air conditioning
Thread Starter
Safety Car
Joined: Sep 1999
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From: grand rapids, lowell mi. area
air conditioning
hey guys I have a 84 ,and im guessing I might have a leak somewhere ,every year I have to put a can of refrigerant in ,then next yr. the same thing ,does it hurt anything if I do this every yr. ? thanks for the help!! Bill
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From: Louisville, Ky
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You may try some stop leak. I wouldn't worry too much about a small leak. So what are you putting in it? Has it been converted to 134a?
Thread Starter
Safety Car
Joined: Sep 1999
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From: grand rapids, lowell mi. area
yes it has been converted to 134a ,and I put a good grade of refrigerant in it ,I was just wondering if it would hurt anything by putting a bottle of that stuff in it every year? thanks Bill
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Burning Brakes
Joined: Apr 2017
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From: Farmington MO
I kind of agree with aklim on this. My point in posting about a schrader valve was meant to say that sometimes really slow A/C leaks aren't much to fix. Last time I had mine professionally serviced it cost me less than $100 all in, and I needed a couple minor parts. On another (not Corvette) car of mine, I did what you do for several years - just added a can now and then. It didn't harm anything. After awhile - maybe 4-5 years - it didn't cool as well as I thought it should. I had actually overcharged it with 134, despite using the cheapo gauges. It also needed a minor check valve.
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Melting Slicks
Joined: May 2013
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From: Sacramento California
My thoughts exactly. It won't hurt your car to add a can of R134A every year, but it will hurt your wallet. I say get it fixed properly now, and be done with it.
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From: Hartford WI
Safety Car
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From: Fairfax Virginia
If it were me I would probably put some dye into the system and then fix the leak. All the parts are readily available and it is fairly simple to do.
Letting a can a year dissipate into the atmosphere is not going to make a huge hole in our Ozone Layer with your name on it. It is not a "Good" thing but if I had 24 cans of R134 on my shelf I might be tempted to just keep adding Freon. I bought out Trak Auto's supply of R134 at a ridiculous price of less than $1 a can, That stuff has gone up a bit I have noticed... I have a lifetime supply of the R134 as long as they don't rust away first.
I bought a two stage vacuum pump at harbor freight and what a handy tool that has been. I had my mechanic remove the remaining R12 Freon and then I went home and switched it over to R134. You need to get some sealant on most of the threads and they need to be tight and like mentioned before I would install the caps that came with the 134 conversion kit that I purchased. I flushed it out and pulled 28" of vacuum and let it sit for a week or so until I was SURE that it was sealed up. New oil, evaporator and some R134 and we were cranking out lots of cold air out of the system. A/C systems are not that hard to work on, you just need the right tools to do it.
I hope that you find a easy solution for your Corvette!
Letting a can a year dissipate into the atmosphere is not going to make a huge hole in our Ozone Layer with your name on it. It is not a "Good" thing but if I had 24 cans of R134 on my shelf I might be tempted to just keep adding Freon. I bought out Trak Auto's supply of R134 at a ridiculous price of less than $1 a can, That stuff has gone up a bit I have noticed... I have a lifetime supply of the R134 as long as they don't rust away first.
I bought a two stage vacuum pump at harbor freight and what a handy tool that has been. I had my mechanic remove the remaining R12 Freon and then I went home and switched it over to R134. You need to get some sealant on most of the threads and they need to be tight and like mentioned before I would install the caps that came with the 134 conversion kit that I purchased. I flushed it out and pulled 28" of vacuum and let it sit for a week or so until I was SURE that it was sealed up. New oil, evaporator and some R134 and we were cranking out lots of cold air out of the system. A/C systems are not that hard to work on, you just need the right tools to do it.
I hope that you find a easy solution for your Corvette!