I'm the first owner of this car. The A/C ran fine until a few years ago when according to the mechanics a leak developed. They tried recharging it with r134a and the A/C ran cold for about a week and then leaked out. They said the leak would be expensive to fix, that it was somewhere underneath the engine is what they gathered from using the flourescent die that indicates leaks. So, now it's May and it's getting hot and like I've done for the last few years I avoid using the blazer during the summer months, but this year I'm gonna need the space it provides in the trunk that my other cars don't.

Basically, I don't know much about the situation in my blazer's A/C system, other than it doesn't work. I'd like to get it up and running myself. I have read of these r134a kits they sell at VIP, Autozone, Pepboys etc that come with everything I need to recharge the system. How difficult is the process of recharging it myself, what type of kit should I be looking for in regards to my situation etc. are the type of questions I have. I realize that the info I provided is probably vague if not absent in places, so I apologize. I appreciate any help that you could provide though.

 

its not hard to charge your ac the kit comes with instructions my son did it with out my help on his 97 blazer he bearly knows where to check oil

 

Yah its easy to charge the problem will be the leak. If it leaked out in a few weeks in the past it will probably leak out now in a week. I have tried tons of different sealers and non of them worked for my compressor belly leak. Im rebuilding it next week.

 

Thanks guys. I picked this up at Autozone today for $27. Looks real simple and since this is my first time doing this, simple is exactly what I want.

 

My guess is that you will have cold air for about 3 days...if you recharge with the above- without fixing your leak....

I think you are wasting money...

 

You need to fix the leak or you will just be wasting time and money. There is nothing under the engine that could be the problem. Does the compressor have black gooey stuff on it? If so, the problem is probably with the compressor itself... they are notorious for leaking where they are put together. If you do replace the compressor, then also replace the evaporator and orifice tube. After the leak is fixed I would pull a vacuum on the system before charging the system. This verifies that the leak is fixed and removes atmosphere from the system.

 

+2 on fixing the leak, if you dont you mine as well just take that bottle and throw it awaybefore you use it, because once you the R-134a in itll just leak right back out and youll be at square one.

 

So by using the above item someone can completely recharge their A/C.
Do you just have to empty out the system then add this canister?

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No, do not empty the system. Just add freon to it until the compressor clutch stays engaged and the air is blowing cold.

 

It's been a few years since the A/C was even looked at. I wanted to give it a shot and see if it holds. If it doesn't, oh well, I'm out $27 but I'll live. Then I can focus on repairing the leak. However, I'm gonna hold off on using the can, primarily because of the advice you've given but I'd also like to wait for a warm day.

Alright, so assuming there is a leak which is probably a fair assumption, how difficult and expensive is a repair that I could conduct myself? I saw the kits with the blacklight, glasses and r134a florescent to identify leaks. How effective is this method at detecting leaks? And worst case scenario, replacing the compressor, that sounds pricey.

Thanks again for the advice guys.