A/C leak sealer - how much?

Status
Not open for further replies.
Joined
Nov 6, 2005
Messages
126
Location
TN
I have a 2000 Nissan Frontier. A/C was blowing warm so I put one can of r134a in, which got it blowing cool. By the time I went to use it again a week or two later, it had leaked out.
I plan to get rid of the truck in the next few months, so don't want to put much money in it.

I was going to try IDQ's "LDS-1 A/C Stop Leak Leak Sealer & Detector" first.
http://www.idqusa.com/product/lds-1acstopleakr-134aleaksealer-detector
How many cans should I put in it? A review on Amazon said they used two cans.

Or should I use this (4x the price):
http://www.idqusa.com/product/mrl-3autoacleaksealerkit
 
Last edited:
Be a nice guy and don't put any in. It screws up the system and can ruin the equipment of the guy who tries to repair the system.

MHO

Smoky
 
Originally Posted By: Smoky14
Be a nice guy and don't put any in. It screws up the system and can ruin the equipment of the guy who tries to repair the system.

MHO

Smoky


+1

Fix the leak
 
Originally Posted By: Nick1994
Originally Posted By: Smoky14
Be a nice guy and don't put any in. It screws up the system and can ruin the equipment of the guy who tries to repair the system.

MHO

Smoky


+1

Fix the leak


+2 Sealers only mess up AC systems. Have the leak fixed and filled with fresh R
 
If it was leaking enough to blow warm you probably needed more than 1 small can. Try adding another small can. If you have a set of manifold gauges to verify the high pressure doesn't exceed limits if you get too full that would be helpful.

Most of them will just shut off if the pressure is too high but I'm betting you need another small can and the leak isn't as bad as you think
 
Originally Posted By: Chris142
$1000 to fix my machine when stop leak plugs it up. I finally bought the $500 filter to keep it out of the machine


You get to pass that on to the customer I hope?
 
Originally Posted By: 901Memphis
If it was leaking enough to blow warm you probably needed more than 1 small can. Try adding another small can. If you have a set of manifold gauges to verify the high pressure doesn't exceed limits if you get too full that would be helpful.

Most of them will just shut off if the pressure is too high but I'm betting you need another small can and the leak isn't as bad as you think

OK Maybe I'll do that. It was quite a bit lower when I rechecked it, near the lowest end of the scale. Although it was 10-15 degrees cooler the second time (55), so maybe enough cooler to lower the pressure that much.
 
FYI, I don't care to get in a debate, and I'm not putting money in this truck regardless of what's said here, but all I'll say (and I'm done) is in researching about using sealers, I've read many reports of people, even those that do it for a living, in shops, that use sealer and have never had problems. And many people have said, including one person that worked at IDQ, that all it does is expand the seals. This isn't radiator stop leak or fix-a-flat.
 
Try to find the leak first. Leaks out in 2 weeks will probably leave a deposit of oil and also bubble if you put soapy water on the leaky joint. Many times the leak is simply an o-ring that costs less to replace than the stop leak products.

The first can you posted expands the seals by swelling the rubber. The second one is like stop leak or fix a flat. It will make opening the system for proper repairs impossible.
 
Originally Posted By: BrianL
FYI, I don't care to get in a debate, and I'm not putting money in this truck regardless of what's said here, but all I'll say (and I'm done) is in researching about using sealers, I've read many reports of people, even those that do it for a living, in shops, that use sealer and have never had problems. And many people have said, including one person that worked at IDQ, that all it does is expand the seals. This isn't radiator stop leak or fix-a-flat.


I fixed a slight leak in my 00 Century with it over three years ago. I was not about to sink the money into it for a repair. The car is in California now still blowing icicles. I was told by a trusted well respected mechanic/friend to try it, and I'm glad I did.
 
If it's the type of sealer that can seal metal, that's they type you want to avoid. The other, more common type that just swells seals might work, but will probably do nothing, but at least won't break anything. If it's leaking out as fast as you say, no leak sealer will probably work. Finding the leak might be difficult, I have one car where I have been looking for years to find the leak, tried everything I can to find the leak, but no leak can be found.
 
Originally Posted By: mk378
Try to find the leak first. Leaks out in 2 weeks will probably leave a deposit of oil and also bubble if you put soapy water on the leaky joint. Many times the leak is simply an o-ring that costs less to replace than the stop leak products.

The first can you posted expands the seals by swelling the rubber. The second one is like stop leak or fix a flat. It will make opening the system for proper repairs impossible.

But replacing an o-ring will require opening the system, wouldn't it? And I don't have the equipment to vacuum it.

Also I'm thinking maybe it did leak out because it was cool (not freezing) when I put the one can in, but then blew hot when I went to use it again the next time (a week or two later).
 
Also wanting to mention that almost all of IDQ's r134a products contain leak sealer, so it can't be all that bad.

all Arctic Freeze products do
http://www.idqusa.com/brands/arctic-freeze

all EZ Chill products do
http://www.idqusa.com/brands/ez-chill

all A/C Pro products do
http://www.idqusa.com/brands/ac-pro

all Interdynamics products do
http://www.idqusa.com/brands/interdynamics

Big Chill does
http://www.idqusa.com/product/bc-1_bigchillr-134atriggerrechargedispenser

Sub Zero ReChill Kit does
http://www.idqusa.com/product/322sub-zeror-134arechillkit-34oz

Plus there are several other separate sealer-only products (with no r134a). Not referring to the metal sealer type.
 
Originally Posted By: zzyzzx
If it's the type of sealer that can seal metal, that's they type you want to avoid. The other, more common type that just swells seals might work, but will probably do nothing, but at least won't break anything. If it's leaking out as fast as you say, no leak sealer will probably work. Finding the leak might be difficult, I have one car where I have been looking for years to find the leak, tried everything I can to find the leak, but no leak can be found.

That makes sense. Thanks.
 
If I do have a leak, and wanted to try the LDS-1 leak sealer, how many should I use?
 
Avoid, avoid, avoid, unless the next stop for the car is the junkyard.

Best case it works for a bit until it clogs your system by curing inside in place.

Worst case you ruin some shop's recovery system and have a further unrepairable system.
 
Originally Posted By: JHZR2
Avoid, avoid, avoid, unless the next stop for the car is the junkyard.

Best case it works for a bit until it clogs your system by curing inside in place.

Worst case you ruin some shop's recovery system and have a further unrepairable system.

Did you even read the post?
 
I know it's not right but I've fixed leaks and filled systems without putting a vacuum on it. I know it causes issues with the equipment but it only had to last through the summer and the vehicle was going down the road. Worked great, several others that we've worked on are also still working years later without having any other work done.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top