A/C recharge info DIY ?

OK, so I had a leak, tore the front end clean off the car, found a loose connection on the drivers side a/c condensor, fixed it and back to driving.. now a/c seems a bit warmer and maybe a bit louder (low on oil?) I saw a recharge kit in the store, with a pressure guage and screw on hose thing.. Is this simple, can I do it, any threads (I search here and 6speed) on a DYI recharge? what are the pitfalls and has anyone used one of these $20-30 kits with success? I did read about reclaiming, pumping down??? those things sound a bit "involved" Should I just run it in to an a/c "regular car" shop and have them do it? I saw someone say about $100... thats not bad, if I can save some money and learn, thats better Thanks ! Ed

Ed, It is probably not worth the expense to buy a "recharge kit..... with a pressure guage and screw on hose thing" to use for one (or two) times. How many time in the past 5 years have you had to re-charge the coolant in one of your cars? If less than 2, don't bother with the recaharge kit. That's my take on the subject.

Your choices are: Buy the recharge kit and DIY. Spend $200 to have a tech do the same thing.

I wouldn't touch an A/C system on anything but a throw-away car without a set of gauges. You just don't know what is going on in the system without them.

I've used the recharge kit on my wife's car before. It was a piece of cake and I had enough left over in the cans that come with the kit to charge up my friends cars also. Very easy DIY project.

this thing is like $25 http://www.partsamerica.com/product_...tn_mac-134.jpg

OK... anyone gonna elaborate on how to recharge the a/c... That can thingy ^^^ looks like it would work... but where does it hook up to?

The port that the recharge bottle connects to in under the tray on the driver's side in the front trunk. You can remove the center cover to access the battery and the particulate filter is under the passenger side cover. Remove the driver's side cover and you will see the receiver/drier and the a/c connection ports. There's a pressure and return line, but don't worry they're different sizes. Connect it and check the pressure on the gauge and follow the bottle's instructions. Pretty quick.

I think I am going to do this... whats the worst I can do... loose the charge? LOL.. I thought it looked easy too.. I will post pics either way (success or otherwise) Ed

Go for it. A few years ago I had to replace the condenser on my mercedes. I did it my self and then recharged it myself (with the dual gauge manifold tester). The sticker said how many oz of R34 to put in and it was a piece of cake!

note - most of the recharge kits include a 'sealer' to stop leaks - but I'm not sure how that impacts your Porsche AC system... Also, if you have air in the AC system - you need to have it vacuum evacuated before it's refilled - otherwise it will not work efficiently. Other than that, as long as you use the Low Pressure port, and use a gauge to correctly pressure the system, you're able to DIY with new refrigerant AND the synthetic lube it contains to keep the moving parts moving.

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Good point - I forgot about that. I have a vacuum pump from back in the day when I played with composites - that's what I used on the Mercedes. I've seen some (that Harbor Freight sells) that use compressed air and the venturi effect to make a vacuum.

update: btw I may need to do the vacuum thing, but for now its working quite well, we will see. This is a 15 minute job that requires (1) t-25 torx bit to complete. Bought my charger at the mega-grocery store that has everything, the autoparts store was a 2 piece kit and cost the same but had a "funny" fill valve... open hood, remove battery cover (2 twist turn locks) and remove torx bolt on passenger side (note this screws into a rubber nut, take care not to over tighten or force. Just unscrew it and keep turning till the screw is loose. Pull the cover forward (to you) and the back will slide out from under the place it is hooked on to. Careful not to pull at angles, just a nice steady straight forward pull. Remove the cap on the large pipe. Start the car and follow a couple simply things written on the can (turn A/C on ect...) Attach hose (pull back on the locking ring for the one I had...snaps on like a quick connect air line) read pressure.. if its in the blue, you are good, lower = add, more = run to get help I suppose) slowly add till you are in the blue (or what ever color is deemed "good" on your guage) when its full, remove the line (like air line, pull back and release). put the cap back on and reinstall the covers... Take care to slide the "tabs" of the covers back into the slots thay came out of...dont overtighten the screw.... Test drive... WOW ... nice an Nippy !!!

damn that was quick... Good Job! I dont care what people say about you Ivan.... you're alright in my book!

Good for you.Nice write up as well. Thanks for the info.

Ed, nice! When I said it would not be worth the expense to get the the recharge kit, I was thinking about the "mechanics" version. I didn't even know that the kind you used were available. So, on second thought, I think you should go ahead and do it! Thanks for posting the pics and the DYI. I am sure this will come in handy when my POS Honda goes out of warranty!