My AC will blow air but not cool it off. In a worst case scenario how much should I pay to have it fixed?

 

well lets see ...$3,000 IDK???

but first lets see whats up with it?
1-does the a/c compressor come on?
if so, does it go on and off repeatedly or does it stay on?
if it comes on and stays on you will probably want to throw some gauges on it next.

 

either going to have a leak or a component failure. could anywhere from 1 for a leaky oring to a few hundred for a compressor.

 

we tend to have leaky compressors....check to see if you have a good charge, if not a compressor is usually $100 from a junkyard.

 

i bought a can of R-134 from walmart with a pressure gauge and filled it took 18oz can and went from 70 degrees to 50 degrees on an 85 degree day.

Lasted 3 days so far and still cold so if it does/did leak its slowly.

 

Could simply be that your water **** isn't opening and closing. It's located on the firewall and is controlled by switching between hot and cold on your climate control. Additionally, there is a door vent control up above the gas pedal which changes between hot and cold air.

That's a couple of things to check if your compressor is actually working.

 

If you have climate control--there is no water ****. The heater core is always hot and the mix door is used to regulate air temp between hot and cold.

We can speculate all day here and post what we've experienced but it won't help. We need more details about the OP's situation.

 

Warm air will blow out just fine but I can not get the air cold at all. The max has about 140k miles on it so I am guessing a new compressor is needed. I will find out tomorrow . Any more guesses?

 

happened to mine about a month ago, and it was a blown line that was welded to the condensor. so i needed a condensor, and it cost me about 275 i think installed. works great now. could be a thousand different things tho

 

Sure, lots more "guesses". That's the problem. You haven't given any information that could be used to actually DEDUCE what might be wrong.
It could be any one of more than 100 things given the lack of information you have provided. All we know is that your blower motor works and so does your heater. Woo Hoo.

Does your compressor kick in or run at all?
Do you even know what it is or where it is?
If the compressor turns on does the low side line ever get cold under the hood?
Has your system ever had leak detection die added?
If so, have you looked to see if you have a leak?

 

if $800 to $1000 is acceptable then you won't be disappointed.

assuming you need big parts replaced (compressor [reman. that is], evaporator, accumulator, expansion valve, condensor) you're gonna spend b/t $800 and $1000. if the comperssor's bad and you just gotta a brand new one add $200 to $300 to that.

you said worst case, right?

 

You dont have to be a **** about it. I don't know what the compressor sounds like but when I turn on the AC I hear nothing extra. I doubt that leak detection dye has ever been added. I am not sure how to check for a leak.

 

here... register at this site and ask all the Qs you want.

everything you'd ever need or ever want to know about automotive a/c is contained in the minds of the guys that frequent this site.

the one guy that's helped me the most and who does not care one iota if you know anything about a/c, including where your compressor is, is Tom Greenleaf. track him down and ask away.

http://acsource.net/acforum/viewforu...8238b274def8b4

 

I am a **** so I don't know any other way to be!


This sounds like you need to take it to a shop or someone who knows A/C systems. If your compressor doesn't CLICK when you turn the A/C on then you could need anything from more R134 on up to really expensive parts.
If you're ope to the idea you could go to Autozone/WalMart/or anywhere else that sells car stuff and buy a DIY recharge kit that has a hose and gauge and a can or two of R134. Attach the hose and gauge to the low side and if there is any pressure and its under 45lbs then turn on the car and A/C and add some R134 and see what happens. Worst case is that it all just leaks out.
BTW, the hose connects to the low side only and the low side connector has a bluish green cap on it marked L. The cap is literally right next to the power steering fluid reservoir on the silver A/C line.

 

I would assume you mean that if you have the automatic climate control, you don't have the water ****? I have the manual climate control and I do have a water **** the location I mentioned.

 

Why don't you go to a shop and ask for a free quote, tell them you want to compare between prices different shops would give you. May be it turns out you just have to fill up the ac with R134 can from walmart or other store.

 

so if i put freon itll blow cold for a while but as soon as i park it and come back its already blowing hot! what should i be looking at? obviously my comp works and stuff.

 

There are quite a bit of info in this thread.

http://forums.maxima.org/showthread....ght=compressor

 

...your a/c system on accounta it's leaking


i'm sorry. i just couldn't help it.

 

I had a problem with my AC and I don't know how much I spent...don't want to think about it but close to $2000. Gave my car to my dad who said he knows someone who can fix it, replaced compressor twice, condessor once, did all type test finally took the car to my guy... did a leak trace and fixed it for me permanetly.

 

i just had to put in some freon in and it was like 75 bucks but that was like 6 yrs ago im sure it got alot more expensive

 

hahaha. i know but where should i be lloking for a leak and can i buy a dye test at autozone? because everytn works fine when i put freon... i would think its a HUGE hole if it looses 2 cans of freon *** soon as u park it. but why doesnt it loose it while the car is on? because i drove to kileen, tx which is 2 hrs away and it lasted all the way and COLD. as soon as i parked for like 30 mins and got back in the car it was blowing HOT again!!

 

this is a pretty good suggestion.


another thing would be to see if there is anywhere local(autozone,ext...) that you can rent a halogen leak detector and start looking for the leak that way.the dye works too but if you cant find a leak that way remember to check in the evap drain for dye.

 

evap drain?

 

yeh , where the water drips out of when your a/c is on. its a black tube that comes out of the firewall a little towards the passanger side. you would probably have to be under the car to see up into it .
since you cant see the evapeartor this is a good place to check for dye running out.
hope this helps