Leaking freon A/C help

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informationjunky

informationjunky

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Hi,
My wifes LX470 looses all the freon in about a day, YES one day. At least I know the compressor is good. Are there any typical problem spots to check for leaks? I know their looks to be a small leak on the low pressure line near the fire wall where you charge at. My used sniffer pegs when I put it around the rear vents. I've tried to track the lines to the rear but didn't see any thing that jumped out at me. And yes I've searched.

Just hoping someone has had a similar experiance before I start yanking everything apart. Its getting hot in geogia and she need her air conditioning.

Thanks
 
That sounds a lot like my current issue. Personally, my condenser is out. I put ink in the lines to find no leaks, and had my mechanic do the same. After two times of having ink run through, he told me after running other tests that my condenser is shot... Maybe try running ink through it?
 
Still looking
 
one of the lines or connectors way up front, near or at the dryer IIRC, on the DS, was leaking and we had to replace it. Don't know if that's a common spot.
 
Looks like the main culprit was the expansion valve....what a PITA to get to. Still chasing a smaller leak but its been a week and still cooling.
 
Typically with a leak under the hood or by the condenser, dust will collect on the location of the leak from the oil in the system. If you injected dye with the freon recharge, you should be able to see the dye unless it was somewhere in the cabin.

A low cost way to check for leaks is with soapy water in a spray bottle. Charge the system, run the system and spray all the fittings/connections and crimped hose sections with the soapy water. Look for bubbles..

Don't forget to check the valve at the low and high side connections, if those valves aren't all the way tight or seated correctly, it can leak from there as well.
 
I had a freon leak and the culprit was a line that runs next to the running board on the passenger side and goes to the rear a/c. I thought these lines were aluminum and couldn't corrode/leak. I guess I was wrong...
 
Are you serious? The shop I took it to had to drop some of the exhaust components because the line runs the whole length of the truck. The part with labor was $277. Dealers make me sick...
 
Well hell.... I had an independent shop pull the lines and cap. However I don't have rear A/C (don't really need) but still paid $500 for that. This was at least 5-6 years ago. However, since then I have never had a problem with cooling, prior to that I had to add freon annually.
 
I thought about doing that but the wifey wasn't havin it.
 
Rear Lines

I have replaced the rear lines twice in my 04. Toyota paid for the repair under the warranty. This sprint was the third time in for the A/C and they replaced all of the tubing. I think the dealer charged Toyota about 1,900 for the job.
 
I had one rear line corrode through at the foam where it was hung. The leak was hard to find-I needed a completely dark garage and then got under the truck with the UV FLashlight and glasses. Since then I have noticed a very small leak at the output end of the condenser. It is too bad that Toyota are not interested in making the truck truly world-serviceable, because they look like clowns charging $200 for $8.00 worth of aluminum tubing. When I bought my one repair pipe, there was an LX on the rack having all of them pulled out for the megabucks "we have to change everything" fix. Maybe it was under warranty and the dealer was billing Toyota-in which case it is in their interests to really overbuild parts and make them from hardware that can be fabricated anywhere.

The value here is that the foam holds dirt and moisture and can begin the process of corroding the tubing, so that is one place to look for a R-134 leak. I do think that the tubing quality was weak at times and this failure should not have occurred.
 
johnnyquest said:
I have the same problem. Can anyone recommend a decent online source for these a/c lines?
Click to expand...

Looks like you can order the parts of the line you need through lexuspartsnow or toyotapartszone - both sites also have parts diagrams.

(all my references below are for LX470 but should be same for Landcruisers on ToyotaPartsZone)
To find the A/C lines, pick your model/year or enter your vin, then go to Electrical Section and #46 and #47 under that for water piping and cooling piping components. For cooling piping, look at Figure 3 and 4 for Front and Rear piping, and for water piping Figure 1 is for front and Figure 2 is for rear.

Once you have the part numbers you can order through whomever. First 2 of the 10 characters for part numbers are asterisked out but b/w the part name and last 5 or 8 characters you can find listings with the full 10)

Let us know how it goes - this is something I'm expecting to have to deal with in the near future, and if it were easy and cheap enough I would preemptively deal with it now.
 
I have a leak in the same place and have been informed that they (toyota) need to lift the body to get the new pipe in hence the cost. I have been looking into replacing the pipe with a rubber hose version and the cost is a bit more for the hose but i can then fit it myself and then get it regassed.

Interested to see how you get on.
 
You could also try CDan and see what he would charge for the line if you find the part # you need...
 
I can see where a dealer would lift the body off of the frame for those line changes. I placed a small scissor jack between the frame and body and lifted the body slightly. If you look at the body mount bushes, they are made for this sort of movement. Like many things, this is a situation where subtlety is key. Lift it only what you need and then sneak the line or lines out. Too much movement will probably wreck something.
 
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