AC Leak? (1 Viewer)

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So far my mechanic replaced the condenser fan and relay. First time he said he topped off. Not sure after replacing relay. Sunday it started blowing warm air.

Today I took it to an AC specialist shop. They added dye and coolant. Ran it for 45 minutes and saw no leaks. The lady told me to bring it back Thursday to check again. That after a day or so they may find the dye somewhere.

She said it may be the front condenser (forgot name she used) or rear. But more likely front as it’s used more often.

I looked under the truck when I got home a saw no signs of leak anywhere. Anybody got an idea? I did see some wet spots but it was raining today and I don’t see any green dye. Also that little glass looked fine but I don’t know what that is supposed to indicate.

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The light that makes the dye glow is pretty cheap at an auto parts store. Last year I replaced the condenser in mine after I saw the glowing green dye under the (blue?) light. I had just replaced my radiator and pulled a little to hard on the condenser.
To look at the evaporator you could drop the blower motor(three screws?) and peak in or pull the cabin air filters and peak in a little. Do you have the cabin air filters? If not you may have debris gathered around the front evaporator causing corrosion leading to a leak there.
The rear evaporator is a little harder due to more trim pieces. But less likely to have much debris due to lower use.
Good luck!
 
Thanks i don’t have a air filter. I was quoted $900 to replace condenser.

Edit: She said it may be the evaporter core in the dash.
 
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buy a blacklight... I bought mine from Amazon. Shine it around, and the leak will appear. Mine was the ac evaporator in front of the radiator. I had green dye radiating out on it. I put in a new Toy evaporator and fixed my problem.

I feel your pain! No AC is a painful thing.
 
buy a blacklight... I bought mine from Amazon. Shine it around, and the leak will appear. Mine was the ac evaporator in front of the radiator. I had green dye radiating out on it. I put in a new Toy evaporator and fixed my problem.

I feel your pain! No AC is a painful thing.

Your 'Condenser' is in front of the radiator. The evaporator (both front and rear) are both housed inside the vehicle.
 
yup, I continue to get em mixed up. I replaced the condenser. My point is the amazon black light found the problem in 2 minutes. useful tool!
 
Thanks i don’t have a air filter. I was quoted $900 to replace condenser.

Edit: She said it may be the evaporter core in the dash.


After a couple of days...it should be easy to spot any leaks from the Condenser (in front of the radiator), any of the lines that are exposed, shrader valves, fittings or the compressor seal(s).

The areas that are NOT easy to see (or are often overlooked) are:

1. Bottom of evaporator (behind dash in a housing).
2. TXV and Evaporator junction.
3. Lines to rear A/C.
4. Leak at Trinary Switch.

Don't let them throw parts at it. Make SURE that they have thoroughly inspected the entire system.
 
yup, I continue to get em mixed up. I replaced the condenser. My point is the amazon black light found the problem in 2 minutes. useful tool!

Yep. Should be easy to spot any significant leak (if out in the open).

Good advice Sir.
 
Ill check the auto parts for a light tomorrow. Thanks!
 
Rented a light kit from auto zone $100. Went thru all the engine tubing, under car and in evaporater. Evap looks really clean with slight debris. Took a pic. Need to see what the rear looks like.

I can’t tell if evap is leaking from bottom since I can’t pull it out. Anything else?

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Look at condenser out front. Also trace the rear ac lines next to the Frame to the Rear evaporator.
 
Did you try AC leak seal additive?
 
Did manifold gauge of AC shop shoe low pressure, indicating a loss? Was anything seen in sight glass while AC on full cold?

If you're lucky:
Did you turn AC to cold, not just a low temp. I've seen a few times, the sensore tube falls off. I'll get warm air unless on full cold when this happens.

Just below ignition key is little vent. Behind that is a sensor with tube attached and a wire. The tube falls off sometimes. Then AC only blows cold on full cold setting. Sensor can also fail.
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Did you try AC leak seal additive?

Never heard of that! The ac shop told me it was completely empty when they tested. Checked sensor tube and it’s connected. Will check rear evap after food :)
 
Never heard of that! The ac shop told me it was completely empty when they tested. Checked sensor tube and it’s connected. Will check rear evap after food :)


I'm trying to sort out the series of events here.

So...originally you took it to someone who replaced the condenser fan and relay AND added some refrigerant?

After which...the system started blowing warm? Then you took it to another place that added refrigerant and dye, ran system for 45 minutes (did not find leaks) and now you are checking it yourself.

Is the system currently blowing cool air or not?
 
First time it blew hot air, mechanic said fan was bad. Second time hot air again and he said bad relay and topped off. Third time hot air and took it to ac specialist who said completely empty, added dye, ran for 45 minutes and didn’t see anything $139.

She asked me to take it back tomorrow to check again. Possibly the evap is leaking and $900. It’s blowing cold as it should.

Today I rented a light leak detector, opened evap, went thru all the lines front to back and see no signs of dye anywhere. I still need to check rear today.

I also checked the temp tube and it’s attached. The system is blowing nice and cold for now.
 
First time it blew hot air, mechanic said fan was bad. Second time hot air again and he said bad relay and topped off. Third time hot air and took it to ac specialist who said completely empty, added dye, ran for 45 minutes and didn’t see anything $139.

She asked me to take it back tomorrow to check again. Possibly the evap is leaking and $900. It’s blowing cold as it should.

Today I rented a light leak detector, opened evap, went thru all the lines front to back and see no signs of dye anywhere. I still need to check rear today.

I also checked the temp tube and it’s attached. The system is blowing nice and cold for now.

OK, I'm with you now. Well...first mechanic took you for a ride. Continue to search for leaks. Look at the front of the compressor (front seal) and also at your drain tube from the evaporator housing. IF your evaporator is leaking...it is almost certain to be at the bottom and in the corner. Probably can't see anything from peering inside the vehicle. But you might find traces of dye where the condensation exits the drain tube (outside the firewall) that could point to a leak.

Also take the caps off of your service ports and inspect the schrader valves. It's plain you have a leak somewhere...since refrigerant is not a 'consumable'. So continue to look carefully and let us know by process of elimination what all you have checked and what you have found.
 
I’m at a stopping point. I pulled all the trim pieces to try and check the rear evap but it’s connected to ac lines. I’m taking to the ac shop tomorrow to see what they say. They should have an electronic leak tester to check front evap drain plug for dye.

Don’t what else to check....I’ll ask about the stop leak @nissanh mentioned earlier.

Thanks all! I’ll report back.

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^^^^^^ Dang! There ya go.

Got to love a guy not afraid to tear into it. :clap:
 
Update:

Shop did not find leak. I asked them about stop leak recommendations. They told me they would only use a product called Red Angel. Luckily there is a Napa next door and they put some in. I doubt this will work but I don’t want to throw parts at it either.

They didn’t have a sniffer and said they were unreliable. I called another ac shop and told me they use them. I’ll tak it to them if it leaks again.

Sucks....
 

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