Help my find my r134a leak.

[zzyzzx]

Note: This is for a 1999 Alero V6 with 40K miles...

I have a r134a leak. Looking around (yes even with UV glasses) I am seeing some highly suspicious stains (yellowish area )in the area around the HP port, pictured below:

From looking at those pictures, is that indicative of the port being bad, the gasket between the port and the A/C line, the A/C line itself, or maybe the pressure switch below it. What do you think?

 

[kschachn]

What are UV glasses? If you have a UV dye in the refrigerant, you need a UV lamp to see it. If it is a long-wave lamp (which it should be and hopefully is), you don't need any kind of glasses.

And on those pictures I really don't see any oil-slick type leaks if that is what you are asking.

 

[zzyzzx]

Originally Posted By: kschachn
What are UV glasses? If you have a UV dye in the refrigerant, you need a UV lamp to see it. If it is a long-wave lamp (which it should be and hopefully is), you don't need any kind of glasses.

And on those pictures I really don't see any oil-slick type leaks if that is what you are asking.


That yellow-ish area shows up when I use my UV light and glasses.

 

[kschachn]

Oh, OK well the glasses don't do anything for you in terms of being able to see the UV dye under illumination, they just filter out any short-wave UV your lamp might be emitting (to protect your eyes). When you said "UV glasses" I wasn't sure you had a lamp or not.

Anyway, if you are seeing dye traces near the fitting then your next step would be to use a refrigerant sniffer to check that area. It's a bit hard to tell the extent of a leak based on a dye trace alone unless it is massive. Schrader valves do leak a little but the caps are intended as a secondary seal. Do you have access to a sniffer? That would be my next step. Don't take the cap off, just test it with the cap in place. Most valves will register positive if you remove the cap and immediately test.

How much of a leak are you seeing? Is the system bleeding down to zero? If so, I doubt that fitting is the leak. If you have a large leak it is generally going to show oil. I really don't see any in that area.

The pressure switch might be leaking too, but a leak detector is what you would use to see if it is.

 

[Donald]

You either need UV dye in the system or a leak detector probe. O-rings are the most likely things to leak, and/or corroded condenser.

 

[zzyzzx]

Originally Posted By: kschachn
Anyway, if you are seeing dye traces near the fitting then your next step would be to use a refrigerant sniffer to check that area. It's a bit hard to tell the extent of a leak based on a dye trace alone unless it is massive. Schrader valves do leak a little but the caps are intended as a secondary seal. Do you have access to a sniffer? That would be my next step. Don't take the cap off, just test it with the cap in place. Most valves will register positive if you remove the cap and immediately test.

How much of a leak are you seeing? Is the system bleeding down to zero? If so, I doubt that fitting is the leak. If you have a large leak it is generally going to show oil. I really don't see any in that area.

The pressure switch might be leaking too, but a leak detector is what you would use to see if it is.


I do have a sniffer, but I don't see how I could use to to tell the difference between a leak in places so close together. Leak is not massive, I probably only added 2 cans of r134a last summer. System is not bleeding down to zero. It had 40lbs on the low side with the engine off as of last week.

 

[tenderloin]

If you cannot find the leak and it is holding some pressure try one of these. Not cheap but I have had great success. Sold at various stores and online

Red Angel will seal leaks in A/C systems that can hold 5 inches of vacuum for 25 minutes or 15 inches of vacuum for 5 minute A system that won’t hold 5 inches of vacuum on the low side for 25 minutes has a leak that is too large to be sealed, and will need a hard part repair.

Red Angel Liquid



Red Angel Aerosol

 

[Donald]

Originally Posted By: tenderloin
If you cannot find the leak and it is holding some pressure try one of these. Not cheap but I have had great success. Sold at various stores and online

Red Angel will seal leaks in A/C systems that can hold 5 inches of vacuum for 25 minutes or 15 inches of vacuum for 5 minute A system that won’t hold 5 inches of vacuum on the low side for 25 minutes has a leak that is too large to be sealed, and will need a hard part repair.

Red Angel Liquid



Red Angel Aerosol


Places that work on A/C will hate any stop leak in your system. It can damage their recovery machines.

 

[zzyzzx]

Could that dye be from an initial factory fill?
I have never used that high pressure port.

I am thinking of just adding enough r134a to make it work then spraying that area with soapy water to see if I get any bubbles.

 

[CHARLIEBRONSON21]

Leak sniffer

 

[Gokhan]

They use ion detectors to "sniff" the leak.

How are you going to fix the leak even if you find it? You need to evacuate the system after you discharge it and you don't have the right tools.

A/C jobs aren't meant for DIYers and not even regular shops. Take it to a qualified A/C shop.

 

[user52165]

Originally Posted By: Gokhan
They use ion detectors to "sniff" the leak.

How are you going to fix the leak even if you find it? You need to evacuate the system after you discharge it and you don't have the right tools.

A/C jobs aren't meant for DIYers and not even regular shops. Take it to a qualified A/C shop.


+1 This. He nailed it.

I do about everything there is on cars but leave AC to the pros.

 

[Gokhan]

Originally Posted By: user52165
Originally Posted By: Gokhan
They use ion detectors to "sniff" the leak.

How are you going to fix the leak even if you find it? You need to evacuate the system after you discharge it and you don't have the right tools.

A/C jobs aren't meant for DIYers and not even regular shops. Take it to a qualified A/C shop.

+1 This. He nailed it.

I do about everything there is on cars but leave AC to the pros.

Yup. Good A/C shops also have welding apparatus and they can repair your leaking hose and pipe assemblies without having to replace the entire pipe and hose assemblies with new, expensive -- and sometimes impossible-to-find -- parts.

So, unless you have an ion leak detector, welding machine, vacuum pump, pressure gauges, proper fittings, know exactly what you're doing, and have experience about it, don't even think about making a major repair on your A/C.

 

[Vikas]

OP is in Maryland area; qualified A/C repair shops only exist in the warm area of the country. It is all hack jobs around here.

 

[artificialist]

Originally Posted By: Gokhan

Yup. Good A/C shops also have welding apparatus and they can repair your leaking hose and pipe assemblies without having to replace the entire pipe and hose assemblies with new, expensive -- and sometimes impossible-to-find -- parts.


If you need an A/C hose, you can go to your local hydraulic hose fabricator. You hand over your old hose, and they make a copy.

I remember having to repair a VW Cabrio. VW hose assembly $300, make a copy at the hydraulic hose shop: $120 max.

In Florida most repair shops have an A/C machine, and one guy knows how to do the basic A/C stuff. You need a specialist when the car has some proprietary control module or something.

I don't really know how it is done in other parts of the USA.

 

[Merkava_4]

Originally Posted By: kschachn
What are UV glasses?


Yellow tinted safety glasses.

 

[paulo57509]

Originally Posted By: zzyzzx
Note: This is for a 1999 Alero V6 with 40K miles...

I have a r134a leak. Looking around (yes even with UV glasses) I am seeing some highly suspicious stains (yellowish area )in the area around the HP port, pictured below:

From looking at those pictures, is that indicative of the port being bad, the gasket between the port and the A/C line, the A/C line itself, or maybe the pressure switch below it. What do you think?


I see you already found my favorite AC forum:

http://www.autoacforum.com/messageview.cfm?catid=2&threadid=30387

 

[zzyzzx]

I don't know why so many people here think AC hoses are hard to buy. I can buy all I want for all my cars on Rock Auto and eBay cheap enough. And if you can change your oil, you can replace one of these hoses.