Originally posted by projectSHO89:
Wow!

System should be evacuated first. This removes moisture which will 1) cause corrosion in the system and 2) greatly reduce system efficiency.

Make damned certain you're hooking your death kit up to the LOW side port, not the high side port. Only a well-trained person with the correct equipment should do high-side port service filling.

The system should be charged with the can upright, not turned upside down. If you don't know why, you have no business screwing with an AC system.

System capacity is listed either on an underhood label or in the service manual. Do not exceed this amount. If you overcharge the system, it will work just as badly as if it is undercharged, if at all.

Get a manifold guage set so you can monitor both sides of the system. Then, you'll know what's actually going on.

Steve



This man knows his A/C. I know a little about this. When turning the can upside down, you allow refrigerant in the liquid state to travel through the line. Liquids are not compressible, so you risk slugging your compressor with liquid, which will destroy it. It is designed to compress gas, not liquid.

As the gas leaves the can, the can gets very cold because the pressure is dropping inside the can. I have had very good luck with holding the can in the hot stream of air that comes from the engine fan. If you get the can to warm up, the refrigerant will flow, and in the appropriate gas state.

Also, if your mechanic opened up your a/c system to atmosphere and did not evacuate the system before giving it back to you, I would say at the minimum you need to have it evacuated, but to do it right you should replace the receiver/drier because it contains moisture absorbent which goes bad when exposed to atmosphere for a long period of time.

Also critical is that the engine and A/C are on when you are charging.

96 Contour GL 2.0L MTX with Early SE 7 spoke wheels, SE sideskirts, Koni Sport Kit 70 Mustang Sportsroof with mild 351W and '01 Mustang GT wheels