93 Ford Explorer AC question

Without knowing what this dime store (sorry for the slur) guage is reading, I would recommend having the system serviced by a professional. Tere is a real possibility that someone can be injured when servicing one of these systems (freon "boils" at extremely low temperatures..... if freon in it's liquid state contacts body part - yours, not the cars - these parts will get very cold very fast). Improper service can lead to system damage that can run into thousands to repair.

While AC system service isn't rocket science and joe average can easily learn the correct procedures and most of the 'gotcha's, we 'should' be using equipment to minimize the impact to our environment. Zero pollution is an unattainable dream so the best we can hope for is to minimize the footprint we each leave behind. Proper recovery and testing can leave us with AC that works and a planet that our grandchildren might be able to survive on.

If you're still with me at this point, there are many things that you can do without intruding into the sealed part of the system to ensure that the AC will cool as it should. The cooling system for the motor needs to be functioning correctly. If the car overheats or the cooling fan isn't up to snuff, there wont be enough air passing over the condenser to remove sufficient heat from the high side. Additionally, debris can collect between the condenser and radiator (safe from prying eyes) and reduce required air flow - this can also reproduce your symptoms, BTW.

On a more serious note...... I'm on holidays - it is 50°F - it is raining cats and dogs - I can't ride my scooter - we go camping tomorrow for 5 days - I'm in the middle of outside renovations on the house....... why in Gods name am I helping with an AC problem???? 8^(

Hope everyone has more sun than I do....

My `94 uses the newer less-toxic Freon, I believe #134, as opposed to R-12. I dunno what was used in `93. I bought a one gauge kit from BJ's or Costco and put in 2 cans of juice. It made a big difference. I am very handy but the kit was easy to use, too. The hardest part was pressing on the kit's connector to the Schrader-type valve on the car itself... it had to be forced. I liked it better when it was screwed on. There is a very slow leak somewhere. I am not going to concern myself with getting it fixed. A can a year of R-134 is a lot cheaper than any repair could be, and it will not damage the environment to any real extent. If you want to preserve the ozone layer, of course recycle R-12. Even more importantly, ban Space Shuttle flights... they dump an enormous amount of ozone reactive molecules into the upper atmosphere.

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We can try to justify our excesses any which way we choose..... "The guy down the street is a much bigger polluter than I am, so I don't need to try". At the risk of sounding like a tree hugger, it's not about what how someone else is worse than we are... it's about doing what is right.

It matters not if it is R12 or R134a..... we slopped R12 around for many years until it caught up with us.... R134a was supposed to be a "stop-gap" replacement until something better was found. The government(s) took the pressure off and now we slop R134a around. I see no reason to doubt that we will wake up one day and find out that R134a has done something they hadn't "planned" on.

In your own case, you slammed two pounds (give or take) into your AC system.... is it too much? Is it not enough? Will you turn on the AC one hot day to find out the compressor slugged itself to death and now you are faced with a real bill??? I dunno... I hope you're lucky at craps....

I really take exception to " I am not going to concern myself with getting it fixed" since me, my family and any grandchildren my son may father are going to share this earth with your progeny. Honesty and integrity aren't conditional...... if someone is irresponsible in one facet of life, there is a good chance that they are irresponsible in other areas.

I can't say that I don't pollute..... I live in a house - I have a furnace - I drive - I fix cars and trucks for a living....... I do everything other polluters do. I act responsibly in my polluting exploits. You would cringe at what our shop spends in disposal and recycling costs per year... but the idea is to MINIMIZE the footprint we leave on this planet. If everyone thought the same as you in north america (how many millions of registered autos??), how many millions of pounds of R134a would be ejected into the atmosphere in a given year????

Let us all remember that R134a, like R12 is NOT a compound that nature formed... it is totally man-made and, as such, will have a man-made effect on the environment...... we,collectively, don't have a real good track record when it comes to this sort of stuff.

Sorry to climb up on a soapbox, folks, but between this and other venues I drop in on, I have had it up to here with people that aren't doing their bit to help our future generations. Often heard... "How can I fool the clean air test?"..... "How can I turn off the check money light until I sell this??"..... Everyone is p*ssed because the "other guys" are bad..... all we want to do is "fudge a little".....

In the end, what one and a half billion chinese do will far outweigh anything we may try to do to save the environment. Unfortunately, they have a government with an ideology that the environment is for the good of the state, and not vice-versa.

I have a 93 and it came with the old R12. The change to 134, I believe came a year later.

Anyway, this does not matter too much since if you are not the original owner it may have been changed like I have done.

I have found the 134 just does not get the car as cold as it once was. And yes driving does make it get colder in mine.

A journey begins with a single step..... we can blame all of societies ills on "someone else" all the while never making a change ourselves. My personal choice is to do what I can and I will continue to counsel others to do their part. Irresponsibility remains irresponsible - no matter how many practice it. "He did it, too!!" is a sophomoric response to any situation.

If we are not part of the solution, it remains obvious that we are part of the problem.

Soapbox mode = .

Thanks for the posts. This has been changed over to the 134a by the last owner. I think I'll just leave it alone for now since it's not leaking and does blow cold when the truck is moving.

I had a similar problem with my 92. If the temp gauge is also creeping up when you are idling, check out the fan clutch. Replacing it made the a/c work a whole lot better. When you're driving you get forced air into the engine compartment. If the clutch is bad, there is insufficient air flow. Charlie

Ding ding...

Fan clutch? My 92's converted R12 -> R134A system isn't *quite* as cold at idle/stopped (thats what Max A/C is for, recirculate!) but it was

I paid $20ish for a new one. Replacement is easy, just have whatever (1

JS

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