Auto Repair Product Reviews - Reviews of Products to Repair, Detail and Accessorize Your Car or Truck - Funny Stuff Too- How-To Auto Repair Guides What's Wrong With My Car? How to Deal With Your Mechanic Auto Repair Reference and Technical Data Resources Tools for the Do-It-Yourself Mechanic - DIY Auto Repair Tools Emergency Auto Repairs - Roadside FixesA hot car in the summer is all but unbearable especially in very hot climates. Many things can go wrong with a car or truck A/C system with the most common being the unit has a low refrigerant charge. Once all other possible problems are eliminated than recharging a system is a easy task that most any home DIY mechanic can do. Refrigerant recharging kits are readily available that anyone can buy to get their A/C back to blowing cold air. Here is a popular recharging kit on Amazon. Interdynamics AFK-11CS Arctic Freeze Ultra Synthetic Recharging Kit with UV Dye and UV Light What Refrigerant Does your Car or Truck Use?

There are two types of refrigerant often called Freon that vehicles use R12 and R134. R12 is mainly used in older cars and trucks built before 1995. R134 is used on vehicles built after 1995. If your vehicle was built after 1995 than it more than likley uses R134 as R12 was banned do to environmental concerns. For those who have a vehicle built close the 1995 date a sticker should be located on the system somewhere that displays the refrigerant used or alternatively it can be looked up online. How to Recharge a Car or Truck Air Conditioner A recharge kit is needed. In this example we are using the Interdynamics AFK-11CS Arctic Freeze Ultra Synthetic Recharging Kit which is a popular R134 option. Be sure to were gloves and eye protection in case of any accidents. A 14oz can of R-134a is in the kit which the top plastic cap needs to be removed. The cap is than screwed onto the bottle. A/C systems have two tubing lines for High Pressure and Low Pressure.

Locate the Low Side port on the A/C system. The Low side port will always be on the larger diameter tubing. Next start the engine and turn the air conditioning to Max Cool with the fan set to the highest setting.heat and ac combo unit Check and be sure the compressor is running as it needs to be running to get a charge into the system. central ac unit filterYou will know if it is running as it will be spinning.water pump for ac unit Attach the hose from the bottle to the Low Side port. The gauge will show what the charge state of the system is. Keep in mind overcharging a system can possibly damage components and the unit will not work properly. When adding Freon into the system do it slowly and check the gauge as to get the right amount into the system.

The gauge will show Green for Low, Blue for Filled, Yellow for Alert, and Red for a Overcharge. To add more refrigerant squeeze the trigger on the can. Once the unit is charged remove the hose and replace the cap. The unit should now be fully charged. Charging a vehicles air conditioning system is a easy task that most any backyard mechanic can do. As when working on any car problem be sure to wear the correct protective gear. Before charging a unit be sure of what the problem is. If it is only a slow leak than a cheap DIY charge may be a good temporary solution. Also before charging be sure the compressor is running as that may point to a another problem. Iconic One Pro Theme | Zheng, Y., "Ways to Determine Vehicle Dual AC System Charge Level," SAE Technical Paper 2014-01-0697, 2014, doi:10.4271/2014-01-0697.You may already have access. Technical Papers / Journal Articles A direct replacement and retrofit option for R134a and R12 refrigerants for automotive air conditioning systemsOffers a freon replacement that runs cooler and more efficiently, without depleting ozoneNo license or retrofitting required for useCarries EcoSafe certification (non ozone depleting)Includes everything needed to properly charge air conditioning systems: two cans of 12a refrigerant, installation hose kit with colour coded gauge, air conditioning oil

, low side service fitting and service decalGet An Oil Change 1765 N Columbia Ctr Blvd, Kennewick, WAOpen until 6:00pm All fields are required FIRESTONE COMPLETE AUTO CARE SERVICED HALF A MILLION AUTO AIR CONDITIONERS LAST YEAR. If you're in need of a car A/C recharge service, look no further than Firestone Complete Auto Care. We offer an A/C Evacuate and Recharge where we void the air conditioning system of old Freon and then recharge the system with new Freon. We then inspect the car A/C system's pressure and temperature control to make sure everything is working correctly for a car air conditioner recharge service. If you're experiencing any car A/C problems, we can diagnose the issue with the Firestone A/C Performance Check, wherein one of our experienced, tire and auto service professionals:: Visually inspects all A/C components Runs a performance test Performs a system state of charge test Performs a system control test Performs a leak test using an approved electronic leak detector

See More Articles >Are the new-car extras, such as paint protection, underbody coating, and loan gap insurance worth it? Hi, i worked in the automoble field for 8 years, I was the CIO of a large 8 location dealer group.   Frankly, i would be leary of doing business with a company that is still pushing paint protectant or undercoating.  Undercoating is BIG no no as it will actually cause rust.  It traps water between the steel and the undercoating causing corrosion, it plugs up the door and rocker panel drains as well as drain holes in the uni-body frame rails.  The dealers cost for the undercoating is about 250.00 including man hours, it is a huge profit booster and nothing more.  Although Paint Protectant will cause no damage, it does no good.  It is nothing more than an acrylic polymer protectant which can be purchased at an automotive store...cost for the dealer including man hours, 75-100 dollars.  It is nothing more than a profit booster.  Gap insurance is worth it, if you are involved in a collision and your car is a total loss, the insurance company generally pays you the trade value for the car. 

Gap insurance will pay the difference between what the insurance pays you and how much you owe on the car.  for instance, if the insurance company pays you 2k dollars and you owe 3k, the gap insurance will pay the difference of 1k.  However, if you are finanacing 75 percent of the vehicle cost, then gap is not needed.   Here is my best advice, pay for the car and not a single additional item.  Pay no more than 10 percent over cost, ask to see the dealer invoice, add 10 percent and pay that price.  Gap insurance can be purchased through the finance company after the purchase.  So, if the invoice states the car cost the dealer 20k, you offer 22k and not a dime more as that is a fair profit for the dealer.  Puschase no other add ons, none.  If they wont show you the invoice, there are plenty of honest dealers that will.  I would be very careful with this dealer.  Dealers also make money on financing.  for instance, they submit your loan for approval, the bank comes back and approves the loan at 6 percent interest. 

The dealer will add 2 or 3 points charging 8-9 percent interest and the dealer gets the money for the points at the time of sale. Ask them how may points they are adding to the bank rate.  I summary, be careful.  dont fall in love as there are many dealers with the same car.  Offer 10 percent over the dealer invoice and purchase nothing else.  if the dealer gets defensive, fails to show you the invoice, or pulls other sneaky tactics...go to another dealer.   to find the dealer cost for your car as well as many other informative car buying tips.I just bought a used SUV with 115k miles for my son . Should I pay to have the timing belt changed now? If it is the original timing belt, then yes - check your owners manual for the recommended changing frequency, but from a quick web search (not knowing your exact engine model) it looks like 60,000 recommended internal, and typically last 80-100,000 miles to failure if not changed. The most frequent comment (and a red note items on manufacturer's website) is that you probably have a "zero-clearance" engine, an idiotic design that means if the valves are not fully closed when the piston come to the top, it hits the valves and breaks or bends them or punches a hole in the top of the piston.

Talk about planned obsolescence ! In short, if that is the case and your belt breaks or gets so loose it strips the "teth" off it or slips, your valve timing will be off, and could cause catastrophic engine damage that would require a complete engine overhaul or replacement ! Unfortunately, after looking at a video on how to change the belt, they build it so almost all the auxiliary equipment has to be taken off to change the belt - the alternator, water pump, radiator upper hose, power steering pump, air conditioner, etc - so rough cost is $800-1200 ! If you are getting it changed, it is also recommended to replace the water pump while it is off. Hopefully some Montero mechanic will hop on this question and expand on this, but NO engine belt of any type should be trusted to go 115K miles.Is a transmission flush really necessary?How much does it cost to change transmission fluid At a quick lube type place, with unknown brand of fluid - from about $30-60 depending if done as part of a general fluid change package or all by itself.

If transmission fluid filters need replacing too (usually are changed with fluid change on an automatic transmission), more like $75-125 range. At dealer, using OEM parts and fluid, about twice to triple that. Normal auto repair shop about halfway in between those two. One reason for higher price is they will not (if reputable) extract the old fluid through the dipstick tube and put in new - they will remove the pan or maintenance panel (which commonly has to be done fgor filter replacements) and clean the pan at a minimum regardless. This assumes you do not need band or continuously variable shift friction surface replacement or adjustment, which can crank it up from $50-100 for band adjustment to several hundreds more for replacements. Do NOT let some shop convince you to pay for a transmission flush - not only is it unnecessary, but usually uses contaminated fluid from other cars or harmful chemicals (sometimes even tap water or diesel fluid) and can seriously damage your transmission.

If your transmission filters were not doing their job or you smoked your transmission fluid, the proper cure (assuming not bad enough to require transmission overhaul) is to change to new fluid and filters, then replace them again in a short time - typcially 50-250 miles recommended by manufacturers, to let the new fluid pick up the dirt and sludge and transport to the filters for cleaning. IF manual transmission - from about $40-75 for one with drain pan and no filters, to as much as $200 range for one with filters that requires removing side panel to change filter and clean it out. Again, higher end at dealers. My recommendation - ALWAYS require OEM fluids be used for all but engine oil - mixing brands and additives in equipment is just not a good idea, as they can react with each other and cause serious degradation of the lubricating properties, and even cause gel or sludge in the fluid. A transmission, transfer case, differential, etc should be able to run at least several hundred thousand miles without maintenance if you change the fluid as recommended and use only the same OEM fluids in it.