1997 Saturn SC2 A/C issue - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

NeoSparky · 08-27-2004, 12:16 PM

Ok so here's the deal.

I've had my car for the last 7 years or so and it runs great. I noticed the AC has been taking longer to cool down. It used to be ice cold within like 30 seconds and it had been as of late taking 5-10 minutes to be tolerable.

I stopped by autozone (I'm a student, DIY and low budget is all I can afford) and told them what was up. They suggested refilling my R-134A freon or whatever it is. I followed their directions and it worked great for 2 days. After the 2nd day I got nothing but hot air from my vents. I opened the hood and my clutch for the A/C wasn't engaging. I threw the gauge on the low side of the A/C system and it was stuck at around 30psi (should be at 55 for the hot AZ weather)

Autozone informed me at that point my compressor was bad and I'd have to buy a new one at the cost of 250 bucks. I did some more research and found that the clutch for my car doesn't engauge if there isn't enough coolent in the system, 30psi was too low so I added some of the stop leak addative with R-134a (again at the reccomendation of autozone) to refill the system again and stop any O-ring leaks. As soon as there was 40psi in the system the clutch engauged.

It's been a week now and while the clutch is still working I get maybe 5-10 degree's colder air from my vents.. What used to be a small problem of a long time to get cold air escaladed to no cold air at all.

I talked to a mechanic and as soon as he heard I put this stop leak stuff in the system he said he won't touch it with his new recirculating machine because the stop leak ruins it. He told me the best thing to do at this point is replace all the hoses, o-rings, etc and would run around 1000.

I know a lot about PC's but jack about cars.. Can anyone suggest anything I might be able to do myself to fix this or what to say to a mechanic to get a lower budget solution?

MSD · 08-27-2004, 10:49 PM

You're probably going to at least have to have the system flushed.

Here's a little to think about regarding stop-leak for any system:

How can something that can be poured into a fill tube/cap/hole magically find a leak and stop it? There are a few ways to do it.

First, it can thicken the fluid to the point that it's too viscous to flow through a small crack or hole. This makes it harder for pumps to circulate that fluid, and causes it to take longer to flow or drip off of moving parts. This wil obviously cause more wear on moving parts. Think of this as the equivalent of scooping Vaseline into your engine.

Second, it can introduce compound into the system that will harden on contact with air, plugging the hole. The problem with this is that there is not a single system in a car that does not have at least some air in it at some point in time. Think of this as squirting Elmer's Glue into your engine.

Third, it can introduce small particles into the system that will clog up pinholes just like platelettes clotting up a wound. Common applications include that copper powder in water that they call radiator stop-leak. This also plugs up any other openings in the system, like thremostats and radiator passages. Think of this as pouring sand into your engine.

Would you drop blobs of Vaseline into your oil? Would you pour glue into your brake lines? Would you shovel sand into your radiator? I didn't think so. I learned the hard way when my mom put radiator stop-leak in her car and had to thave the system flushed and the radiator, thermostat, and heater core replaced.

Start saving up for the work, and in the meantime, you're going to have to resort to "Arizona 4-40" A/C. That's 4 windows open, driving at 40 miles per hour.

08-27-2004, 12:16 PM	#1 (permalink)
NeoSparky Crazy	1997 Saturn SC2 A/C issue Ok so here's the deal. I've had my car for the last 7 years or so and it runs great. I noticed the AC has been taking longer to cool down. It used to be ice cold within like 30 seconds and it had been as of late taking 5-10 minutes to be tolerable. I stopped by autozone (I'm a student, DIY and low budget is all I can afford) and told them what was up. They suggested refilling my R-134A freon or whatever it is. I followed their directions and it worked great for 2 days. After the 2nd day I got nothing but hot air from my vents. I opened the hood and my clutch for the A/C wasn't engaging. I threw the gauge on the low side of the A/C system and it was stuck at around 30psi (should be at 55 for the hot AZ weather) Autozone informed me at that point my compressor was bad and I'd have to buy a new one at the cost of 250 bucks. I did some more research and found that the clutch for my car doesn't engauge if there isn't enough coolent in the system, 30psi was too low so I added some of the stop leak addative with R-134a (again at the reccomendation of autozone) to refill the system again and stop any O-ring leaks. As soon as there was 40psi in the system the clutch engauged. It's been a week now and while the clutch is still working I get maybe 5-10 degree's colder air from my vents.. What used to be a small problem of a long time to get cold air escaladed to no cold air at all. I talked to a mechanic and as soon as he heard I put this stop leak stuff in the system he said he won't touch it with his new recirculating machine because the stop leak ruins it. He told me the best thing to do at this point is replace all the hoses, o-rings, etc and would run around 1000. I know a lot about PC's but jack about cars.. Can anyone suggest anything I might be able to do myself to fix this or what to say to a mechanic to get a lower budget solution?

08-27-2004, 10:49 PM	#2 (permalink)
MSD The sky calls to us ... Super Moderator Location: CT	You're probably going to at least have to have the system flushed. Here's a little to think about regarding stop-leak for any system: How can something that can be poured into a fill tube/cap/hole magically find a leak and stop it? There are a few ways to do it. First, it can thicken the fluid to the point that it's too viscous to flow through a small crack or hole. This makes it harder for pumps to circulate that fluid, and causes it to take longer to flow or drip off of moving parts. This wil obviously cause more wear on moving parts. Think of this as the equivalent of scooping Vaseline into your engine. Second, it can introduce compound into the system that will harden on contact with air, plugging the hole. The problem with this is that there is not a single system in a car that does not have at least some air in it at some point in time. Think of this as squirting Elmer's Glue into your engine. Third, it can introduce small particles into the system that will clog up pinholes just like platelettes clotting up a wound. Common applications include that copper powder in water that they call radiator stop-leak. This also plugs up any other openings in the system, like thremostats and radiator passages. Think of this as pouring sand into your engine. Would you drop blobs of Vaseline into your oil? Would you pour glue into your brake lines? Would you shovel sand into your radiator? I didn't think so. I learned the hard way when my mom put radiator stop-leak in her car and had to thave the system flushed and the radiator, thermostat, and heater core replaced. Start saving up for the work, and in the meantime, you're going to have to resort to "Arizona 4-40" A/C. That's 4 windows open, driving at 40 miles per hour.