2001 f-250 recharge AC (7.3)

[Punchdrunk Monkey]

My AC is spotty on when it wants to work and when it does, its not as cold as it used to be. I have never messed with the AC system. Is it as easy as buying a can of EZ Chill and pumping it in? Is that legal in CA  :classic_laugh:

 

[Sausage450r]

My AC is spotty on when it wants to work and when it does, its not as cold as it used to be. I have never messed with the AC system. Is it as easy as buying a can of EZ Chill and pumping it in? Is that legal in CA  :classic_laugh:

Its that easy as long as your pump is good and no leaks

 

[J Alper]

My AC is spotty on when it wants to work and when it does, its not as cold as it used to be. I have never messed with the AC system. Is it as easy as buying a can of EZ Chill and pumping it in? Is that legal in CA  :classic_laugh:

How long do you want to own the truck,  If you can have the system vac and put in fresh oil, I am sure it is time for a oil change, this would be the best for the compressor 

 

[zilla68]

not really that easy. 

you could have a vacuum leak, do you have auto hubs and do they work ok?

could be a clogged evap core, its amazing the dirt and trash that get in there from god knows where.

best to have someone diagnose it for you just to make sure its not a failing compressor, clogged orifice tube or something like that.

if you use those cans, you can add to much pag oil to it, and i've seen a ton of them way over charged.

 

[Rorschach]

You probably have a couple different problems.

1 compressor is probably not as efficient as it once was so doesn't work as good at low speed

2 you have dirt and debris slowing airflow through the multiple coolers you have stacked up in front of your radiator and need to blow everything out.

3 possible refrigerant leak but if your ac works good when you've been traveling at higher speeds for long periods of time then refer to 1 and 2

To test efficiency try spraying a little water through your grill for cooling effect with truck running and ac on then jump in and rev it up to 11 or 1200 rpm for a minute and see if you notice a considerable drop in temp out of vents. Don't rev up too much cuz your thermostatic fan clutch will stop your fan from turning fast enough.

Also, blowing/cleaning out your evaporator in the dash (the little exchanger that gets cold) helps too if you have an airflow problem with the air coming out of your vents. The evaporator gets dirty just like the exchangers in front of your radiator but worse because condensation collects there, freezes then defrosts turning into water and making mud out of dust that also collected on it and clogging air flow. That's one reason why newer vehicles have cabin filters. Blowing out and cleaning the evaporator can be really difficult due to accessibility but often not really necessary.

Also, be careful about introducing too much water to the coolers in the radiator area because like the evaporator, dirt in there turns to mud when water is added. When I check efficiency I sometimes just use a spray bottle and just mist some water on the condenser to get the extra cooling effect I want.

I wouldn't add any refrigerant without putting some gauges on it or if I knew it had a leak. But if I knew of a leak I'd try to fix said leak first. Sometimes I'll add refrigerant if it's a compressor seal just seeping but not dumping all the refrigerant out to limp it by for the summer 

 

[Rorschach]

Got my to thinking so I just went out and looked at my 99 450. You can remove the bolts that hold the top of your radiator and push it back a few inches to get between the radiator and the air to air cooler. As you can see mine is pretty dirty since I haven't blown it out in a while. Just blowing that debris front to back between the radiator and the air to air cooler doesn't really help much so getting in between there and cleaning it out good really does help a lot 

 

[Jersey_Jeff73]

i have a older ford truck the clutch on the ac compressor was worn had too much air gap between the pulley and the pull plate just was worn down a little. the clutch would intermintally work i just bent the springs on the front a little and its been good. there is probably a way to shim the proper air gap to do it right . if it is low on freeon the clutch will engage and disengage too often you should be able to hear it cycling.  

 

[Rockwood]

First thing: check the AC clutch to see if it’s AFU. Mine went in/out like that and the clutch was completely FUBAR and I was miles from losing the belt.

If the clutch is fine, and since it’s still working, just subpar, check the charge with a cheap refill kit from Vatozone to see if it’s low. If it is, get your BBQ thermometer and stick it in the center vent with the AC maxxed out. Add a couple PSI of refrigerant, let it settle, check temps. Repeat until it’s blowing in the low 50s/upper 40s. 

If it dies off in less than a year/2, you have a leak that needs fixing. If this is the first time it’s needed refrigerant in 20 years, not abnormal. 

 

[zilla68]

i have a older ford truck the clutch on the ac compressor was worn had too much air gap between the pulley and the pull plate just was worn down a little. the clutch would intermintally work i just bent the springs on the front a little and its been good. there is probably a way to shim the proper air gap to do it right . if it is low on freeon the clutch will engage and disengage too often you should be able to hear it cycling.  

i had this one time on my 99 cherokee, clutch wouldn't stay engaged, took it to a shop and they said you need a new compressor, so i drove it home. started searching and found a hack to remove the shim behind the center nut. pulled it out and that thing worked for another 75k miles, never missed a beat and you could literally hang meat in that thing. I had a heater core issue during that time so i swapped the evap also and boy was it dirty,just caked with dirt, but worked awesome lol.

 

[ElCaminoManT]

Those charge cans from the parts store are a great way to ruin your system. If you need just a little top-up, ok fine but 20+ years as an auto tech, I've dealt with the aftermaths of those stupid cans. If you don't have a vacuum pump and a good set of gauges, take the truck to a known a/c shop and let them do a proper evac, vacuum, oil inject and recharge on the system. If it's low, they'll see it in the scale when the system is evac'd then they can check for leaks if needed and go from there.

It's not a bad idea to have the freon evac'd and recharged every 5 ish years anyway, helps keep the system running fresh.

 

[Rockwood]

Those charge cans from the parts store are a great way to ruin your system. If you need just a little top-up, ok fine but 20+ years as an auto tech, I've dealt with the aftermaths of those stupid cans. If you don't have a vacuum pump and a good set of gauges, take the truck to a known a/c shop and let them do a proper evac, vacuum, oil inject and recharge on the system. If it's low, they'll see it in the scale when the system is evac'd then they can check for leaks if needed and go from there.

It's not a bad idea to have the freon evac'd and recharged every 5 ish years anyway, helps keep the system running fresh.

Agree.  I assume that since it's working, just not great, the system is still relatively pristine.  Charging from empty however, no sir.