A/C Question
Thread Starter
Le Mans Master
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 9,598
Likes: 960
From: Palm Harbor not far from Sebring Florida
St. Jude Donor '11
Oldtimer
A/C Question
What type of Freon goes in a 2001? I need to put a charge in mine and see if it leaks down. It is blowing cool air not cold as it normally does.
Drifting
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 1,496
Likes: 1
From: LEBANON PA.
Hi There,
This may help you solve you problem before you have the a/c system trouble shot.
AC not cool enough? Engine running hot? Here's my fix
Just like a lot of folks here who pay attention to the DIC I've noticed for the past few years that the temp of the coolant doesn't seem to stay as cool as it should. Last year during one of those hot summer days, my AC wasn't as cold as it first came from the factory. Hmmmm.. so maybe it needed some freon.. went to my uncles shop to top it off, but it really didn't need any. So okay, I'd just let it go... now this year I noticed my coolant temp rising a bit higher then what I wanted.. in the 230ish range while sitting while sitting in traffic..... hmmmm it's only 70 degrees out, what gives? I did the usual check for debris in front of the the car (the condensor is what you see underneath, the radiator is behind it) and it was for the most part debris free. Okay, so I'm thinking lower stat, reprogramming fans, new radiator, new stat flushing radiator etc etc like any other forum member or car driver would think.
So I decided go to my uncle's shop last week and tell him the wonderful news. He asks me did I ever wash the radiator. I was like wash it? No. He said that was my problem. The radiator and the condensor can accumalate a lot of dirt, dust and whatever else inside the fins. The purpose of the radiator is to dissipate heat.... can a dirty and clogged radiator be as effective as a clean one? No uncle, i guess not. His shop deals with a lot of livery/limos that put 200-500k miles and obvious they are on the road a lot. A quite of bit of those cars overheat, not because of a bad radiator or bad water pump or stuck stat, but because of a really dirty radiator.
Here's a step by step process of how we cleaned the radiator and condensor
1. Remove the intake, top cover of the radiator and screws that hold the cooling fan
2. We jacked up the car, removed the front sway bar and removed the cooling fans from underneath. (This was a pain in the @ss but by removing the fans we had access to the whole back of the radiator.
3. We then lower the car back down and proceed to take a hose and sprayed down the back of the radiator, only enough to get it wet and to soften up the dirt trapped inbetween the fins.
4. We used an air compressor with a flexible air hose extention (looked like one of the goose neck things with a nozzle at the end) and started to blow air from the back of the radiator up and down the fins.
5.We repeated this same step 3 times, first wetting it and then blowing air until we didn't see any more debris come out.
6. After all was done we just put everything back together again
Now he said that using the air compressor to blow out the junk was key in making it as clean as possible. He also recommended NOT to use a power washer because if set too high you can bend the fins on the radiator and ruin it. He has had many customers complaining about a hot engine and instead of ripping them off by telling them they need a new radiator or water pump, he would do this first and if it didn't cure the problem then tell them to shell out for the other stuff. Most of the time, this cures it. He's one of the those guys you can trust with your car, but yet can't make it rich because he doesn't have the heart to rip people off.
I felt bad when I left the shop cause I left my uncle a floor full of dirt and debris. I did not even realize that there was so much on the floor until I backed up the car to help clean up. He said this was normal because the radiator and condensor is open to the elements and it's always sucking up dirt. I have had car for 7 years and it was years of dirt on the floor. Nasty.
Final Results
Guys/Gals, I can freeze people in my car again. My gf complained the other day that it was way too cold in my car and to either turn it down or turn it off. While cruising, the car runs between 187-192 on an 80 degree day. Before that it would run 196 or higher on a less warm day. When sitting at idle the temps would reach 225, the fans kick in and I can joyously watch the temp tumble down quickly and turn off again. My vette stays just as cools as the day I bought it.
So for all of you that feel your car is running hot and/or AC isn't as cool, do what I did. It worked for me. Just a bit of elbow grease and a few hours of your time before you start coughing up big dough for a new radiator or something else. And of course this will work on any car with a radiator. Just becareful using the water and try not the get anything else wet in the engine beside the radiator.
I hope this helps. I had book marked this, just thought of it today.
robsc501
This may help you solve you problem before you have the a/c system trouble shot.
AC not cool enough? Engine running hot? Here's my fix
Just like a lot of folks here who pay attention to the DIC I've noticed for the past few years that the temp of the coolant doesn't seem to stay as cool as it should. Last year during one of those hot summer days, my AC wasn't as cold as it first came from the factory. Hmmmm.. so maybe it needed some freon.. went to my uncles shop to top it off, but it really didn't need any. So okay, I'd just let it go... now this year I noticed my coolant temp rising a bit higher then what I wanted.. in the 230ish range while sitting while sitting in traffic..... hmmmm it's only 70 degrees out, what gives? I did the usual check for debris in front of the the car (the condensor is what you see underneath, the radiator is behind it) and it was for the most part debris free. Okay, so I'm thinking lower stat, reprogramming fans, new radiator, new stat flushing radiator etc etc like any other forum member or car driver would think.
So I decided go to my uncle's shop last week and tell him the wonderful news. He asks me did I ever wash the radiator. I was like wash it? No. He said that was my problem. The radiator and the condensor can accumalate a lot of dirt, dust and whatever else inside the fins. The purpose of the radiator is to dissipate heat.... can a dirty and clogged radiator be as effective as a clean one? No uncle, i guess not. His shop deals with a lot of livery/limos that put 200-500k miles and obvious they are on the road a lot. A quite of bit of those cars overheat, not because of a bad radiator or bad water pump or stuck stat, but because of a really dirty radiator.
Here's a step by step process of how we cleaned the radiator and condensor
1. Remove the intake, top cover of the radiator and screws that hold the cooling fan
2. We jacked up the car, removed the front sway bar and removed the cooling fans from underneath. (This was a pain in the @ss but by removing the fans we had access to the whole back of the radiator.
3. We then lower the car back down and proceed to take a hose and sprayed down the back of the radiator, only enough to get it wet and to soften up the dirt trapped inbetween the fins.
4. We used an air compressor with a flexible air hose extention (looked like one of the goose neck things with a nozzle at the end) and started to blow air from the back of the radiator up and down the fins.
5.We repeated this same step 3 times, first wetting it and then blowing air until we didn't see any more debris come out.
6. After all was done we just put everything back together again
Now he said that using the air compressor to blow out the junk was key in making it as clean as possible. He also recommended NOT to use a power washer because if set too high you can bend the fins on the radiator and ruin it. He has had many customers complaining about a hot engine and instead of ripping them off by telling them they need a new radiator or water pump, he would do this first and if it didn't cure the problem then tell them to shell out for the other stuff. Most of the time, this cures it. He's one of the those guys you can trust with your car, but yet can't make it rich because he doesn't have the heart to rip people off.
I felt bad when I left the shop cause I left my uncle a floor full of dirt and debris. I did not even realize that there was so much on the floor until I backed up the car to help clean up. He said this was normal because the radiator and condensor is open to the elements and it's always sucking up dirt. I have had car for 7 years and it was years of dirt on the floor. Nasty.
Final Results
Guys/Gals, I can freeze people in my car again. My gf complained the other day that it was way too cold in my car and to either turn it down or turn it off. While cruising, the car runs between 187-192 on an 80 degree day. Before that it would run 196 or higher on a less warm day. When sitting at idle the temps would reach 225, the fans kick in and I can joyously watch the temp tumble down quickly and turn off again. My vette stays just as cools as the day I bought it.
So for all of you that feel your car is running hot and/or AC isn't as cool, do what I did. It worked for me. Just a bit of elbow grease and a few hours of your time before you start coughing up big dough for a new radiator or something else. And of course this will work on any car with a radiator. Just becareful using the water and try not the get anything else wet in the engine beside the radiator.
I hope this helps. I had book marked this, just thought of it today.
robsc501
Le Mans Master
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 9,369
Likes: 4
From: Zephyrhills, Florida
St. Jude Donor '06-'07-'08-'09-'10-'11-'12-'13
Final Results
Guys/Gals, I can freeze people in my car again. My gf complained the other day that it was way too cold in my car and to either turn it down or turn it off. While cruising, the car runs between 187-192 on an 80 degree day. Before that it would run 196 or higher on a less warm day. When sitting at idle the temps would reach 225, the fans kick in and I can joyously watch the temp tumble down quickly and turn off again. My vette stays just as cools as the day I bought it.
