Greetings,
I have a 2003 Lexus GS430. Now that Spring is here, I notice my A/C does not cool well at all. My air conditioning system has never been worked on at all for the entire history of the vehicle (I am the original owner, with about 107,000 miles). I suspect I am low on refrigerant.
I know that loss of refrigerant generally means a leak somewhere. But I'd like to try to re-charge it first - if that improves cooling but gets worse again in a short time, I will know I have a leak - at that point, I'll probably have a professional look at it.
Meanwhile, I'd at least like to recharge it myself. Questions:
1) Should I invest in a good manifold gauge set? How much does a good set cost, and where can I buy one? Is there a good brand someone can point me to?
2) I notice the auto parts stores have large cans of 134a refrigerant with gauges attached to them. Is this good enough for a do-it-yourselfer? Or should I go only with a decent manifold gauge set (Hence my question above)
3) If I purchase a manifold gauge set, will any "brand" of R134a refrigerant be OK? In other words, is one brand "better" than the other?
I have a factory shop manual for my vehicle, and it shows several examples of diagnosing problems depending on what a manifold gauge set shows. I am assuming a decent manifold gauge set costs at least $200 - hence if the all-in-one cans of Freon with attached gauge will suffice, I'd rather avoid purchasing the manifold set.
Comments? Advice?
I have a 2003 Lexus GS430. Now that Spring is here, I notice my A/C does not cool well at all. My air conditioning system has never been worked on at all for the entire history of the vehicle (I am the original owner, with about 107,000 miles). I suspect I am low on refrigerant.
I know that loss of refrigerant generally means a leak somewhere. But I'd like to try to re-charge it first - if that improves cooling but gets worse again in a short time, I will know I have a leak - at that point, I'll probably have a professional look at it.
Meanwhile, I'd at least like to recharge it myself. Questions:
1) Should I invest in a good manifold gauge set? How much does a good set cost, and where can I buy one? Is there a good brand someone can point me to?
2) I notice the auto parts stores have large cans of 134a refrigerant with gauges attached to them. Is this good enough for a do-it-yourselfer? Or should I go only with a decent manifold gauge set (Hence my question above)
3) If I purchase a manifold gauge set, will any "brand" of R134a refrigerant be OK? In other words, is one brand "better" than the other?
I have a factory shop manual for my vehicle, and it shows several examples of diagnosing problems depending on what a manifold gauge set shows. I am assuming a decent manifold gauge set costs at least $200 - hence if the all-in-one cans of Freon with attached gauge will suffice, I'd rather avoid purchasing the manifold set.
Comments? Advice?