AC question(yes i searched) - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

MisterSpillz · 07-22-2008, 06:44 PM

I have a 93 lxe 4 cyl. I just bough the car, however the ac has issues.
I'll try to explain to the best of my ability my issue. whenever the ac is on the car will whine while accelerating and driving, if i put it in park and rev the engine with the ac on it will make a squealing sound at around 3500 rpm. At times i will hear the ac running and the are will be cold, but then the ac will shut off and the air will become hot.. and it will turn on and off, constantly.
So i brought it to the mechanic, he opened the hood and the ac just so happened to be running at that time, he filled it up with r134a(saying that it was either already retrofitted, or it came like that), and i tried to explain to him the issue i had, and he said its just the humidity that makes you think that the ac is not cold...
So i left, I called him back today and insisted there must be an issue with it because of the on and off action, and the different abnormal sounds i am hearing. So he will do a thorough inspection of it tomorrow. However i have some questions on which ac compressor i have. I have searched threads, and have read that the type of ac r12-r134 will be posted on the inside of the hood, either I'm blind or stupid, but for the life of me i cant find it any where. is it possible that the person before me had the ac retrofit, but did a poor job? this is the thing, the mechanic i go is the same mechanic the previous owner goes to.. and my mechanic said to me that doing the retrofit is "bullsh*t" because he has been just changing the fluids for years, without changing everything else to make it current.
Or is it possible that my 93 was a later model and it actually does have the r134? Would it be on the compressor itself?
I might try to find a better mechanic, but for know he is all i know and trust..

tran.man48 · 07-22-2008, 07:47 PM

It is possible that you car has been retrofitted to 134a, but the person who did it did a half-ass job and didn't change the oil inside the compressor from r12 to 134a. This'll cause problems with the compressor.

Kep · 07-22-2008, 09:43 PM

The sticker under the hood is stuck to the hood itself (if it is still there). Open the hood and look up to see the stickers. R-12 has different fill ports than R-134a. If the retro-fitter installed the updated R-134a fittings that's how the mechanic knew that it was retro-fitted.

^+1 with tra.man48. There are some things that you can "get away with" but others that will screw up the system. If you end up replacing the compressor make sure that the rest of the system is clean. Flushing the system has pros and cons. However, you need to get rid of all the old oil and any contaminants.

Luck,
Kep

MisterSpillz · 07-22-2008, 10:40 PM

Yeah i definitely don't think the sticker is in the hood. And i really don't know if this was a conversion or an original, but i will find out tomorrow. Hopefully this mechanic knows what he is doing and does things right this time.
Thanks..

cykaaro · 07-23-2008, 12:25 AM

I just had mine retrofitted a few months back from where I work. The easiest way to tell is take a look at the fittings. If they are smallish, kinda like the size of the stems on the tires, they're r-12 fittings. If they're a brass coloured fitting and say, the size of a dime to a nickel in circumferance, they're r-134, and have most likely been retrofitted.
From what I've seen on a lot of vehicles, if they came stock r-134, the fitting will be a part of the tubing, not something that's been added to it.

As for the AC being cold, when it's working, it's cold. Now, I've been wonder if the compressor 'cycles' so to speak, as I hear mine, it seems to turn off, then on as needed I guess? Either way, mine seems to be working ok, and there wasn't any issues when I had it done with the way it was running. Now, I've found that after a week or two, the 'coldness' seems to disappear giving more cool air, but still not hot by anymeans. I initially by chance found a leak at one of the joings when I was working on my horns. I tightented it up and seemed to do the trick for now [although I will need to change the seal in the near future] Still the same thing was happening. Again, by chance, rewiring my fogs after the fuse caught fire, I discovered that my high-side port was leaking from the valve. For the interim, I tightened the cap on it, which stopped the leak, and put some more r-134 in, and it's been running nice and ice cold since. I honestly don't by the humidity story from what I've experienced.
The squealing noise it makes would be of concern, as that I highly doubt is normal, but the issue with it getting hot I'd suspect possibly a leak somewhere, especially if it blows cold after being recharged. Check your joints and see if they're oily around them, as that's a sign of leaking, and as well you may see tiny bubbles as I did on the one joint. Check to see if you hear anything leaking on the high and low side port as well.

good luck!

EEngineer · 07-23-2008, 12:56 AM

i thought the retrofit is always to R-12a cuz R134 was the old shit

94 is the first year they came with R-12a

cykaaro · 07-23-2008, 01:02 AM

Nope. r-12 is the stuff that they banned. r-134 is the current. That's why I never bothered with it in my jeep. Didn't want to spend the money to fix it AND do the retrofit.

MisterSpillz · 07-23-2008, 03:18 PM

So i took the car again to the same mechanic, and he is saying that there is no problem with the ac. While there he temp tested the vents, and it read around 41f. I tried to tell him that the air will be cold when the compressor is running, but its intermediate and it will turn off and on in weird ways. Usually during driving is when it will not be running.
Not only that but he also said the sound coming from the acceleration was not coming from the compressor, but rather coming from the engine because of the strain the compressor puts on the engine when it is running.
I don't know if this is true or not, but it seems unlikely. Because i can rev this thing high, and really put it to its limit and it has no noises, until i turn the ac on.
So it looks like i will be searching for a new mechanic.

tran.man48 · 07-23-2008, 03:56 PM

yeah, I'd find a different mechanic... you should never hear squealing/whining from the car whether the AC is running or not.

Good luck!

cykaaro · 07-23-2008, 10:24 PM

I can hear mine when it's running of course, but no squealing noises or the like.
I'd suggest to try to find a place that specializes in AC that has a good rep and have them take a look at it. When my AC is on, trust me, it's cold!