Let's talk about how to properly replace the radiator of the air conditioner and what to fear when replacing it and what needs to be done after its installation. Consider the case of soldering and refueling an air conditioner.
To imagine a modern foreign car without air conditioning or climate control, one immediately gets the impression that a foreign car is cheap or very old. In the first foreign cars that came to our territory, it was a luxury and an additional function when equipped in the cabin. For this addition, it was necessary to spend a lot of money, and it was even more expensive to service. Nowadays it is a generally accepted option of a car and regardless of climate control or air conditioning - the principle of operation and the system are exactly the same. The fact that the air conditioner is out of order is often the driver learns only with the onset of heat in the car.
Reasons for breakdown of the air conditioner
The photo shows the device of the air conditioner in the car
There can be many reasons for a breakdown, the first is that the O-rings at the joints have shrunk, as a result of which all the freon has come out. The second is the depressurization of the system. Sometimes after winter, you may notice that the tube of the air conditioning system is torn off or there is damage to the radiator. Most often, such problems arise in snowy weather, when the driver makes his way through unfamiliar terrain.
Thus, having run over a stone, snag or just an uneven surface, you can easily tear off the radiator or pipes. As for the freon itself, it is a gaseous liquid, a mixture of ethane and methane. It is used in all air conditioners in cars. More than 40 types are well known, but R134a is used for cars, R12 was previously used, but due to the introduction of an environmental law, it was withdrawn from use. Under no circumstances should R600a freon be used, as it is explosive.
In the air conditioning system, freon can pass from a gaseous form to a liquid and vice versa. When unscrewing the pipe near the radiator, you need to be extremely careful, you can freeze your fingers. Prepare a rag in advance and put it on the joint where the freon will come out. There is no way to save it in the system, so immediately count on a new refueling of the unit. I will say right away that it costs a lot, somewhere around $ 50-100, since freon itself is not cheap. Refueling using special mechanisms and devices. It makes no sense to buy freon yourself, since no one will sell 100 grams, there are 1 kg cylinders on sale, more often they are packed in 13.5 kg cylinders. Before refueling, you will need to make a vacuum in the system and check for leaks, as it already becomes clear, there is no way to do this with improvised means.
Removing the air conditioner radiator
Each brand of car has a radiator installed differently and attached differently, some in front of the radiator, others behind the engine coolant radiator. There is insulation on the pipes that go to the radiator, I do not advise you to tear it off or spoil it, the fact is that it is not so easy to put it on, and even more so to find it, so it is better to push it aside and tighten it with tape.
Do not under any circumstances unscrew or depressurize the system in rainy or humid weather, even in a dry room, the humidity may increase, after a while this may lead to a breakdown of the system. After unscrewing the tubes, seal them with tape to avoid moisture or dirt. It is worth removing the radiator carefully, since the honeycomb is aluminum and it is very easy to bend it.
Usually the radiator is removed from the bottom of the car, and it is more convenient, and fewer parts have to be disassembled. First, we remove the engine protection; for most models, you will also have to remove the radiator grille and the front bumper. Prepare the radiator in advance or ask a friend to take you for repairs, I do not recommend driving for a long time without a radiator. Removing the radiator, except for freon, there will be nothing more to come out of it, there is no liquid, unlike the engine cooling system. But nevertheless, there are models in which you can remove from above, for this it is worth unscrewing the radiator grill and the headlight, so that it is more convenient to unscrew the fasteners radiator. If the radiator is damaged, then it is worth soldering with argon and no other welding, since after a while from high pressure, other welding will simply be damaged. The cost of soldering a radiator is on average $ 60-100. Argon is most often used by specialists in the repair of refrigeration equipment, so in the newspaper you can quickly find such an ad where they will help you to repair the radiator, by the way, they can also fill your air conditioner, the principle of operation of a car air conditioner is the same as that of a household refrigerator.
Installing the radiator back
Installation of the radiator is carried out in the reverse order to disassembly, screw it tightly onto the frame, it should not dangle and have backlash. You can check the quality of the soldering and the operation of the air conditioner only after refueling, do not forget to tell the master that the radiator was replaced or soldered, this will facilitate the search for leaks in case of poor soldering and speed up the process of refueling the air conditioner. You will check the place of soldering and pipe connections, and they will tell you whether there is a leak or not. This is so that we do not go to refuel again or, even worse, re-carry out the procedure for soldering the radiator.
The operating pressure in the system is of the order of 10-15 kg, at the supply pressure in general can reach 25 kg at a high ambient temperature or a clogged radiator.
Refueling a car air conditioner
The most pleasant and long-awaited process is air conditioning refueling. After the system has been checked for leaks, a vacuum is made in the system using a vacuum pump; for this, the pump is connected to the air conditioning system through a pressure gauge. The system has two pipes, supply and discharge, on the pipes there are often red and blue caps. Refueling is done with the engine running, so you can turn on the air conditioner and check its operation. As I mentioned earlier, it is not a matter of cheap pleasures, so you cannot refuel it yourself without special equipment and knowledge.
