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AC High pressure blow off valve on a 2003 Camry

10K views 8 replies 5 participants last post by  Riick 
#1 ·
First post!!! My 2003 camry se i4 has a 127,000 miles on it. I didn't have any issues with my ac, but it did feel as cold as my new camry. So I bought a kit from wallyworld and decided to charge it. Pulled the gauge out checked the pressure, it seemed a little light on freon. So I charged it, thought I needed a little more and added part of a second can. Pressure went into the red, it wasn't peaking a the end of the gauge. Being scared I tried to release the pressure with the gauge, by doing so the pressure did remain high, but it came back into the green. I did all of this on the low port side. Fear more then anything caused me to do this, but after doing this I noticed that there was a clear oil like substance on lower plastic protection pan. Not sure what it is, but now I am afraid it might have been my ac compressor. I did take it to the dealership and had them evacuate the freon, they ran a vacuum on the system, and recharged the unit. They did say that I had a little too much freon in the system. What could this oilly substance be? Is it freon/r134 oil, ac compressor oil. The oil was clear, light amber to a clear color. The dealership did inject dye to see if there were any leaks. They told me everything was fine. Some have indicated that it could be a high pressure blow off valve in the ac compressor. Does a 03 camry have a high pressure blow off valve?
 
#2 ·
"Pulled the gauge out checked the pressure, it seemed a little light on freon. So I charged iT"
What are the pressures you saw that you thought were "a little low"
And yes, that was the blow off valve, and that is refridgerant oil you see.
A little FYI to all. It's hot as hell out there, and a/c complaints are up to an all time high. Most have no issues, it just has to work twice as much to cool the cabin down.
 
#3 · (Edited)
Another FYI If you don't know anything about A/C work leave it alone.
"Pulled the gauge out checked the pressure, it seemed a little light on freon.
How do you know? did you compare it against a temp/pressure chart? Pressure is different at different ambient temps. Also to correctly diagnose an A/C system you need a real A/C manifold gauge set. Those gauges on refill cans are notoriously inaccurate.
Yes a lot of A/C problems are because of low refrigerant, but that means there IS a leak. A/C systems should not "consume" refrigerant as an engine does oil, if it does you have a problem somewhere.
 
#4 ·
I have had a little experience, but in reality my levels were normal. Toyotas tend to run lighter PSI's then other cars. I should have done nothing but my inexperience really lead me to making a costly decision. I didn't have a leak in the system before doing this, I wasn't low on freon. I took it to a toyota dealership. They evacuated the system, ran a vacuum on it, and recharged the system as per OEM instructions. They added a dye to see if there was a leak. No leaks were present at this time, they asked me to come back in 30 days to see if there is a leak present. They also gave me a 100 dollar coupon. for 85 dollars, AC service at the dealership is a great deal. My hope was that the high pressure blow off value evacuated the extra freon/oil in the system. I took the car directly to the dealership and had the services performed. So I can assume the 2003 Toyota Camry 2.4 has a high pressure ac blow off?
thanks
 
#7 ·
The AC has a high/low pressure switch located in the liquid line just after the condenser. On my 04, that switch is located on the passenger side of the condenser and viewed from above or through the lower grill..Has a wire harness connected to it. This switch does not vent refrigerant to the atmosphere. What you are seeing is most likely compressor oil discharged out of the compressor shaft seal. That would probably be the source of the oil you are seeing on the splash shield below the radiator. The AC system holds about 20 oz of R-134 and the +/- for fill is about 1.5oz. The low pressure port on my 04 is back toward the firewall so the oil probably didn't come from venting refrigerant. If the low pressure port on your car is somewhere above the splash shield,I suppose the oil you see could have come from venting 134. Regards
 
#8 ·
I called the dealership today and they said that there is a high pressure blow off valve and what was released was the oil that left over from the evaporated freon. Not sure but I have to hope for this in the mean time. I will contact toyota directly to see what they have to say.
 
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