I recently got my my condenser with ac receiver/drier, compressor, expansion valve replaced but now my ac only blows around 55-60f on a 75f day and it goes up to 67-68f if i stop and idle my car for 15mins or more. My mechanic said the new expasion valve is the issue is this accurate or does it not make sense? He checked the pressure and said both low and high was in perfect range so it wasn't low on charge and he said your condenser and compressor looks good. 2nd gen mazda 3
One indicator is that if the expansion valve is stuck open, flooding the evaporator with too much refrigerant, the system pressures will equalize quickly when the compressor is shut off. If the expansion valve closes like it should the pressures will equalize slowly.
On the other hand, if the expansion valve is stuck closed the low side will go into vacuum.
If the expansion valve calibration is off it can also cause too much or too little refrigerant to flow.
However there are a lot of things that can cause poor cooling other than the expansion valve. It could even be the AC is actually working but the blend door is out of whack and not letting the cold air through.
Wouldn't this show on the pressures checked? He said both my high and low pressures were good. Also my blend door being the issue is very unlikely because it was working fine before my compressor seized so chances of my blend door failing just as I get a new compressor is kind of slim.
I've already described the effect on pressures you'll see depending on the nature of the defect.
We have no way here to know exactly what your mechanic did or didn't do. If he had to go inside the dashboard to replace the expansion valve (I'm not familiar with your car) the blend door may have been disturbed.
For what it's worth these days it is not unusual for new parts to be bad and I've experienced new expansion valves being bad right out of the box. If your mechanic provided the new valve and is willing to replace it on his dime you might as well let him go ahead and try it.
I just got done replacing my expansion valve with an oem I got since we were suspecting the aftermarket expansion valve being faulty and as I was suspecting the other mechanic who did the job never even replaced the original expansion valve all the foam was there and new part wasn't installed. Will this cause any issues or am I good if I let my new mechanic vacuum and recharge the system?
I just got done replacing my expansion valve with an oem I got
I hope you had the system properly evacuated with recovery equipment.
Will this cause any issues or am I good if I let my new mechanic vacuum and recharge the system?
If you are letting your AC system sit around with air inside it for any length of time atmospheric moisture will saturate your drier and it should be replaced just before pulling vacuum.
Moisture will also be absorbed by the highly hygroscopic PAG oil used in R134a systems. In combination with the refrigerant this can cause acids to form which over time will eat small holes in metal parts. (That's the major cause of evaporator leaks.)
The mechanic who diagnosed the problem is pretty old and has been very spot on very his diagnosis so far he just said it is cool if i replace the expansion valve and bring in the car to vacuum and recharge so I assume it will be fine like that for 12-16 hours. No we didn't vacuum the system I know you aren't supposed to let the refrigerant escape but it is r134a and is not ozone depleting so it will be fine this one time my whole life considering how broke I am right now.
I assume it will be fine like that for 12-16 hours.
Good luck with that. Driers are not supposed to be exposed to air for more than a few minutes and it's not a good idea to let the PAG oil absorb moisture for all that time either. Assuming the expansion valve is the problem it will be OK at first but you may have problems down the road.
it is r134a and isn't nearly as damaging to the ozone as the previous ones ... I sacrificed the planet to not go broke.
The reason for the feds forbidding the deliberate release of R134a has nothing to do with the ozone layer, it has been classified as an alleged "greenhouse gas". However getting into a debate about whether this is true, has any actual effect, or whether the law makes any sense is beyond the scope of this site. It's still the law nonetheless.
"The planet" may not even notice one way or another, but it's still not a good idea to admit committing a federal crime that carries heavy fines in a public forum and it's not something that we advocate here.
It is california everything is illegal here anyway :d
it will be fine this one time my whole life considering how broke I am right now.... I sacrificed the planet to not go broke.
this is a really pathetic excuse. A full AC service costs the same as a tank of gas, and you can go to work in the meantime.
Oh, I'm too broke to go to the transfer station, so I'll just dump my old couch and refrigerator in the river down the road.
if everyone uses the " one time" excuse like you (yeah right. If you're ok with doing it once you'll keep doing it) then that's billions of times.
Don't be a deadbeat. If you can't afford to own a car then ride the bus.
Pretty dumb and ignorant comment especially comparing this to dumbding a fridge into a river lmao, clearly you are emotionally invested rather than thinking logically. I did my own research and the amount of r134a is only equivalent to less than 1 metric tons of co2 and average american cause 15 metric tons a year so it literally makes no difference here, considering US in total cause like 1-2% of the whole co2 emissions in the world it is india and china that is the problem not my car's refrigerant. Also I question that tank of gas claim considering they charge 200-240$ to vacuum and recharge an AC system here. Maybe where you live but definitely not in socal. I will take my leave here for good since my problem has been addressed. Thanks for nothing joe.
more excuses
I bet your throw your trash out the window too.
It's "just one time" remember? $200 "one time " in your life isn't gonna kill ya.
hey India does lots of nasty stuff so it's ok me to dump my couch down the ravine. It makes no difference in the world because hey they do it and they're worse. If you can't beat 'em , join 'em right? Yeah it irritates me when people take me for an idiot with this kind of "logic".