MR_Loyale

Here is some AC themed music to inspire you:

Autozone loans tools, maybe they have one you could borrow. Here is a video on getting the key out by Dino:

The website is still down.

Do you have to be from Oregon to participate?

Sounds like you have a story to tell about this. Please do tell.

I think the takeaway here is replace your damn radiator hoses before they get 20 years old. Subaru saved my rear end. Does anyone here have any doubt had this been say a Chevy, I would be footing it home?

Yes yes. VERY important. If trying to push refrigerant into a system that has air as well, the results will not be good. I think you nailed it Gloyale. 175eya - did you use a vacuum pump to evacuate the system before you put in the refrigerant? If not, you will never get your system working for the reasons Gloyale has stated above. Plus you will ruin your system with the moisture. Get the system evacuated or get a vacuum pump and manifold gauge set and do it yourself. Harbor Freight has both and you can get them for under $160 in total. If you have a buddy who also has ac trouble, maybe you can split the cost. Or take it somewhere and have them do it. Also they can test to see if it will hold a vaccum. Then refill with refrigerant. I ran the vacuum for an hour to ensure all the moisture boiled off when I did mine.

When your system reads 25-30 psi what is the ambient temp? Higher than 65F? If so then you need more refrigerant.

I replaced hthe 20 yr old hose and it seems to work better. I am going to inspect the condenser fins too.

Bottom line is my car kept running and got me where I needed to go.

After getting my AC working I volunteered to help a friend out installing a backup sonar system on his mini van. He lives about 90 miles away so I though it would be a good exercise for the Loyale to stress test it since I am planning on a trek to Eastern Wa for the 4th and if there are any issues, I want them sorted out before I trek across the state. I drove from Bremerton to Sammamish the long way around. Car behaved really well the first 60 miles. Then I noticed that it appeared that when the AC was on, the temp gauge would rise. This continued for about 20 miles or so. Each time I put on the AC the temp gauge would move to the halfway mark and when I turned it off it went to about the 1/8th mark, slightly above the C. It wasn't until about the last 10 miles or so I noticed the temp started to climb to the 75% mark. I finaly just turned off the AC and it held steady at 75%. I was able to pull over at McDonald's and then looked under the hood. I could see something had splashed on the undersde of the hood - it looked like coolant. I could find any leak. I started the car and again couldn't find a leak. I filled it up with my reserve bottle of coolant mix that we all carry in the trunk . It took almost the entire bottle. I drove the last 10 miles and again when I got to Samammish, the temp was at 75% and the overflow was bone dry. I turned the car off and let it sit thinking it was some sort of small leak. We went to O'Relliy's to get some things for my friend's van (in his van) and I got some coolant and stop leak (no lectures about using stop leak please). Anyway I put in the stop leak and the coolant mix and then started it up. Nothing hapned until after about a minute I revved the engine and had a gusher of fluid from the upper radiator hose. Stop leak won't fix that one . I got the hose at O'Reilly's, replaced it and when I drove home I was aggressive with it. This was the original 1993 hose so my bad for not replacing it when I did the lower hose 5 years ago. This is one Subaru part I can truly say I got my money's worth! So for a great bit of the time I was driving with a burst upper hose and what must have been almost no coolant. Why didn't my engine overheat? It never once hit the H. How is this possible? Could the air flow alone have been enough?

I had them three months after purchasing the car new in 1994. Dealer got two garbage bags full of stuff out of the vents. I ended up buying screening material and put it over the vent inlet of the cowl. Caught many a meece with snap traps under the hood too. The place I live now has lots of cats on patrol. Shreds the meeces to pieces.

Compressor must be running and system on max.

Is that the interdynamics (IDQ) refrigerant? My R12 to R134a kit was from them and it included a dvd. It stated the pressure must be measured with the compressor running. The value it reads is dependent upon the ambient temperature. Here is a video that might help. It has temp/pressure charts: http://video.oreillyauto.com/v/23351/how-to-re-charge-ac-system-interdynamics-af1-r134a/

LOL. None of use are a/c experts, we just play them on the internet. I can say for a fact I think you know more about a/c (at least Loyale a/c, which is the only one I care about right now) than the "expert" that "fixed" mine in 2006 - only for it to leak out a week later.

I think you are supposed to take the readings when the compressor is running. Are you measuring pressure with a manifold guage set or the little can top things that come with the refrigerant?

Me too.

It appears I have seeping oil from the cam towers where it meets the head and lower portion of my headgaskets. My head gaskets don't appear to be "blown" in that they I am not burning coolant and my coolant levels are fine, no overheating engine runs fine. It wouldn't even be much of an issue except the oil eventually puddles and either hits the passenger upper CV boot or drips directly onto the exhaist which then causes a smoke cloud to start coming from under my hood as if my engine is on fire. Makes a nasty smell. So far I have been just cleaning the area with degreaser and topping up the oil levels. Are there any easy fixes for this or am I looking at an immediate head gasket replacement?

That makes sense. The second time I charged my system, it didn't immediately come on until after a good bit of refrigerante had been loaded.

So how is it determined when to cut off the compressor? Is there a temperature sensor the ECU reads or something?

I was watching my compresser run after I got home from work with the AC on all the way. The pulser system must be working because it cycled the clutch on and off a few times as I watched.

Do you have dye in your system? That is the easiest way to find leaks. Also if you use refrigerant with leak stopper and the oil then you will have less leaks. But the leak sealers don't make up for undersized gaskets that you may have paid a shop $600+ to install in 2006. Yeah I am a teensy bit bitter about that. But hey if I can fix my AC it shows any goober can, right? LOL. Do not overcharge your system whatever you do. Good luck,

LOL. Yep that is the exact one I used. As I said it was hell finding a place locally that had it is stock. But damn I wanted my AC. I got the entire bag of em minus one large fat one.

Yes, that is exactly what I did. I touched it to the positive on the battery with a jumpr. The clutch clicked. I did it also while the engine was on and it engaged. If this doesn't happen for you then it isn't working. Once you get that test working, if your still cannot get it to engage when you hit the MAX A/C then look to the AC Relay on the passenger side. Grounding the red/black wire (you don't need to cut it, but rather create a jumper wire with each end stripped, shove one end up into the red/black wire of the AC relay connector and then touch to ground.). If the compressor engages, then the pulser system needs adjusting. Loosten the large bolt on the pulser bracket and then the smaller one. Pivot the pulser bracket to the left as the smaller hole is oblong. Adjust until the sensor is 3mm from the detector arms and then tighten the bolts.

Really? The drier needs to be replaced? Mine is the original on the car from 1993. Do you think I ought to change it?