epricedright Posted July 6, 2006 Report Share Posted July 6, 2006 Some of you may recall, while replacing my compressor pulley bearing assembly and clutch plate, I broke the threaded end of my compressor shaft off preventing me from getting the correct air gap with the installer tool, so now I have no AC. My question is if I tap my clutch plate on with a hammer (needs to go on another1/4") and my shaft seal subsequently leaks freon, will it be ok to drive it 1600 miles? I have a road trip coming up soon, and was going to try that route before replacing the compressor, hoping I get lucky and not bust a seal by hammerring on it. I don't want to chance contaminating my whole system with black death doing this, by driving it with no freon. Will driving it without freon be ok, if it does leak out? I have the funds now to replace the compressor, but I figure if I have nothing to lose by trying to tap it on, then why not try that first. I imagine I won't be successful w/ the hammering as it's a very tight fit, but figure what the hey, might as well try. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Fenwick Posted July 6, 2006 Report Share Posted July 6, 2006 Aloha, It seems to me that with no freon, the compressor won't engage. So, it would be the same as driving with the AC off. Is that right guys? Ed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KHE Posted July 6, 2006 Report Share Posted July 6, 2006 Just replace the compressor and have the system evacuated and recharged - the 1600 mile trip will be SO much more enjoyable with A/C. I doubt that you'd be able to hammer the clutch plate 1/4" without totally destroying it anyway. Kevin '93 Fleetwood Brougham '05 Deville '04 Deville 2013 Silverado Z71 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
epricedright Posted July 7, 2006 Author Report Share Posted July 7, 2006 Just replace the compressor and have the system evacuated and recharged - the 1600 mile trip will be SO much more enjoyable with A/C. I doubt that you'd be able to hammer the clutch plate 1/4" without totally destroying it anyway. Kevin, you're probably right. I figured if I did try the hammering, I'd know soon enough before the trip, to replace the compressor. But wasn't sure how long it would take to leak out, fearing if it did leak, it might possibly be into my trip before it did. Should I have the old freon captured before removing the old compressor, or is it ok to just vent it? Where would I let it vent from? AC is totally greek to me! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ranger Posted July 7, 2006 Report Share Posted July 7, 2006 Aloha, It seems to me that with no freon, the compressor won't engage. So, it would be the same as driving with the AC off. Is that right guys? Ed That is correct, Ed. Should I have the old freon captured before removing the old compressor, or is it ok to just vent it? Where would I let it vent from? The freon should be evacuated and captured. It is actually illegal to vent it to atmosphere. It is done from the low side service port. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KHE Posted July 7, 2006 Report Share Posted July 7, 2006 Just replace the compressor and have the system evacuated and recharged - the 1600 mile trip will be SO much more enjoyable with A/C. I doubt that you'd be able to hammer the clutch plate 1/4" without totally destroying it anyway. Kevin, you're probably right. I figured if I did try the hammering, I'd know soon enough before the trip, to replace the compressor. But wasn't sure how long it would take to leak out, fearing if it did leak, it might possibly be into my trip before it did. Should I have the old freon captured before removing the old compressor, or is it ok to just vent it? Where would I let it vent from? AC is totally greek to me! Yes - by law, you cannot vent the refrigerant into the atmosphere. Have it recovered by a local shop - they should give you a credit for the amount recovered and then apply that to the cost of evacuating and recharging once you replace the compressor. Kevin '93 Fleetwood Brougham '05 Deville '04 Deville 2013 Silverado Z71 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
epricedright Posted July 7, 2006 Author Report Share Posted July 7, 2006 Thanks, I'll be sure to have it recovered then. I knew that was the case with the old R12, wasn't sure about R-134a. So it must be bad for the ozone as well huh? Are there any refridgerants that are ozone friendly? What are the new cars using now? And what's the law regarding topping a system off. I heard at one time that an AC shop was obligated by law to find and fix the leak before recharging a system. Is that still the case, or did that apply only to R12? And they sell cans of R-134a freon in auto stores, correct? I need to have my mini-van topped off, reason I'm asking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve6 Posted July 7, 2006 Report Share Posted July 7, 2006 Thanks, I'll be sure to have it recovered then. I knew that was the case with the old R12, wasn't sure about R-134a. So it must be bad for the ozone as well huh? Are there any refridgerants that are ozone friendly? What are the new cars using now? And what's the law regarding topping a system off. I heard at one time that an AC shop was obligated by law to find and fix the leak before recharging a system. Is that still the case, or did that apply only to R12? And they sell cans of R-134a freon in auto stores, correct? I need to have my mini-van topped off, reason I'm asking. r134 emits carbon dioxide or something into the atmosphere(so its still bad), but its not bad for the ozone as r12 was. Im sure its still the law the system has to be pressure tested and pass before they will recharge it, if your system needs to be totaly recharged and $$ is an issue, I recommend using duracool, its pretty neat stuff, i just used to to recharge one of my cars, you can use it for a totaly empty system or to top of a r134 system.... you can read about it online, just google it.... but i did see cans of r134 in a store last time i was there... i live in canada..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ranger Posted July 7, 2006 Report Share Posted July 7, 2006 R134a must be ozone friendly because you can but it and do it yourself, but I believe that shops are required to fix leaks before recharging, even with R134a, though I am not positive about that. I am pretty sure that R134a is still the freon of choice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KHE Posted July 7, 2006 Report Share Posted July 7, 2006 R-134a is still the refrigerant that is used in new cars today. It is illegal to top off any automotive system with a different refrigerant that what is specified by the manufacturer. Duracool is a hydrocarbon refrigerant that is also illegal in most states. A shop is not required by law to repair a leak - it is encouraged but not required but some shops will use that line to get the customer to pay for additional repairs. I advocate repairing all leaks but there are certain cases where it would not be practical. For instance, an old car that has an evaporator leak that leaks only 1 or two ozs. per year which would equate to having to add a can of R-134a every 3 years or so. The labor to replace the evaporator might me more than the car is worth. Kevin '93 Fleetwood Brougham '05 Deville '04 Deville 2013 Silverado Z71 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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