Hi all, I am going to be shot down in flames for posting this, and I don't care cos my A/C works

Where do I begin, with a new to me car, about a year ago, A/C lovely
And then 2.5 months in to ownership it all got a little hot , so I got it regassed and all was . Then it was winter, but around February I started to fog up, and didn't pay it much thought. Tested the A/C in early May, big fail , arranged for an engineer to come and play find the leak. and waited, and waited, and waited, was a no show

Ran it around to a local garage for a recharge, as it was getting near to driving all day, most days, and told them that it had lost it's charge over a few months. So they did a Nitrogen leak test for 45 minutes, and the needle didn't move a micron, so they gassed it . 2.5 months down the road and the A/C failed again And then the injectors thought that they would join in for good measure

On getting my shiny recon injectors back they sent me the customary Summer Deals book, and in it's pages I found this







So I purchased some and the regas kit as well, and now everybody is going to shout at me, and tell me that I should have had it done by a professional. I tried that, they couldn't find the bloody leak, so they charged it.

All I have to say is a professional would not use leak sealer, they would have just changed out half the A/C system and I would still be reeling from the bill. The Super Seal say it is no good if your system will not hold a charge for 2 weeks or less, but as mine is months, I've got that one covered. I had to top up the gas a wee bit to get the compressor working, and then introduce the Super Seal in to the system and finally top up the gas to the correct level on my new gauge that came with the kit.

Well I did it and it works, but in ture ffrr tradition there was not enough gas in the cylinder, and it's only just in to the green on the dial BUT I took the empty back today for my £10 refund, (it's like being a kid again with lemonade bottles, only I'm older and the refund has shot up in price ), and I thought that I would get 3 more cylinders of the gas so that I could top up the system and have some spare for later
Oh and I forgot to say that the STP A/C products are on the 3 for 2 offer that they are running in Halfords, and also I have been given a bonus, as the 3 for 2 didn't charge me 3 x deposit, only 2 :whistle:

Admin note: this post has had its images recovered from a money grabbing photo hosting site and reinstated  Yesterday I couldn't spell Engineer... Today I are one!
Inventor of the 'Guide-o-Matic automatic wheel alignment tool'
Former long term L322 owner, Up/Down graded to a Classic Tractor!

You might find that it will stop working if you get a leak again, the leak sealer reacts with air, if you didn't vac the system before hand you will get trouble. FACT!

steve You remind me of a young me, not much younger mind, perhaps even a little older!

And It Begins..................

FYI there was a residual gas charge in the system, only not enough to register with the pressure switch that controls the compressor. If memory hasn't totally failed me it was around 15 psi on the low side.


Next  Yesterday I couldn't spell Engineer... Today I are one!
Inventor of the 'Guide-o-Matic automatic wheel alignment tool'
Former long term L322 owner, Up/Down graded to a Classic Tractor!

Nothing wrong with what you've done, topping up a system is fine, it's discharging it to the atmosphere that's not very kind.... and illegal

Hope it sorts it for you..... Pete

__________________________________________________
2014 L405 Autobiography SDV8 4.4 Loire Blue Ebony interior
2011 L322 Vogue SE 4.4 TDV8 Baltic Blue. Parchment over Navy Interior. Sold
2012 L322 Autobiography 5.0 Supercharged Ipanema Sand, Jet Interior. Sold
2002 L322 Vogue 4.4 V8 Epson Green, Ivory over Aspen Interior (Fatty Offroader) Sold
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I did it on an old Fiat worked fine for the 18 months I kept it. As a diy solution the kit works well, perhaps not the best way to do it but it does seem to work. Took my mums Citroen to Kwikfit though, £45 for a drain and refil.

miggit wrote:

And It Begins..................

FYI there was a residual gas charge in the system, only not enough to register with the pressure switch that controls the compressor. If memory hasn't totally failed me it was around 15 psi on the low side.


Next

miggit wrote:

Hi all, I am going to be shot down in flames for posting this,

As I predicted in the opening line of my post

And I know that it reacts with air, I want it too, if it didn't come in to contact with air then I wouldn't have had a leak

But in all fairness it does say that you need the compressor to run before you put the sealer in the system, and that you must top up the system after to stop the low pressure port from blocking. So the trick is to put enough gas in to get it all working, but leave enough room to get the sealer in and a top up to flush the port. Which is real easy on a 'ang 'over as they have a really big A/C system  Yesterday I couldn't spell Engineer... Today I are one!
Inventor of the 'Guide-o-Matic automatic wheel alignment tool'
Former long term L322 owner, Up/Down graded to a Classic Tractor!

Well done....
Total cost? Previously..
Vogue SE TD6
Defender 90 2.4
Defender 110 TD5
Vogue 3.5 EFI

Doesn't the gas bottle you get from Halfords contain a leak sealer as well as gas? Mine did.

Now your asking, why does someone always have to ask the really difficult questions......

Top up gas was £39.99, the hose and gauge were £19.99 and the Super Seal was also £19.99 so that's £79.97 'Ang on a minute it's 2 for 3..........

Oh, Yes, so that's £59.98

And then I got £10 back

So the total to get it working was £49.98, but that is with a low reading on the gauge, just in to the green.

So I returned to get some more gas............ 3 for 2............ I wonder............

£39.99 x 3 - £39.99 = £79.98 for 3 cylinders with 3 x £10 refund on them, so the second round of gas has worked out at £16.66 per cylinder Don't you just love it when they can't add up without a calculator

Buy my experiences I recon that a just packed up system with a known leak, like mine , will take 1.5 cylinders of gas, so if there a need to do more than 1 system at home, or you have a mate to share the cost, I would suggest that 3 cylinders, 2 Super Seal, and a trigger on the 3 for 2 would be a very good buy........ especially if the gas is brought all an once  Yesterday I couldn't spell Engineer... Today I are one!
Inventor of the 'Guide-o-Matic automatic wheel alignment tool'
Former long term L322 owner, Up/Down graded to a Classic Tractor!

Yes, the gas has some leak sealer in it, but only says it's good for 'O' rings, Super Seal will also deal with cracked metal parts as well

I have just erred on the side of caution, I know that I had a leak, big enough to stop the A/c working after 2 months, but small enough to be a pita to find, got peed off looking and thought that I'd give this a try beforeit got to new condensers, heat exchangers etc. Yesterday I couldn't spell Engineer... Today I are one!
Inventor of the 'Guide-o-Matic automatic wheel alignment tool'
Former long term L322 owner, Up/Down graded to a Classic Tractor!

But is it ice cold now? 2003 Range Rover Vogue 4.4 on Gas
1961 88" 2.25 diesel - George
Gone - 1997 3.9 V8i Discovery - Burt

Yes, but it isn't blowing clouds in the car now, like it was a month ago  Yesterday I couldn't spell Engineer... Today I are one!
Inventor of the 'Guide-o-Matic automatic wheel alignment tool'
Former long term L322 owner, Up/Down graded to a Classic Tractor!

On my 4.2 the entire system was changed apart from the cabin cooler and a year later we had to top up coolant again . So big bill AND still not fixed. MY 2010 5.0 SC Galway green and sand interior!!
Have the Faultmate MSV2 Extreme to be tinkering with the settings etc. !!

The gas doesn't have leak sealer in. It just contains pag oil. Which the seals will absorb. Leak seal usuall causes issues. Why not just change the problem o ring instead? That's why no main dealer or ac engineer will use it. Just make sure you put a sticker on stating its in there. It up ac test equipment.

Steve You remind me of a young me, not much younger mind, perhaps even a little older!