AC blows HOT after tightening steering rack bolts

[joenobodyyet]

Did you measure the gap width before and after?

Not engaging when hot is often a sign of a too big gap.

I did not measure the gap, but I removed the small washer shim so hopefully the gap is smaller and it will engage now when it's hot.

 

[slomo]

Yesterday my oil pressure was zero for the entire day. Now today she has normal pressure. Wonder if I need block sealer in the coolant? Just don't understand it guys. Oh now my heat doesn't work either. After the block sealant.

 

[joenobodyyet]

Did you measure the gap width before and after?

Not engaging when hot is often a sign of a too big gap.

 

[Jango]

Deleted. Bad link

 

[joenobodyyet]

Following up...

My ac clutch was not engaging.

On May 12 I removed a shim from the ac clutch. I sanded down the ac clutch to clean off the rust. The AC clutch now engages. I also added some refrigerant. I used the gauge attached to the can to see how much to add. I used ac gauges May 20th and when it was 66 degrees outside, my low was around 33psi and high was around 157psi.

My ac hadn't been feeling cool enough, so I added more refrigerant making sure I didn't overfill (I kept an eye on the gauge attached to the can of refrigerant.)

Everything has seemed fine, but the ac seemed to work best when driving long distances on the highway. The ac temperature would fluctuate a little at idle. However, today was in the high 90s, and my ac clutch would only intermittently engage. It was awful. Seemed like the hotter it got, the worse it engaged, and I had no cold AC. Tonight, I checked the refrigerant levels with a set of gauges. I was able to let my car cool down for a few hours, then right when I started the car, I checked the levels before the AC clutch had a chance to stop engaging. At 86 degrees, my low side read around 53psi. The high side read around 400-450psi. My low side seems good, but my high side seems really high.

I switched relays, and nothing changed. Both fans are running, but they do stop sometimes, then turn back on. I have read it could be the condenser, the thermal switch/protector, or ac clutch. I'm sure there are other possibilities also.

Any help is appreciated!

 

[Mechanician]

The high side pressure is too high - the pressure switch is shutting it down for safety.
If the fans are working, and the condenser isn't blocked or missing many fins - you've overfilled it.

 

[brages]

On my DIL's Fusion, she had a problem with the fan controller... The fan sometimes didn't run when it should have. That will drive high side pressures to the moon. But the pressures would be normal if the fan was running correctly. New (junkyard) fan controller module fixed it right up.

Now you have an unknown amount of refrigerant in your system. Could it be overcharged?

 

[ElectroMechanoMan]

Most gauge manifolds have a pressure/temperature chart for monitoring hi and low pressure at a given ambient temperature. See where you’re at and if the pressures are hi you have an overfilled system.

 

[joenobodyyet]

The high side pressure is too high - the pressure switch is shutting it down for safety.
If the fans are working, and the condenser isn't blocked or missing many fins - you've overfilled it.

Oh, so even if the low side psi reading seems acceptable, it can be overfilled?

 

[ripcord]

Oh, so even if the low side psi reading seems acceptable, it can be overfilled?

In some cases. Professional AC techs will completely evacuate the system and then fill with a machine that adds a measured amount of refrigerant according to the specs for that system. Pressure gauges are mainly used to ensure that everything is operating as it should.

 

[Mechanician]

Oh, so even if the low side psi reading seems acceptable, it can be overfilled?

Yes - 53 PSI at 86 degrees, is slightly high as well. Keep in mind the low side reading is also affected by the temperature of the air it's cooling - so recirc vs fresh can make a difference.
Simple answer - low side reading is not a dependable indicator of the charge on it's own.

 

[D60]

Oh, so even if the low side psi reading seems acceptable, it can be overfilled?

YES. I'd at least start by shooting for the lowest of the low side range for a given ambient. eg if it's 45-55 shoot for 45 or even 43/44. See if high side is within range at that point.

Really most important is vent temp. Even if you think you're a little low on charge but you're getting 40-50F at the center vent (depending upon ambient and humidity and other factors) and it's not short cycling, consider leaving well-enough alone.

All too often that little "top off" kills performance.

 

[joenobodyyet]

Most gauge manifolds have a pressure/temperature chart for monitoring hi and low pressure at a given ambient temperature. See where you’re at and if the pressures are hi you have an overfilled system.

The low side seems to be in the acceptable range.

 

[joenobodyyet]

If it's helpful, the ac seems to blow cold for about 20 seconds when I first start the car. Then it starts to turn on and off constantly. Fans and ac clutch are on and off, ac clutch usually off. When I drive, it seems to be slightly better, but at idle, the ac clutch struggles to stay on. When I drive, my rpms seem to move around constantly as the fans and ac clutch turn on and off.

Two weeks ago I drove to NYC and the ac was COLD. However, it was probably high 84 degrees. So I was hoping the ac was working properly, but at 99 degrees, the ac is not working.

I will try to evacuate some of the refrigerant today. Maybe it is overfilled, even though the low side seems to give an acceptable reading for the outside temperature.

 

[joenobodyyet]

YES. I'd at least start by shooting for the lowest of the low side range for a given ambient. eg if it's 45-55 shoot for 45 or even 43/44. See if high side is within range at that point.

Really most important is vent temp. Even if you think you're a little low on charge but you're getting 40-50F at the center vent (depending upon ambient and humidity and other factors) and it's not short cycling, consider leaving well-enough alone.

All too often that little "top off" kills performance.

I was able to evacuate some refrigerant. I started my car and turned on the AC full blast. The ac clutch and fans stayed on! I felt the air inside the car and it wasn't super cold, but it was cold! I'm going to drive later to see if it gets colder when driving. My low side reading was 54psi and my high side reading was 300psi. According to charts, it looks like my low side should be between 45-55psi (I'm pushing it), and my high side should be 250-275psi (I'm high). So I'm going to remove more refrigerant and try to get my numbers down a little.

Thanks for your help!

 

[ripcord]

https://www.wordsequipment.com/post/diagnosing-air-conditioning-ac-excessive-high-side-pressure