Did your mechanic tell you what he (she?) found? When I did mine, I had convinced myself there was a leak but instead it was my orifice tube that was plugged.

When I did my AC system replacement, the only part I kept was the evaporator. What you did not list as replaced was the condenser. I replaced it too because I had read that later condensers cannot be flushed due to their very small passages. I'm wondering if this could be an issue for you.

You might also check the low-pressure switch to make sure the plug is secure to it.

Be sure to report back what the issue turns out to be.

 

He showed me very fine metal shavings. Thanks, I'll check the pressure switch. Hopefully, I get it back to him this week and will report bsck. Sounds like the condensor should have been replaced also???

 

Check around the low and high pressure ports for signs of leaking; those scharder valves are a weak spot....easy and cheap to replace.

 

Leak detection:

High tech: electronic leak detector (requires experience for small leaks)
Lower tech: spray soapy water and look for bubbles
lowest tech: run finger around fittings and look for small amounts of oil (this is where I start)

George

 

If there were fine metal shavings, then yes, the blocking of passages in the refrigerant circuit could be the culprit. Depending on the details of internal structures of the parts he flushed, some metal shavings or other contaminants might have remained in the system even after flushing.

I don't have my notes handy but when I was researching my AC system repairs, I came to the impression that yes, the condenser should be replaced. I think that on older vehicles, e.g. those of the R-12 era before R-134a, that you could flush those condensers because their internal passages were larger. For my case, I figured I could not even flush the main AC lines that go to the top of the compressor because the muffler (the extra wide part on the rigid part of one of the hoses) cannot be flushed due to its internal geometry. Furthermore, it might also have been a requirement of the compressor manufacturer that their warranty would be void if I did not do a flush and also install a new condenser.

Keep us posted.

You might do your own research on this. If I am correct, then you can use that to negotiate with your mechanic that you should not have to pay for any repairs he did incorrectly.

 

And, although I'm thinking that ideally your mechanic should have replaced the condenser, let's hope doing so would have only been more of a precautionary measure and that the system stopped working for a much simpler and easy to fix reason like the low pressure switch not working or failing.

 

Well, it appeared to be a bad compressor, oil leak. Replaced under lifetime parts warranty, recharged system. No labor charge.

 

Great. Glad there was no cost. Thanks for reporting back too!

 

THANK YOU for alk your detailed contributions. Even at 63, you never learning from others!