[cwestpain]

I am wanting to inject coolant into my 1999 Taurus. I bought the kind that has the hose attached. I was wondering if there was a specific way to proceed, as I have heard a couple variations. Someone told me to dip the cans in warm water and to shake cans periodically. The specs say I need approximately 34-36 oz so I bought 4 cans, how should I store any left overs? I live in AZ so it's very hot here right now. Is it safe to store in garage? Any advice would be appreciated.

 

[Scout1]

Cwest,
I am not an expert, but I had good luck with mine. I recommend you read up on how to service your system, all the info is on the net. First of all you need to answer some questions. Why are you attempting to add freon? If you had a leak has it been repaired? Is the system completely empty? Those cans with the hose are okay if you are a little low but you really have no way to accurately measure what you are doing. If you changed a line or compressor it is fairly easy to do it the correct way. If you have Autozone parts stores in AZ they have a loaner program where you can borrow a set of guages and a vacuum pump. Read up on how to do it right. It is critical that you get just enough freon in to meet specs and then stop. The more freon you put in the less efficient your cooling will be. If you decide to go ahead, keep the cans upright so only gas and not liquid goes into the system. You can store the unopened cans anywhere.

 

[Jeff K]

Scout1 sumed it up pretty well. Just one thing to add..... if the system has / had a bad leak, it likely lost some oil as well as 134a, and some correct / compatable oil will also be needed. Oil fill amount isnt as critical as 134a amount, but must still be close to spec. Too little oil is obviously bad, but too much will have a significant effect on cooling ability.

 

[cwestpain]

Thank you both for the info. Yes I had it checked and it was bare. Plus, the compressor is brand new. I have had all leaks repaired a new radiator installed and all new hoses upper and lower and so I was told that the next step is to add about 36 oz of refridgerant. I have read the manual and I am going to watch a video of the procedure a few times just to make sure I have it down. It was bound to happen @ 165, 500 miles but at least now she is almost outfitted with all new parts. I made a place in my garage, a small shelf, to store all the old parts I've replaced. So far, each and every part has a clear part number and factory# and I guess I just want to make sure next time that I know exactly what part to ask for. I'm a girl and I've had my share of mechanics yanking my chain about what this is or what that is and I have spent this past year learning about my car. It is a long process but each time I replace something or make it better I feel like I have accomplished something. This is the first forum that I haven't been given the business! LOL! Thank you both again, for the help)

 

[Scout1]

Cwest,
Up awful early or up awful late,LOL. You really need to put a vacuum pump on your system. Vacuum it down and then closes the valves on the guages and monitor it for about 15 minutes to see if you have any leaks. It is a shame to put in freon and then find out you have a leak. Again some part stores will loan you the guages and pump. Good luck.

Ed

 

[KhanTyranitar]

That exactly right, you need a vacuum pump to pull all the air out of the system before you add refrigerant. If it can hold the vacuum for 15-30 minutes then there are no leaks. When you pull the vacuum, it may drop a little, thats possibly OK, just vacuum it down again. If there is moisture, it will sometimes start to boil off, causing the pressure to rise like a leak would, so vacuuming it again will remove any residual moisture.

If it were me, and I knew nothing about AC repair, considering the cost of the tools, and the amount of expereince you need to have, I would let a pro handle the refill portion. You already did the expensive part, now all you need is an evac and recharge.

There are some terminology problems, to prevent confusion I will attempt to clear them up. One, coolant is an antifreeze and water mixture to keep the engine cool. The correct term is refrigerant. If you were to go a a shop and say you were low on coolant they would top of your radiator, not fix your AC. The other terminology is a common problem. People refer to all refrigerant as Freon, which is a trademark name for R-12, which was used in most AC systems up till the early 90s. I was officially discontinued in vehicles in '94 but most automakers had voluntarily switched over a few years before that. The new refrigerant used in most systems is R-134a, which is what the newer stuff should be referred to. I know these are just technicalities, but they can cause confusion at times, especially if you don't say how old your car is. If you say your car has freon, they may think you have an older car, and if you car is an older car it could have either refrigerant in it.