I’ve got a 10 year old Dodge Stealth. It’s low miles, in great shape, so I plan to keep it for a few years more.
This spring, on the one or two days when I turned on the A/C, it worked, but extremely poorly. Maybe 10-20% efficiency. I’m guessing that the coolant needs to be replaced. I’m also guessing that this isn’t going to be cheap, as I assume that I have a Freon system, which will have to be completely replaced, due to the banning of Freon.
True? Do I have any cheaper alternatives? What else could be going on here? Could this be the sign of something more serious, like a radiator problem?
Pop the hood and check out the label on the A/C unit to be sure it is R12 (Freon). It will be possible to convert the system over to R134. Not exactly cheap, though.
Also, on the off chance your stealth has already been converted (are you the original owner?) you can pick up one of those handy dandy recharge bottles at your local auto parts store.
This could be a million things. My wife’s car had bad A/C due to a blocked drain tube. The garage didn’t even charge us labor - in ten minutes we were back on the road, freezing our asses off.
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Sounds like your A/C system is just low on refrigerant. It appears that a 10 year old Stealth was still using R12. I believe it’s still possible to have the system recharged, but since it’s so expensive, the likelihood of finding a shop or dealer with some in stock is practically nil. It can be even more expensive than an R134a conversion. Be aware that most systems designed for R12 do not cool as well with R134a.
Be aware that the stuff in the A/C system is called refrigerant. Coolant is the antifreeze/water mix in the engine cooling system.
93 and earlier model years used R-12, commonly called Freon. It is not banned. The manufacture of it is banned in countries that signed the Montreal Protocol, but there are stores of it and it’s fairly readily available. It’s also fairly expensive, compared to what it cost 15 years ago and to what R-134a costs.
A general rule is, the newer the car, the less is involved in converting from R-12 to R-134a. R-134a started being used in factory systems in 94, and all 96 and later cars use it. Your car would likely not need extensive work to convert it–it may not cost as much as you fear. Some systems take better than others to conversion, but for the majority the performance after converting ranges from adequate to excellent. A system designed for R-12 is going to work best with R-12, but for many people the (usually minor) performance difference is more than offset by the savings in refrigerant cost.
If you do have it converted, use a competent shop that follows the EPA regulations and the latest industry standards to do it right. Otherwise you’re likely to have problems down the road.
Do yourself a huge favor and don’t even CONSIDER any refrigerant other than R-12 or R-134a. The various substitutes boast that they’re EPA approved, but all that means is the Feds say the stuff won’t trash the environment. It can and often will trash the car’s A/C system. Stay away from any blend or substitute for R-12 or R-134a.
There are any number of possible reasons for poor cooling, but by far the most common is low refrigerant. If it is low, obviously there’s leakage. Most leaks can be found, but some are difficult or impossible to find either because they’re too small to detect or because the particular leak point defies normal detection methods.
Logical approach for the repair shop: inspect the system. If it’s low, top it up, then evaluate its performance. If it works OK, test for leaks. If it doesn’t, test further as applicable for mechanical or electrical problems. Needed repairs will be determined by the test results.
This company, and numerous others, offer EPA-approved ONLINE courses in which you pay $15-$20, invest 2-3 hours of study time, take an open-book certification exam, and then have EPA certification to purchase whatever mobile refrigerant you want.
Just for comparison’s sake, I just had my '92 Integra’s A/C converted to R134 (the R12 had leaked out, and shops around here simply won’t mess with R12 systems anymore). At an independent shop, it ran $350. Lord knows what a dealer would have charged, but I’d guess at least double that!
I didn’t have the time or the money to go to a radiator and AC shop to have it recharged so I went to the local auto store and got a refill bottle…R134a+oil+stop leak=$15!
Just to be clear re: the posts of Gary T and Enola Straight
R12 refrigerant is no longer manufactured in the U.S. or in other countries that are signatories to the Montreal Treaty. Moreover, non EPA-certified persons cannot lawfully purchase R12 freon refrigerant in these countries, including in the United States. IOW, you must produce EPA documentation re: certification before you can lawfully purchase R12.
As far as I am aware, R134a can still be purchased, but I believe the EPA is attempting to restrict its purchase to certified individuals. R134a is not a suitable substitute for R12 systems, unless the systems have been modified. Modification can cost several hundred dollars.
Gary T (who has forgotten more re: auto mechanics than I’ve ever learned) can clear up any details.