I've owned my Ranger for less than a year and I've been slowing investing in it. I'm trying to sort out my AC and I'm running into some trouble. I retrofitted the system for r134 and charged it. The clutch is engaging normally, as far as I can tell. The AC in the cab blows but its not getting cold.
If the clutch on the compressor is engaging does that mean the compressor itself is working? If not, is there a way to check it?
Is there some other component I should check?

 

Welcome to the forum

The compressor, compresses(I know duh) the Freon and that makes it REALLY HOT
The Really hot Freon runs to the Condenser, located in front of the radiator
So feel that hose, it should get really hot, 175+ degs, after compression

That will tell you the compressor is working, and this is the High Pressure side of the system
The other line coming into the compressor should be cooler, thats the return line, the low pressure side, comes from evaporator inside AC box on firewall

Inside the cab is the heater core, and in 1992 it will always have hot coolant flowing thru it.
The Temp control on the dash opens and closed the Blend Door, it is cable operated.
The Blend Door directs air flow thru the heater core in HOT setting or closes off the heater core in COLD setting.
When you slide this control back and forth you should hear the Blend Door closing at both ends of the slide
You can see the cable end and the Blend Door lever if you lower the glove box down all the way, the cable end is adjustable, and maybe the end got loose so Blend Door is not closing

Try AC when engine is cold, if it blows cold then the Blend Door could be the problem


AC has a few more parts, orifice tube, accumulator/drier, and expansion valve

When you compress anything it heats up, if you ever had an air compressor you will have noticed that.
And when you release that compressed air.............it gets VERY COLD coming out
And thats AC, Freon is just better to use than air
So it is compressed and gets very hot then the pressure is released inside evaporator where it rapidly cools down
Blower fan will always blow air thru evaporator whether AC is on or off.
The Blend Door is just for heater core

 

RonD, thank you for such an amazing response. I haven't time to tinker with it but I spent today making progress (hopefully).

I took it to a place and they said I have a bad compressor. So I replaced it and it didn't seem to work. Now I have a charged system with a brand new compressor. The clutch is engaging but I dont have cold air yet.

After reading your response I went to check the Blend door behind the glove box. I didn't see an accessible way to check if the Blend Door was closing all the way but, when the heat is on the air coming out of the vents is quite hot and noticeably room temperature when the slider is set to the cool side. That leads me to believe the Blend Door is mostly working.

Any ideas on what to check next? Am I at the mercy of the professionals?

Thanks again for your help!!!!!!

 

If its not the blend door.. maybe the "expansion valve" or "fixed orifice tube"

(copy / paste fr yourmechanic.com )
AC system performing worse than usual and blowing warm air:
One of the first symptoms of a problem with the AC expansion valve or orifice tube is an underperforming AC system. The AC expansion valve and orifice tube work together to regulate the flow of the AC system. If either component fails or has an issue, it can disturb the performance of the AC system, which can cause it to underperform. The AC system may begin to blow noticeably less cold than before and may even begin to blow warm air depending on the severity of the problem.

Also, when the system is emptied your supposed to replace the desiccant. On my 98 its in the accumulator.

 

Could it possibly be the cabin air filter is too dirty to allow proper air flow? Just a thought.