Hey everyone. So I have been having some issues with my 99 Ford Ranger, V6 3.0. I’ll try to make this long story short...

I’ve had the truck for a little over 3 years now, and the A/C has never fully worked. It’ll blow cold for about 30 minutes than go over to warm air. I’ve charged it a few times and added Freon, but it never seems to hold... I put it off numerous times thinking no big deal.

Fast forward to most recent... I’ve been having some clutch issues that I thankfully figured out, but what I noticed is that all of a sudden I’m having a small leak from the accumulator. Under the hood I’ll notice that it’s spraying everywhere... if I turn off my A/C and heater then I notice no leak. I’m pretty new to this issue so any help would be great. Do I need to replace my accumulator or just tighten something??

 

Yes, you will need to replace accumulator but..................you had a leak before, could have been there or somewhere else

A shop can vacuum test system and also find other leak points if any

Up to you

You need to drain the system, replace the parts, and then refill with "freon" and oil(compressor lube)
You can get "freon" with oil AND a dye, the dye can help locate leaks, now or in the future

Ye, the accumulator is on the High Pressure side of the AC system
So would tend to leak more when AC compressor comes on, and until pressure went down
You will ruin the compressor if it ever "runs dry" so unplug it until problem is solved