While at Advance yesterday picking up an oil filter I got to talking to the guy behind the register about AC. Anyway, I'll make a long story short. He told me that as long as my AC unit in my truck never leaks then I will never need to get it recharged.

Is this true? If that is the case, then why would folks ever take their vehicles to a mechanic to get their AC recharged? According to this guy, if a vehicle’s AC needed recharging then it would mean there was a leak somewhere and the damage was far more severe. Can anyone explain this to me?

 

Freon lasts forever (ask Al Gore) but as time goes by small amounts of freon can leak from your vehicle. As the system slowly looses its charge it will start to cycle the compressor on and off more frequently. If it leaks enough it will not work at all. A vehicle can loose a small amount of freon and still seem normal although its not blowing as cold of air as it could. If its overcharged it can lead to high pressures and possible leaks or hose blowouts. This is why its best to have someone with proper gauges and ability to service your a/c...therefore the spring "tuneup" racket, not everybody needs it. Some vehicles will leak all the freon out in a matter of hours and some may take years.
John

 

Thanks for the info John.

So far, so good for my '95 Ranger then. With 213,000 miles I've never had the AC recharged or serviced and it's still ice cold. I never even set it to "max". Just the standard "AC" is cold enough!

The only thing that I can complain about is that my lips start to turn blue if I have the fan on any higher than medium-low.

 

Where would it leak...by the passengers feet? my AC doesn't work worth ****...I've replenished the AC and it worked for the day but not anymore...Whats the deal on my truck?

 

mine is going for 254k and still never charged but my dads 90 f150 couldnt blow cold air to save its self