System leak !!!!!

[RonSerling]

A good day Ranger Fans !!! Well I have a 93 Ranger that has pretty much been a long term project and when ever I have had issues with it I was always able to get some great advice and answers here at the Ranger Station Forums. So now the mechanical issues have been pretty nicely ironed out and with the new engine and trans that I built she runs like a monster now. I am working on some of the accessories now and I felt it was time to do a major overhaul of the A/C system so off to Rock Auto I went and had a field day ordering all new Four Seasons parts. I got compressor, dryer a new condenser and evaporator plus the suction/discharge with manifold lines and also the new o-ring kit and an orifice tube. So I took a weekend and took my time and tried to make sure everything was installed correctly and then I brought out the trusty vacuum pump and took it down to -20 and left it overnight to make sure there were no leaks. Came out the next day and it seemed fine as it was still at -20 so I proceeded to charge the system and brought it up to specs with a new shot of PAG oil and a couple cans of R134 and she seemed to work fine. About a week after the charging it started blowing hot air so I hooked it to the machine and evacuated the system and there was only like 9 ozs. in it. So I vacuumed it once again and refilled it plus this time I added fluorescent dye into it and let it run again. Sure enough about a week goes by and it is blowing warm again so I took out the black light and checked everywhere !! I could not find an traces of the die anywhere !! So now I am puzzled and and wondering is there any other ways of detecting a leak beside the dye method. I am hoping there might be another way before I tear into it and go replacing all the o-rings again as a precaution. So if there is any way anyone can tell me I would really appreciate it. I generally have gotten great advice here from everyone especially Ron D so I am hoping someone can give me another option on this.

Thanks in advance and I look forward to the responses

 

[franklin2]

Do you have nitrogen? You can pressurize the system and then simply spray soap on any area in question and bubbles will appear. I don't have nitrogen, so I do the big no-no and put shop air on the system at about 135 psi. Found several leaks this way. Then I leave the vacuum pump on it running overnight to boil out any moisture in the system after the leak is fixed, and then put the gas back in it.

Never had a problem so far doing it this way, though supposedly you are contaminating the system with air and moisture. But if you do not have a nitrogen setup, do you just leave it and don't fix it? Or pay a guy in the shop a $1000 to repair it? Not me.

 

[RonD]

There are R134a sniffers, they can detect leaks very well
I doubt you can rent one but I wouldn't think a Shop would charge you much just to do a sniffer test
If you know an HVAC guy they usually have these sniffers

And its a BIG LEAK if it losing "its cool" after a week
Surprised you don't see the dye dripping out, lol

 

[mikkelstuff]

Can you measure the high and low side pressures especially when blowing hot air? I ask because this might not be because of refrigerant loss.

I note this because my 2002 Ranger blows hot air for a minute or so when first started. Then it shifts to blowing cold air out the vents as it should. I believe this to be a leak in the nylon vacuum line from the reservoir up into the cab.

 

[19Walt93]

Did you check for dye at the evaporator drain? That's where it would be if the core leaks.

 

[RonSerling]

Did you check for dye at the evaporator drain? That's where it would be if the core leaks.

Not sure what you mean here unless you are talking about the drain on the heater housing below the evaporator. And to that question the answer would be yes !!!

 

[RonSerling]

There are R134a sniffers, they can detect leaks very well
I doubt you can rent one but I wouldn't think a Shop would charge you much just to do a sniffer test
If you know an HVAC guy they usually have these sniffers

And its a BIG LEAK if it losing "its cool" after a week
Surprised you don't see the dye dripping out, lol

So Mr. D. !!! I did a bit of research and found this little item on Ebay

https://www.ebay.com/itm/364382034002 hash=item54d6dc9852:g:WvUAAOSw-R5kxOk9&amdata=enc%3AAQAIAAAA4OiGfBkoqjGKpYrhIKD4jO%2BaS4UDn3Lc5U9pfqBVgVBHrLxYG7svbppFmm9c1OylwnSk9%2FvqwFMFSLWHHylhe9t3zqC5YYCR1GdJntfsBpfT7GIRd0NSoZ76z2Dz0svVZWdcV9ml8R%2F1InEGG%2BJfVEjaCAcs86Gf%2FpBSRLYgE58bo3v4WncYEOWbn5lZt8oZbTm8Eo3YekpZ0v4L4cnHgmyZqIEjwq804C2X2HWG%2FFVWUgaVqSbmGtTPLZ66g6GLtz1s6n8LKe0V97Xq5O%2BvYkt4tORk4HD3kJzpNy%2FCaky4%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR-bOpfW4Yg

Have a look and let me know what you think !! Is it worth the 30 bucks ?? If so I am more than willing to put out for it. Let me know, Thanks

 

[RonD]

Never used one and probably never will, lol
You asked if there was a different way to check for R134a leaks

I would check reviews, hopefully from HVAC guys that use these regularly