Yes there is a temperature switch in the radiator bottom left that turns on the electric fan when necessary

 

there is no accurate way to tell if you have the right amount of charge from the gauges, you must evacuate the system for an extended time to boil off all trapped moisture and then weigh in the refrigerant charge accurately, any other way is just a guess

normally that is just a stuck Schrader valve, inexpensive but requires a special inexpensive tool to install and cleanliness (very important in A/C work) - you will also have to evacuate the system on this one, as moisture from the air got in. Every once in a while, the valve is not the removable type, then you have to replace the line. If the line has rubber parts, it won't be money wasted as it needed to be replaced soon anyway on a 23 year old car!

 

Thanks

I figured that my servicing it wasn't helping that much. It was basically my only option. Now I have a little bit of play in my financial belt as it were, so I can hopefully give it the attention it needs.

 

Well, I think I found my leak today.

It started last Friday evening when I got in the car and it was blowing hot air, but the compressor was on. The next day, the compressor wouldn't come on at all. I figured the refridgerant had run out.

Today I got the chance to fill it up, and sure enough it came back on and blew cold. This was at about 2 pm. I drove it around, it worked well, and then i shut the engine off. I opened the hood and heard a hissing noise coming from somewhere between the radiator overflow/battery area and the compressor. I thought perhaps it was pressure blowing off from the overflow tank.

I got in it about 8:00 pm to go somewhere, and it was blowing hot again and the compressor wasn't running. I guess it's got a wide open leak in the compressor.

I asked a shop earlier what the cost to order a compressor would be, they wanted $400ish + Labor. I can get the OEM Denso compressor from RockAuto for $275. If I buy the compressor and have a mechanic install it, how many hours am I looking at on average?

F*** old cars.

 

well if it is a leak, then is it not a bad compressor (except in the rare care where the compressor body itself or its shaft seal is leaking)

if it is a decent size leak, you can take some dish soap and and water and mix up a soapy solution and spray down all of the various A/C components and then look for bubbles

I would start with the two flexible hoses coming off of the compressor

 

You just made my night good sir. I will take a look at that when I get back from the mountains in a few days.

 

Not sure if you can do this yourself, But my buddy has a A/C machine that can add a dye to the system.


The dye can help you find leaks.

 

Yeah, I couldn't see anything myself...I took it in to a shop that came recommended from some friends today. They charged it, and they said they could tell it was coming from the compressor area, but added some dye so they can see where exactly it's coming from. I'm scheduled to go back in Monday at 8 am to see where it's coming from.

Here's praying that it's a cheap fix....I get between 10-13 hrs a week at work, lol.

 

Well that drained fast....the dye leaves a residue to look at right? Cause there isn't anything for them to observe coming out on Monday.

 

Seems odd they would have you leave before checking. Our old camry had a leak and they put dye in ran it for awhile and found the leak. It was in the evap core so i backed off the repair. Too $$$$. Sold that one cheap.

If you have a ultra violet light you can see the dye.

 

I don't have a UV light...should have had my old man bring his today when he came into town.

I guess the reason is they wanted to have it run through the system enough. Now it's all gone, I hope it left enough trace to find it, or that was $90 down the toilet.

 

Just got back from the shop again. Turns out the culprit is a cracked compressor case, as well as a possible leak in the discharge hose. Quote is $961.58 to get it repaired.

$490 for the compressor
$16.11 for the receiver/dryer
$35.47 for the expansion valve
$420 for labor.


Now, I could get the oem compressor from Rockauto for $277, and the other parts for marginal savings as well, but given the same labor cost, it would still run me $728.

This is on a 21 yr/old car that on a good day is worth $2500. Other things are starting to go wrong with the thing. I don't want to put $1000 into it and have the evaporator go bad next month.

It's time for me to stop being a whiny b**** about it and start acting rational and logical. Summer will be over soon. I can do most of my driving at night anyhow. I'm graduating with my BS in Accounting in December. I'm going to buck up, drive the car as is, and when my studying pays off and I land a decent job, my first reward will be buying myself a newer car that won't gouge me on parts. Not gouging of course, will require that I move away from Toyota/Lexus.

 

I am calling BOGUS on this one, I have been an A/C specialist for over 20 years who owned the largest auto A/C shop in Phoenix for many years, and with a buddy who has the largest auto A/C shop in Dallas for 20 years, and neither of us has ever seen a Nippon Denso 10PA20 series compressor develop a crack in it

there is no reason whatsover to change the expansion valve (which, while an inexpensive part, is the source of most of the labor charge) on account of a leak -
you need to find a qualified and honest A/C shop


LS400 hardly ever has any A/C issues at all, occasionally some normal permeation leakage via the hoses over 20+ years is about it


learn to work on your own cars if you don't want to get gouged, and when you stray away from Toyota/Lexus/Scion, the reliability of cars gets worse!

 

not sure what a Camry and a Taurus have to do with one another, one is among the most reliable cars in the world with one of the most reliable A/C systems ever put on a car, the other is from a manufacturer who has been plagued with A/C and transmission and other reliability issues for the last 30 years!


oh yes you do, the April issue of the non-profit, no advertising allowed, Consumer Reports publishes the largest survey of auto reliability data in the world, on nearly 2 million cars! - people can choose a super high reliability car or just the opposite, and I think Lexus & Ford are a good illustration of those two extremes.

 

That's interesting to know. I'll have to look into that. Money's kind of tight to be throwing around right now, but if I decide to hang onto this car long term, I might have to investigate it. May wait until spring.
I've been wondering on this. I've heard before that on replacing the compressor, that the drier and EV needed to be replaced. Wasn't sure if there was any creedence to it or if it depended on the circumstances regarding the failure of the compressor.

Should the drier still be replaced if the compressor is the issue?


AMEN. I've tried to do what I can since I've been driving. Got a little harder of course after I graduated HS and moved out of my parents' house. Away at college, renting an apartment, it's harder to do that. Don't have access to many tools, especially the specialized tools, nor the place to do the work. My landlord would have a fit if I were working on the car here.

One of my criteria for future home purchases is a garage to work on my cars and store tools, etc.