sealant is moisture activated, so the system must be exceptionally clean and dry to get a good result.

Also used another brand, a one-part kit. Cheaped out and didn't change the dryer that time. In this case the results were not so good. It seemed to seal the leaks, but after a few months enough of the sealant had activated in the dryer to more or less plug it.

Eventually I got frustrated and replaced every componenent of the 15 year old a/c system. Now that was a permanent fix!

- JimY

Got the car back yesterday with the cryoseal in the car....WORKS GREAT!
The tech said there was a leak in the evaporator core and when he put this stuff in, stopped right away.

AC works GREAT - ICE COLD.

A few things to note though:

1. Make sure your system can be vacuumed down to 29" and will hold for 5 minutes.....if not, the leak is too big to be sealed.

2. Make sure you (or your tech) flush out the system REALLY well...this stuff is epoxy and reacts with air....we don't want it reacting with anything else in the system.

3. You have to replace the receiver/dryer and expansion valve.

4. Instructions are good in the kit - follow very closely.

You can order out of Oklahoma -about $140. Saved me $2,500 and didn't rip out dash.....

Let us know in several weeks/months the results...

MY only long term(3 months or longer) experience has been really BAD with that type of product.

As that freon starts to leak @ the evaporator, the oil seeps out with it.

Nasty stuff starts to grow on the evaporator because it is now always moist.

If you use a sealant, and are lucky enought for it to actually work, you might also consider some heroic efforts toward cleaning the evaporator.

Put me on the list as someone who is curious.

Fortunately all three of my 124's are fine now....

the sealants scare me.... but if your car is only worth 1-2k it might be worth a shot.... if your car is worth more than 2k, i would fix it right.

Actually, the car is in great shape - only 97,000 miles/body numbers match, perfect leather...opted for sealant to prevent dash destruction and/or rattles when removed. In order to get to the evaporator core (where my leak was) you have to take out dash - which is only held in by 3 bolts....but you have to bend it about 1-2" to get it out....anyone who knows the SL dash knows they crack (either from age/heat/or stress) and are expensive to replace (unless you want to do a cover - which I don't want to do).
Either way, the AC works great.......happy about it.
Will keep you posted on status...

Thanks

Used Cryoseal in May 2007 to fix a leaking evaporator on my 92 300D. Now, in October 2008, AC still works perfectly.

* I ditto Jfawcett's experience. I've used SST Cryo-Seal for years. Works as advertised. Small to medium leaks. If you use it and the seal doesn't hold, then you have too big a leak (that seems reasonable!). As a last ditch effort before spending a lot of money on replacement parts, like an evaporator, it's well worth the money. If you had a W140 with a very expensive leaking evaporator, and the sealant bought you several more years of service, you'd be dancing in the street.
* Another important feature of the SST sealant is that it separates out with the oil when the system is discharged, leaving any recycling machine unaffected (unlike other sealants, and another reason why I use it). However, if the freon charge which includes the sealant is lost or recovered during service work, you'll also lose the sealant and will need to add more sealant with the new freon charge.

More SSR info
 

* Typo correction. That's SSR Cryo-seal, not SST (in my other post), in case anybody wants to check it out. The product is produced by SSR International, Inc in Georgia. BTW, this company does a major business in Iraq for the US military.
* A very helpful and knowledgeable service center and distributor for Mercedes retrofitters is Improved Chiller Engineering in Oklahoma, web site at www.acstopleak.com. I'm plugging this business because they've helped me with accurate information on several occasions (when they didn't make a dime), and have done more ac retrofits than anyone else I know.

I'm curious to hear how the OP's car worked out. I used it per our Service managers direction on a 560SL before, and it worked... it worked so well it sealed up the screen in the expansion valve on it. Twice. He was a stubborn guy :) Every other car I've used it on though, it worked out great.

* The clogged expansion valves (old capillary tube type) that I've experienced were clogged when I cut corners, not by the sealant. As part of a 134a retrofit, I've never had that problem when I flushed the condenser and evaporator circuits first and then replaced the expansion valve and receiver/dryer.
* The original capillary tube expansion valves came with a screen insert (replacements I've used recently don't have the screen), backflushing will clear the debris. But backflushing is almost as tedious as replacing the exp valve.

Does anyone know where to buy this stuff? Their website says they only sell to "A/C professionals only." I have a leaky evaporator core, and I'd like to try this before pulling the dash (ugh).

I don't have a problem paying an "A/C professional" to do the job, only I'm not really sure how to find one that does the work (other than just calling around - the company doesn't maintain a distributor list, oddly). Of course, if it's somehow obtainable and DIYable, that'd be even better.

Any mechanic with 609 certification should be able to do it. It's not a complicated procedure...but they won't sell it to anyone without a 609.

HOWEVER, when I bought it years ago I was able to buy it directly from a distributor in Oklahoma. You might call around to distributors and see what you find.

It's good stuff and it works.