1995 Altima GXE air doesn't work well

Before I got the car it had been in a front end collision. The system is marked as having the newer freon. The air had worked great years ago before the previous owner had that accident. The problem is that on a hot day the air will start working okay then stop. Online an air conditioning company owner in Florida posted to someone else that that was usually due to there being moisture in the freon as a result of the system having been open and not later purged. That the moisture would freeze at a port in the system and block it all up. I went to a local tire shop I like that does air and asked them to put a vacuum on the system and then completely recharge it (as suggested by the Florida guy in his post). They did and the receipt, somewhere around $100, had a clear caveat that the work was being done at the owner's request and might not correct the problem. Well, it didn't.

There are some things I'm wondering: a) when recharged after that accident years ago could they have just slapped on the labels indicating upgrade to the newer freon and charged with the newer freon without making that required internal orifice change? b) could this 'old freon' compressor just be incapable of cooling with this new freon even with the proper orifice change? c) could the compressor be overheating and shutting down the system as a result of a) or b)? d) is there some other unusual cause of this failure other than possible resistance somewhere in the off/on line to its clutch, e.g. at a dashboard switch. e) if a wasp had gotten up into the drain and made one of those cardboard-like nests, could that cause this kind of failure by slowing the water drainage?

The failure takes a varying period of time to initiate depending on the temperature. On a really hot day it might take only 5 minutes. One minute the hoses to the compressor are cold then very quickly after the failure the hoses are not. I couldn't get a view of the clutch to see if it was spinning and presently the car is down. Sometimes I would drive like 20 miles after the failure and upon making a turn the air would suddenly come on again. I've checked and cleaned the connections at the compressor.

I'd like to go into this repair informed and make fewer costly mistakes. Thanks.

Bill

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Bill
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