AC Repair Part 1

[Jamesp]

Then on to putting in the refrigerant. Either buy a scale and put in precisely 850 grams (my preference) or use the pressure tables in the shop manual and gauges. Super important - the refrigerant is added with the car running to the low pressure side only. That is the refrigerant can is connected to the low pressure side, and never sees the high pressure side, can't stress that enough. Allowing the high pressure into the refrigerant can is the big time safety hazard. It can also result in the introduction of R134 into the atmosphere, and R134 should be recycled as noted above.

Results: High side and low side pressures were in spec. The AC blows cold, but as I have no foam in the heater box, the cold air goes everywhere no matter what climate control settings are used. The windshield fogs in the morning and it takes about a mile of running for the cabin to get comfortable in full sun at 90 F as only a fraction of the air that should be coming out of the AC vents is actually doing so. I guess I know what is coming next as I've already bought the foam.