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I've never had the AC inspected, and was thinking of having them charged and serviced. Sort of an AC tune-up, if there is such a thing. The compressor cycles on and off, which I don't know if that's OK or not. What is an acceptable price for this service at the dealer, or some other place like Firestone?
I only ask because all my experience suggests strongly that the freon-based systems blow colder, and I have a buddy staring down the barrel of this very question with his old maxima
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
with the new refrigerant.
The $400 I was charged was only a little more than it would have cost to fix the leak and recharge the freon. It is illegal IIRC to recharge a system if it is leaking w/o fixing the leak (not to mention a waste of hideously expensive Freon).
I hope that helps.
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
First off, at least in the US, it's not illegal to top off a leaking R12 system except in some defined areas.
It's legal for anyone with an EPA Section 609 certification to buy and use R12 freon, until the stocks are depleted (which looks like it won't happen for a long time now).
I encourage you to go to: "http://www.imaca.org/index.htm"
and download the study guide to become familiar with the EPA regulations concerning the use of R12 and R134. Then, if you want to you can spend the $15 and take the test to get certified. I did it some time ago. It made my wife happy since she had always claimed I was certifiable.
Is it just totally preposterous? Are there units made for this purpose or would you have to find a mechanic who's willing to adapt existing parts, fabricate parts, etc?
Could you drive the pump off an electric motor instead of the engine?
And sure, you can take all the components out of a wrecking yard and install them into a car that never had a/c, (I helped a friend do this on a Nissan Pathfinder) but that has to be ascertained on a case by case basis. On newer cars it's probably a "bolt-in" but on older cars it could be a hassle trying to retrofit from a wrecking yard.
The "vintage air" people do all the engineering for you and sell you a complete kit.
In each case the whole setup was fully chromed and appeared top be a more or less bolt-on set-up.
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
Once you are moving, there is more air crossing the radiatior from movement, and the water is circulating faster through the engine.
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
Last year a rumbling noise developed in her a/c system. The dealer diagnosed it as something in the vent system or blower motor. They took three tries at fixing it which involved taking the dash apart.
They found what appeared to be parts of a chipmunk in the blower motor and cleaned the mess out under warranty and gave it back with the car working fine.
Flash forward to this year and after being parked at church for an hour the car stats making similar noises and the a/c doesn't blow air.
1)Could it be they didn't get all the chipmunk junk out last year?
2) She's out of warranty, does she go back to the dealer?
3)How does this critter(s) get in there anyhow? I was once told to keep a small bag of mothballs under the hood if you live in the country.
Any ideas?
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
This suggests to me that the dealer found other defects as it seems unlikely he would eat this warranty work and unlikely he would submit a chipmunk invasion claim for re-imbursement.
So I think you don't have the whole story here to begin with.
We need a new premise to diagnose this problem.
Let's forget about chipmunks and stick to what is happening with the car.
So, presently, we have a rumbling noise under the dash and no "air". Does that mean no air at all, or just no "cold air"?
If no air at all, do you get air flow with the heat on?
If no air with a/c or heat, you have a fan control problem or a fan problem.
If no air only on a/c, you have a climate control problem in the a/c mode.
If you have warm air only with heat or a/c, you have an a/c system problem, maybe a compressor or a leak.
As for the rumbling, that sounds like the fan is working then. The only other rumble I can think of from a/c is a loose compressor mount.
a common problem in HVAC on cars is bearing wear in the sleeve motors that the fan squirrelcage is clip-fit or press-fit to. the rumble starts up when the motor is worn enough so the shaft moves forward out of the motor when it is powered up, and scrapes the edge of the squirrelcage on the air ducting. these cages are usually dynamically balanced, but physically asymmetrical. in other words, they all look like somebody sat on 'em, but they spin OK from a balance standpoint while showing an obvious physical wobble.
you might try adjusting the position of the squirrelcage on the shaft a little bit and see if the noise changes. yes, the ambient air temperature at the blower can change the size of the fan just enough to aggravate the scraping of one of the uneven sides of the cage against the duct. GM blowers are especially notorious for this. replacing the motor and carefully positioning the fan on its shaft makes a stunning difference.
this is still a possibility for your rumble, which sounds similar to the GM fan issue. I've also had it in unit heater/cooler units in commercial HVAC, where one or two squirrelcage fans are turned by an induction motor with sleeve bearings. the motor is almost always all that is needed to settle these down again.
obviously, a chipmunk in your squirrelcage is the wrong application, and you need professional assistance :-D
She's convinced something is blocking the airflow.
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
I would be looking for something on the curve from 42 degrees at 70 degrees outside on a non-sticky day, to maybe 50 or so on a 90 degrees outside day, or with high humidity.
output temp of 60 or higher, you have an issue unless the steel posts on road signs are starting to sag in the heat.
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
Less than 1 in 100,000 will pay the 4-6 hours to have the evaporator removed and cleaned.
There are various professional spray cleaners, germacides, fungicides that may be sprayed into the air flow that may help sometimes.
As for dead chipmunks, that would stink to holy hell, especially with air blowing over the corpse---so i'm very skeptical about that theory for any number of reasons.
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
neither smells like roses when they are dead a week.
if you decide to clean it, be advised that you do > NOT < want to use anything like an ice pick, whacking it hard into the case, because you are likely going to be "rewarded" with a spray of evil, desperately freezing coolant full of moderately-smelly oil... which translates into over a thousand dollars. don't poke any further than maybe 3/8 or a half inch inside, and don't put any serious english on it.
best move if I was going to clean one without taking the removeable half of the case off would be to use an old-time athletic water bottle with a spray spout on it, and clean things out with a spray, drain, repeat process using water.
the only time I did it, I took the case half off, and there was such a thick mat of fur and slimy goo on the evap that I did a discharge, purge, removed the evap and plugged it, cleaned the stinker in a sink, then purged the evap coil, added an ounce of oil, reassembled, pulled vacuum for four hours, and refilled with a gauge set and a charging station. this was before EPA certification, of course.
which is approximately what an EPA tech is going to do for a thousand or more dollars if you puncture the aluminum tubing on the evap coil. tread carefully.
Brooks
The only other "plain water" in a car might come from the windshield washer reservoir.
Whatever allows you to buy a car at a good price will haunt you when you go to sell it.
I agree, most aftermarket A/C is of questionable engineering.
If you could get the dealer to install factory air, I think you'd get back most of your money at resale time---I know you can get a/c put into a Civic for around $1,000-1,200, so if it's in that price range, it might be okay. I wouldn't spend much more, though.
And have a look at:
http://www.airsept.com/eed.html