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Comments
My 2004 Quest A/C works fine. It does take longer for it to cool down but again it is a very large area to cool down and the windows let in a lot of heat.
Oh and the kicker, the service manual says it's going to take upwards of *8* hours to replace this valve because they have to go through the *dash*, take the whole freaking thing apart and it's going to cost about $800. And it's of course not under warranty. I'm just sick about it but at this point if it will fix it I don't care what it costs. Though I'm concerned after all the work you have had done and you still have problems.
Firstly, we were taking it to an independent mechanic who told us the "service manual" called for 8 hours of labor, thus the ridiculous labor charges. He thought he could maybe get to it from under the hood but he wasn't sure. I would never take it to the dealer, esp the one we have here in town. They are possibly the worst service dept we've dealt with.
Anyway, my SMART husband decided to take this on himself because we were sick at the thought of spending all that money. His thought was if he couldn't do it we'd take it to the mechanic like we planned.
Well, he did it! And no, it did not take him 8 hours. More like 1.5. That is to take it out and put it back in. He said it wasn't the most fun thing to do but to save that kind of money it was worth it! We ended up paying $200 for the part and to have the refigerant drained and then put back in.
But you know, and I'm not complaning because living with no a/c for several days in 100 degree heat with 3 small kids was NO fun, but the air still sucks. I mean, I think it's working the way it "should" but it's still poor.
The coldest I can get it is 46 (air temp coming straight out of the vent) and that is first thing in the morning after sitting in our a/c garage and on the first fan level. As I turn up the fan, the temp goes up. Just today after sitting in the sun for about an hour at 4 speed it was blowing 65 at it's coldest. And it's right at 100 degrees in the van. It's just not efficient. But I'll deal. Replacing the part did fix it as well as it can be fixed, I think.
"I'm back to report on the replacement of my expansion valve. First off, let me say that we had a terrible time getting the part shipped. I ended up getting an aftermarket valve from Autozone. That was Friday at noon. Just today I got a call from the local Nissan dealer saying they had gotten in the part for me, which now I do not need. Anyway, getting the Nissan-brand part was very slow. The one at my local dealer actually came from another dealer several states away. As far as I know, no parts warehouse actually has any of the Nissan-brand valves.
On to the replacement. I had my shop pull out all the freon in the system. I removed the air cleaner cover and apparatus all the way back to the throttle body. That gave me just enough room to get to the front bolt on the valve that holds the engine-side lines in place. That was pretty easy. I pulled the plate back down the high-side line and secured it with some tape to keep it out of the way.
Below this plate were two hex-key screws that hold the compartment side lines that go to the evaporator. These screws are definitely only accessible from in the engine compartment. I needed a long extension on my ratchet. I recommend this with hex-key sockets, rather than a traditional Allen wrench or T-handle Allen wrench, because of the torque needed and the lack of room to move one's hands.
That's all there was too it. I pulled out the old valve. Then, probably stupidly, I also pulled out the large foam grommet that sealed around the valve, and keeps hot air out of the cabin. I wasn't sure if I could get the screws back in to secure the cabin-side of the valve to its plate with the grommet in place. If I were to do it again, I think I would give it a try first. But it was difficult, even without the grommet in place, to line up the Allen head screws with the interior plate. This would be much easier with the dash out, but of course, I saved a ton of time by only going through the engine side.
After securing the cabin side lines, I moved the engine side lines back into place and put the front plate back in place. It took a bit of effort to get the high side (fat one) back in place. There was not as much play in it, and of course, I didn't want to bend or kink it. Once that was in place the front plate went back on easily.
I did not replace any o-rings, which were not included with my aftermarket part. I probably should have, but they looked ok. My shop evacuated my system, and it held vacuum well. They refilled the entire system with the correct amount of freon. No leaks, at least so far. It's been three days and my AC is working very well. Pressures were perfect. Out of the vent I'm getting about 48 deg F, at the lowest. Shop says they'd like to see 40, but I'm happy with it.
I did feel some warm air coming in from engine compartment, so I cut the grommet in half and stuffed it back in place. It wasn't easy, but I did get it back in there. Used a wooden dowel for tucking it in. Like I said above, I probably should have but it back first, but was afraid of getting the screws to line up with the grommet in place. I was in a hurry to get back to my shop before the end of the day on Friday."
Thanks,
Brent
Moral: don't put much money into a Quest/Villager from those years.
VQ FAQ
Steve, visiting host (and one-time Memphibian, although we said Memphian)
There could be some body damage if it breaks in heavy traffic, strands you, and you get hit, but I don't have a commute and decided to defer that maintenance.
Never looked into it, but just assumed all you had to swap out was the crankshaft.
Heater Core Valve Replacement
However, I have also seen this inline valve:
Heater Valve
on the back fire wall that runs into the heater core.
When I felt the hoses, one was hot and the other was luke warm, indicating a lack of flow. It's one or the other and I have not figured out which as of yet.
I have determined if the outside rim on the gauge is turned to the far left, it pops off. Unfortunately this just seems to allow me to see the button I am frustrated with better. There is no obvious way to take the next step and remove the interior portion of the button.
While the old mechanic side of my brain which grew up working on my Dad's 68 El Camino says, "spray 'er down with WD 40!", my new super subcompact foreign engine brain is saying no.
Any suggestions and/or brainstorming appreciated.
2005 Nissan Quest, second owner, purchased from dealership.
Thank you.
late on this but if you haven't fixed it: try changing your cabin air filter. A clogged filter will cause such a problem and will also burn out the motor resistor. Cabin filter is located under the cowl by removing a few screws around/under the wipers on the outside.