Toyota AC blowing hot air.

Sometimes a vehicle is old. You don't want to spend $$$ on a vehicle that is only worth $ and only for a few more years.

BDSL wrote: ↑ Sometimes a vehicle is old. You don't want to spend $$$ on a vehicle that is only worth $ and only for a few more years.

Under 55K kilometers is not used much for a 11 year old car, so most likely never spent much money for anything since day one.
Maybe get a Dewalt fan with a 5amp battery for those hot humid days would be a wiser choice.

A fan doesn’t remove humidity.

mrweather wrote: ↑A fan doesn’t remove humidity.

A fan is still better than no fan.

This thread is confusing.
The OP is complaining that people want a temporary fix. So I assume he is all for the permanent fix.
But then, why does he have R134a stashed in the garage??????

BDSL wrote: ↑This thread is confusing.
The OP is complaining that people want a temporary fix. So I assume he is all for the permanent fix.
But then, why does he have R134a stashed in the garage??????

It was a relatives car that got pushed on to me by my mother. She is the type that wants to help everyone but she can't do so she has the siblings do her charity work. My brother and I gone through quite a number of cars through our life and we even have a few cans of R12 in the stash as well.
Yes I am totally for fixing things correctly and next guess what? The relative is going to come again for another refrigerant fill.

could be the A/C clutch, A/C compressor

play around with the A/C button and see whether the clutch engages. If it does, then the clutch probably needs replacing. After market will be alot cheaper.

alanbrenton wrote: ↑ could be the A/C clutch, A/C compressor

play around with the A/C button and see whether the clutch engages. If it does, then the clutch probably needs replacing. After market will be alot cheaper.

I think he said in the first post that AC is leaking. Probably a dried seal/oil ring because the AC hasn't been used for a while.

BDSL wrote: ↑ I think he said in the first post that AC is leaking. Probably a dried seal/oil ring because the AC hasn't been used for a while.

If he knew it was leaking, why put refrigerant though?

It's like I knew my champagne glass had a crack and I poured Dom Perignon in there lol.

BDSL wrote: ↑ I think he said in the first post that AC is leaking. Probably a dried seal/oil ring because the AC hasn't been used for a while.

AC is a closed system, there is no need to add any refrigerant unless there is a problem. There was no accident and a fill had the ac up and running for now. As to how long it could be a month, 6 months a year or even 18 months. I don't know?

cristianosham wrote: ↑ AC is a closed system, there is no need to add any refrigerant unless there is a problem. There was no accident and a fill had the ac up and running for now. As to how long it could be a month, 6 months a year or even 18 months. I don't know?

I know my AC stuff....I have done it many times on various older vehicles. I think your message is meant for alanbrenton

alanbrenton wrote: ↑ If he knew it was leaking, why put refrigerant though?

It's like I knew my wine glass had a crack and I poured Dom Perignon in there lol.

The AC works best when the line is within a certain pressure.
Some of the refrigerant refills contain moisture remover / seal conditioner.

cristianosham wrote: ↑ Yes I am totally for fixing things correctly and next guess what? The relative is going to come again for another refrigerant fill.

Add some dye. Get a proper uv light. When they come back the 3rd time, you will see where it leaks.

billford wrote: ↑ Add some dye. Get a proper uv light. When they come back the 3rd time, you will see where it leaks.

I was thinking of adios amigos and never come back again. Already it was a freebie, my time, my r134a, so it is time for him to bring it to a garage and pay the price. The relative is not the type that ever help our family out and is the one that wants you to help them all the time.

Welp, they don't call 'em Toyblowtas for nothing!

Anyway as for temporary fixes it's because people are cheap bastards; also some people have no idea about science (yet decided to get in and drive a car anyway) and actually think A/C needs periodic "refilling" to continue working

That said I'm sure refrigerant still escapes out of the system after very long periods of time--same way a PC closed loop cooler can eventually lose an amount of fluid such that performance is impacted, even though there were no leaks. Given A/C is also a phase-change system and gasses tend to escape much more readily than liquids, I'd imagine in 15-20 years even a "non-leaking" A/C system might drop enough charge/pressure to stop working