firebirddude98

im not really worried cus i hardly use my a/c, but i thought about it, and it's nice to have when it's rainin and when my girlfriends won't let me drive a wind tunnel (tops off windows down). anyways, v6 firebird, 1998 model, 61,000 miles, original owner said he had the a/c charged b4 he sold it to me, but i don't think he did. i have no idea about a/c so tell me some things i could do please and thanks

SuperSpeed27

Have it recharged and if it stops again you have a leak, also make sure theres nothing caught over the condenser in the front

1 FMF

iTrader: (1)

unless you buy or have a vacuum pump and can evacuate the system, there's nothing you can do to the AC system other than charge it and check if the condensor fins are clean. You would have to take it to a shop where they will evacuate the system,
they can and should replace the high and low side port valves which are cheap. They would pull the orifice tube out and inspect, if it's clean with no buildup of crap then thats a good sign the system was in good working order and it would not need anything major such as a flush. Std procedure would be to replace the accumulator, and it would be a good idea to if it's the original. I think i heard life span of those is 5-6 years anyway for the dessicant in there. You could also pull the compressor and drain the oil out of there and inspect the quality of the oil, if it's bad and shows signs of moisture or breakdown then you should get the system and lines flushed. Then have the system evacuated and charged, and have the correct amount of pag oil injected if necessary. they would also check high/low side pressures before doing anything, you could do it if you had gauges, if pressures don't show up well with adequate refrigerant in the system then plan on getting a new compressor.

firebirddude98

i've seen around the internet that r134 refrigerant is ****. i'd say the old man prolly had that put in there. thanks for your educated responses guys, but how much would you think that would cost to do all that stuff. i'll just tell the girlfriends to get all sweaty or have messed up hair, and as far as rain goes, well, i guess i'll have to suck it up if this is higher dollar repair

SuperSpeed27

R134 is what your car was built to run on its all the old man could put in there they stopped using R12 in the early 90s for enviromental reasons. Just start by recharging it.