'96 GC Air Conditioner Woes

It probably has a leak that is growing worse. Take it to a "real mechanic" for a leak test

The evaporator (under the dash) is what has been going out on the JGC. I thought they had it fixed by your model. Maybe not. You really need to go to an A/C shop that knows what they are doing and have the evaporator checked out. I struggled with A/C problems in our '93 which definitely had the evaporator problem. It was replaced by Chrysler, but I still had problems about once a year. Finally, I took it to an A/C shop that does nothing else. They found the problem right away in the O'rings on the compressor.

Dick

I had one like this, in a Suburban. None of the "Certified AC Service Centers" I took it to had the brains to do a visual inspection of the rear AC unit. Guess what was leaking, with oil dripping from a crimped hose fitting? I figured this out myself, replaced the rear AC hoses, then while I was at it bought an O-ring kit and replaced all the O-rings in the system myself. That was interesting. That metering orifice was interesting too.

This guy would be ahead asking an AC shop to replace "all the O-rings and any hose that looks like it needs it". If one O-ring is leaking the rest are getting ready.

Earle

That was probably the problem... you took it to an "ASE Certified Technician" instead of having a mechanic look at it...

What is the difference you ask?

If you turn a technician loose in a salvage yard with access to a complete machine shop and every reference book ever written he can build you a passable lawnmower in six months.

Now give a mechanic 4 wrenches, 2 screw drivers, a hammer, a case of Hudepohl, and a pouch of Redman and he can build you anything from a patio set to an ocean liner...

That's the difference..

Part of the problem is that you can't work on AC for money without a fancy charging station and an even fancier EPA permit. This prevents the two mechanics in town from doing any AC work. I don't have a commercial business, but the two installations I did for myself more than paid for the vacuum pump and set of gauges I bought. Don't ask me what happened to the waste refrigerant. It must have all leaked out.

O-rings are 90% of the problem. It is false economy to save a few dollars on each system, while giving your customers years and years of repair bill headache.

Earle

Hi Earle, It's too bad some car don't advertise their assemble lines take the time to use flared nuts to bolt everything together to see if their sales don't go up enough to make it cost effective. As anyone knows the AC's retaining springs alone give up under dusty conditions in no time at all. God Bless America, L.W(Bill) Hughes III 0|||||||0

The Evaporator on my 97 JGC went last year.

Dick wrote:

Are they anything like registered nurses?

Earle

A change like that might make your typical new vehicle go several years without needing AC service, and would keep the tree-huggers happy too. Fewer leaks, means less refrigerant released into the atmosphere. The new stuff, R134a, is supposed to be less harmful to the ozone layer, but it can't be "good" for it.

As an individual consumer you can't do much, but you *can* be aggressive (i.e. not stingy) when things have to be repaired. This should make the system last longer until the next repair stop.

Earle

interesting

A 'real' mechanic certainly has the qualifications to be ASE Certified and in today's business environment it is almost a certainty. However..... that does not mean that all ASE Technicians can be considered 'real' mechanics.

In the nursing world there are, as you know, great prejudices against hospital trained nurses (RNs) by the university trained nurses (BSN-RNs). I have never seen where the addition of these three letters behind their name improves their competence.....

This particular waste of human life is an associate's degree nurse, and a mail order

one to boot. He thinks that he issuperior to hospital nurses, university nurses, EMTs, and that "emergencyroom doctors are not qualified to second guess what I do in the field". Hehas been taken down a peg or two, but I am waiting for him to make his nextmistake.

Why would anyone put Foley catheters in six patients, without a medical order?

Earle

mechanics.

Why insert them at all? Did they all suffer from retention? Did he offer any justification other than 'I made a judgment?

My niece had a Ford with a water leak behind the dash. They suspected a clogged drain or windshield leak but it wasn't the windshield and repeated clearings had no effect and they eventually decided to remove the dash....

Removal of the dash was a ten (10) hour job at $75/hr + diagnosis and repair of the problem.

She decided to just live with the leak...

It is a shame that the vehicles today are designed to be unrepairable

That's not the part of So. California I came from. Down in the twenties many times in the winter. Smudge pots and later wind machines for the citrus groves. When I was in high school we covered our engines at night with blankets. Of course I suppose people in Alaska could do without a heater too, but.....................

Dick