After 16 months since evacuating system for engine swap, finally got the A/C working on Wed. WE evacuated system for about 30 mins, and left it in vacuum for another 30 to check for leaks..everything seemed fine.. We put in 2 cans of R134 without ANY complications...Compressor kicked on as expected and A/C came out Ice Cold. Let car sit Thursday, the started it up FRIDAY.. Still ice cold....Parked car in garage and went inside...Came out an hour later, and it was hissing through the H-side Valve...I pushed down the stem and let it pop back up and it shut off. WHen I went to add a little more gas, it started leaking again. I decided just to change the little metal piece that contains the valve. I found a universal kit, but the piece that looks like it is for my car is a 7/16, and the one I removed looks like 12 mm. The pics im talking about here. The piece is the one I removed. Is there a place to get this, and are there any tips for getting this corrected? The stem itself is not replaceable.....it looks as though is fixed insided the little housing. Thanks RC
Those valves are specific for Fords. You have to buy the replacement vavle from the dealer directly. The asshats at Ford also made it with a non removable core, so you have to replace that whole piece. The universal one you got was probably a conversion valve from R12 to R134a. I would just buy both the high and low side at the same time, and replace them both. When the manifold gauges are hooked up, it doesn't leak, which is why it passed the vacuum test. Kurt
Similiar problem a few years, thought I found a replacement valve as well, no luck there. I picked the entire line and replaced it....got it off the corral classifieds...... hope you find a cheap fix...
DAMN JEFF...you're still around? Gimme your number. Im giving it to my neighbor to take into his shop to see if he can get it from Ford. If not, i will give you a shout out. Maybe you can Priority mail it to me for $5 if i order it from you? Take care Jeff...got some other questions for you anyway on my rebuild. Thanks RC
Thanks for the info Kurt..you are always one of the first to reply and always seem to know what you are talking about RC
I am still here in Sunny South Florida. I still do the Nitrostang Racing on line only though for parts. I went back to work for Tires Plus as a Lead Tech of one of the stores. 754-368-7336
You can get the valves from the Ford dealership, and they keep them in stock. It's one of those nickel and dime items that isn't worth searching all over the internet for. I can't remember what I paid for mine at the dealership, but I know it was under $20 for both of them. Kurt
My mechanic picked them up for me today from his A/C guy. . They only came in boxes of 5, but both boxes cost me $23...If they fit, I will have extra ones if anyone needs them. I dont have a FORD dealership really close to me, so it's worth the extra couple bucks I saved on Gas. RC
Right on scrow. Put a little note in your sig advertising them for $6/set or something. Then everyone wins, and you make a profit. Kurt
Question Kurt....WHen I removed the bad one on Sunday, i taped the hole up immediately. My mechanic says I should stil evacuate system (dont have access to pump anymore) and since the system was exposed last year for the engine rebuild, i should NOT run the system until I change the dryer, because the moisture inside now will ruin the other parts. How much of this is true? Should I just charge it now and be done with it, or bring it in so he can change the dryer and evacuate before recharging? Thanks RC
You're mechanic is dead on. Odds are you got some air in there even if you taped the whole shut. Either way, you should change the dryer, which means evacuating it again. Kurt
Well, I already charged it, so what I what i can do is just run it for a little bit, then take it to him to remove the freon and contain it, then change and re instill gas. It's working ok for now though/ Thanks RC
Is evaporator and dryer the same thing? Where is the best place to get one and how hard is it to change? RC
No, the evaporator is under the dash. It is the heat exchanger that cools the air going through duct. The drier is also an accumulator, so it is called an accumulator/drier. It is the big black tank looking thing that sits on the firewall on the passenger side of the car. It is not hard to change with the exception of the "quick disconnects" that attach it to the other lines. I put that term in quotations because it is the biggest misnomer in the history of automotive manufacturing. Virgin "quick disconnects" can actually be a bastard to get apart. You'll need a quick disconnect tool to seperate them. Here is the tricky part. When disconnecting the line that goes into the firewall, take your time, and don't yank on it too much. The other part of that line is part of the evaporator. If you yank on it too hard you can damage the evaporator. The evaporator is about $100, and it is about a day of work to change it. The accumulator/drier runs about $50 or so. It's not terribly expensive. You can get one at Autozone, O'Reilly's, Advance, etc. Kurt
