Hello all! My 97 Monte carlo 3.4L is having an issue with the air conditioning. It did have a leak and I had zero air conditioning so I added a can of Interdynamic 134a with stop leak. That was three days ago and my pressure has stayed the same (25 psi, just into the fill range on the gauge). My question is this, why would my driver side blow noticeably colder air then my passenger (besides the obvious temp controls, which are both set at the coldest setting)? Is it because I don't have enough refrigerant in the system ( just barely into full, or blue, on the gauge)? Any ideas? Thanks guys, i'm f%&^ing glad its working at all now, 94 in chicago!

 

Hmm....its odd that one side is blowing colder than the other with everything set on the coldest possible setting.

I can tell you that is you have a leak, that stuff with stop leak is only going to be a temp. fix. I am sure you have already lost some of the new refrigerant...a leak needs to be fixed properly or it will just continue to leak out all the new refrigerant. I had this happen to my 1989 Chevy Silverado...It needed a new A/C condensor and then a refil of refrigerant. It cost me around $500 bucks to have everything fixed.

 

I agree. AC systems do odd things when not properly charged. I would take it to a certified repair shop that does ac work and have them leak check it. That way it can be properly vacuumed down to remove all moisture before being filled, and then they can find the leak. R-134 turns to an acid when exposed to moisture and will destroy evaporators and other components. Putting it under a vacuum for half an hour or more is the only way to remove this moisture.

I also recommended never using the stuff in the can. Ac's will never just loose their charge unless they have a leak so the cans at the store are just a waste of money, besides most contain a stop leak that can destroy a repair shops ac machine if it doesn't have the proper filters. It also has the potential to destroy your compressor, accumulator, or expansion tube buy plugging up things internally in the system

 

What a coincidence. I too have a 97 Z34 and I have/had a leak in my AC too. I just dyed it monday and recharged it yesterday and the leak isnt showing up. At least it blows cold now. As for your problem, do you have dual climate control or just the single adjustment? If you have DCC I would bet that the problem is the with blend door to the passenger side. If its not the door itself, it may be a problem with the switch itself.

 

One quick thing about the dye in 134a systems that really sucks, it washes off with water so a little rain or puddle will take it off

 

Its been dry for the last week so that wasnt a problem. The stuff is a little more resiliant than that tho. Its transfers with water but it doesnt wash it off completely.

 

Bummer town! Wish I would have known about the possible harmful effect of the stop leak. Anyways I refilled it Monday and the pressure is still good. I'll take it to a shop around here to get vacuumed out for sure.

PS, what does the plastic vacuum ball do that is close to the front tire? (can't remember if its the driver or passenger side). Came off in my wreck and I have it in my trunk just not sure how to connect it and what it actually does... Thanks for all the help!!

 

"do you have dual climate control or just the single adjustment? If you have DCC I would bet that the problem is the with blend door to the passenger side. If its not the door itself, it may be a problem with the switch itself." I do have the dual climate controlled Z34. The switch works when I move it to hot but when I bring it down to cold it blows at around room temperature (thats what she said). Where is this blend door? I got this car for free from my brother and I'm just trying to make it last a few years until I can afford a new one so cost is kind of an issue. Still have the P0441 engine code, hesitation on acceleration (letting off and reapplying on the gas fixes it) problems. Thanks for the help!

 

Its a vacuum reservoir. If I remember correctly its used to store vacuum so vacuum controlled things, like heater/ac controls, will still work under low vacuum conditions, like high RPM and WOT. It not being hooked up is causing a vacuum leak and may be why your not getting cold out of one side. Heres a diagram from alldata of how it hooks up

25 lbs is not nearly enough ac pressure. With the ac not running the pressure should be fairly close to ambient temperature

 

Dude, that was above and beyond! Thanks!!!! I thought it was something involving that because anything over 2-3k the air drops and doesn't output much! Looks like the driver side, once again thank you thank you thank you! I'll look into the 25 lbs!