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First of all, some background here: https://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forum...pics/4510738/1.
In May 2019 I started to notice a light groan when the A/C was running, It took some quiet roads to first notice it. The groan is still here today. In July 2019 I rented an A/C pressure gauge and got these readings:
At some point in autumn 2019 I removed the clutch, it had some A/C oil on it, looks like that seal (if you read the background post) is not working like before. I cleaned the oil from the clutch and removed one shim to keep it in spec. No change in groaning sound.
Then this year, after maybe a 2 month break from using the A/C (Dec/Jan) I noticed that I also hear a wooshing sound in the AC pipes, or perhaps the evaporator (whatever the thing under the dashboard is called). This can only be heard from inside the car. Along with this wooshing, the A/C does not cool like it used to, it takes miles to get some cool air out, and if it's hot outside, it's not up to the task. Today I measured the pressures again (followed the manual like the last time). Ambient temp was about 80F for both measurements.
It seems like it's on the high limit for low pres and low limit for high pres.
I'd appreciate some opinions on the readings.
Both radiator fans are working when the AC is on, the clutch is spinning when asked to.
how would replacing what ever that means fix this problem?
It's a valve. The orifice in yours is clogged up or some other failure, but that's not important. What's important is that you replace it, charge up your ride and have a cool summer.
Edit: Woops, I thought you were the OP. Anyways, the message was obviously for the OP.
OP's pressures don't actually look bad. They read like he has a low system charge. Under dash evaporator coil "Swooshing" is a normal sound to an extent. It could indicate contaminants inside the system. You indicated a compressor shaft leak. Well, there's your leak. Compressor could also be failing internally, causing the noise. Throw Some PAG oil (very little, I see you have the manual) and refrigerant in it (and maybe some dye?) and see what it does. Monitoring your discharge temps with a thermometer is just as important as gauge readings, and even more so in a practical sense.
4th gens are old cars now. There could be a litany of stuff going on, or the system could be perfectly fine. All depends on how well it was taken care of. The Japanese era production models were reliable, well-built cars. The most pragmatic approach in my opinion, were it a daily driver work horse and not much else, would be to stick a thermometer in a vent and dump refrigerant in it until it blew cold air then call it a day.
I completely rebuilt my entire AC system during my engine swap a year ago. At 85/90 degrees and 60% humidity, my system can cut the ambient temperature almost in half by the time I pull out of my driveway and get to the the first stop sign out of my hood, about 200 yards away. My pressures sit at around 35 low side and 215 high side with windows down, 2500RPM, on a hot Tampa day.
This past Sunday I used some of the EZ Chill, but forgot to weigh it. To make things interesting, I dropped the low pressure cap in the engine bay, but found it 45 minutes later.
I finally got a chance for 2 longer drives today - 26 mi each way.
The whooshing sound is greatly reduced, and the A/C is acceptably cool.
I did not get a chance to read the pressures again, and won't have time for it any time soon.
Many thanks!!!
04-25-2020, 03:36 PM
