Originally Posted By: 440Magnum
ALL auto air conditioning systems slowly leak. They have a belt-driven compressor which means they have a rotating shaft seal... and that type of seal is NEVER perfect. It will probably be fine with a recharge.
Originally Posted By: Chris142
All systems leak. Some leak more than others. 15 years is a great run for an ac system. Most of the cars I see are about 5 yrs old and need a recharge. Should add a splash of oil too.
Originally Posted By: KrisZ
No automotive AC system is 100% sealed, it is normal to need a re-charge after so many years. It can be DIY-ed, which will get you a lot of flack in here. But whatever you do, do not add or let anyone else add stop leak to the system.
Can we get these quotes gold plated and automatically added to every post on the site referencing Automotive A/C? The amount of times I see Bubba espousing how his system "still dun blows cold after 20 years and never leaks nothin' so you dun should have to get yers fixed if it ain't cold".
A thousand years ago when systems took several kilos of R12, there was enough gas in the system to allow for a considerable leakage and still perform adequately. Now with r134a (as already said, a much smaller molecule) and considerably smaller refrigerant charges (my wifes car is half a kilo +/- 25g and that is 10 years old, the charges get smaller every revision) you can suffer a much smaller loss before you degrade performance, but worse severely impact oil circulation.
All automotive systems leak, there are no exceptions. These days with low charge systems you should really be having a re-gas done every 2-3 years. That is nothing more than weigh out the charge and weigh in the right charge. By the time you've noticed a degradation in cooling you've already reached a refrigerant level that will impact oil circulation, resulting in more oil stuck in the evaporator and less oil in the compressor. That accelerates seal, bearing and piston wear and exacerbates the problem.
Systems have rotary seals, o-rings, rubber hoses and in Fords case joints designed to last about the warranty period. Every one of those items *is* a leak source and they *all* leak *all* the time. Those leaks add up to the overall system leak rate. They all increase as they age (particularly the rotary seal).
If your car is more than 5 years old, get the charge pulled and weighed. I absolutely *guarantee* it'll be less than went in at the factory. Actually, I guarantee it'll be less if it's a year old, but you need accurate gear to measure that sort of loss.
You change your oil regularly. Maintain your A/C the same way and it'll probably last as long as the rest of the car.
