Does Freon go bad?

[NerdBoy]

My A/C is not putting out the cold air the way it used to. The air is chilly, but not cold, anymore. It gets colder when the RPMs are higher, and not as cold at idle.

I checked the pressure on the low side, and it seems to be just fine. It has been about 5 years since the system was filled. Is it possible that the freon is bad, or is it possible that the problem is something worse?

 

[84_Chevy_K10]

No it doesn't go bad.

Might need a slight boost of refrigerant to get 'er goin.

 

[pauly383]

It seeped out of the rubber parts over time ( hoses , o-rings etc ). Or there is leaky joint/solder connection/fitting . Get a bit added or recharge . If its a r-12 system , you'll need to convert to 134a , or find a drop in replacement gas ( freeze 12 , Hot Shot etc ) /forums/images/graemlins/k5.gif

 

[mudjunkie 82]

the old types of freon do not go bad. If you have a leak you could repair it and top off the charge in a system.A lot of the new Refrigerants consist of blends of different types of Refrigerants and if you have a leak some parts will segergate and leak off. now you have to remove it all and start over.A lot of the R-12 replacments are blends instead of an Azeotrope (pure Fluid).

 

[darkshadow]

[ QUOTE ]
It gets colder when the RPMs are higher, and not as cold at idle.


[/ QUOTE ]
could this be the compressor???

 

[rocko]

The compressor most alway's leaks out the front seal..
and it's designed to shut down when it detects a drop in freon to prevent it from burning up.
I just replaced my AC compressor... holy crap.. original acdelco (new) no reman was $520.00..
Since I work at a dealership now.. I picked up the compressor for $200.10.
But.. I'm glad my ac is fixed and finally converted to R134a.

 

[NerdBoy]

It's R134a. I'm a bit hesitant to just top it off, as the pressure guage I used read it at the top of the pressure spectrum.
Would it be worth taking some of the pressure out, and re-filling it? If I were to do that, how would I go about doing it? I have 2 pressure fittings on the hoses. One on the high side, and one on the low side. Do I just open the one on the low side, and let the pressure bleed off?

 

[84_Chevy_K10]

From what I understand about 134a, you're much better off using the temperature of what is coming out the vents rather than pressures to determine charge amount.

I would charge it until it blows cold. Just don't go crazy because it will continue to get colder as you charge it. They make temperature gauges you can put in your vents to test this.

This is just what I've been told by the 65 year old man I work with that had his own auto shop for 40 years. I know damn near nothing about air conditioning except how to identify the parts.

 

[jac6695]

Make sure your condenser (the coil in front of the radiator) is clean. If the pressures are high and cooling isn't that good, then the condenser may not be rejecting the heat it needs to.