HAs any one done this recently?
I had to change a sensor recently, and it let all the refrigerant out..
What are the tricks to charging this up?

 

You need to take it to a shop.

What sensor did you change that you completely discharged the system?

You are aware that's illegal, right?

It needs to be taken to a shop to be properly evac'ed and recharged.

 

r134 isnt bad for the envirement is it?
its one on top of the cansister down by the front, driver side of the radiator. and below the battery.
I didnt know that there was refrigerant underneath it....

 

It's better than R-12, but R-134a is still not the best thing to be releasing.

Granted, it's such a small amount (relative to how much shops discharge into the air annually), but still.

 

hmm..i never heard that.. That's cool i totally didnt want to do it. after i realized that would happen but by then it had been to late.

 

the damage has already been done releasing the freon, so lessons learned for everyone here but you can get a recharge kit at any auto parts store and there should be directions on the can

 

Assuming the system dropped to atmospheric pressure (no more hissing) then the system should be evacuated first as mentioned above. Failure to do so will potentially trap moisture in the system which will cause random freeze-ups and other wanton destruction.

I found that a 10 minute oil-change place near me that also does AC service, would evacuate my AC for free and then I did the filling myself with a kit such as mentioned above. I can't seem to remember why I needed to do it.

 

i always thought that you could do it yourself, like release the freeon over night and recharge if up with the 134a you can get at walmart or something, i guess its illegal to release the freeon?

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1,1,1,2-Tetrafluoroethane

 

Yeah, walmart sells those cans of "recharge" freon plus oil. Just be sure to get the one with the hose and connector attached to the can. Brand is interdynamics, I have one can I used. The one i got for about $20 has a gauge on it and u just connect it to the Low service port and fill it up. On my 96 it's right above where your power steering belt is, there is a blue cap u unscrew it's got a L on the cap.

 

Releasing the freon overnight is the worst thing you could do if you don't intend to evacuate the system. "Evacuating" simply means applying a negative pressure (vacume) to the system for as long as it takes until there is no more chance of water vapor in the sytem.

If you release the freon yourself but stop before the hissing stops, then chances are excellent that you can simply add more freon.

 

since above Poster has been the most help here is the scenario....
i have not changed the sensor yet. Once i heard Refrigerant release from the sensor, i stopped and tightened it back up...
would you recommend i take to a shop have them Evacuate the system, bring it home change sensor quickly and then recharge my self? I am some what broke right now.

 

If you want to do it properly, go to a shop to have the system recovered, then change the sensor, then have it evac'ed and recharged.

You could do it all yourself as you seem to want to, but you have no way of correctly recharging the system, just the crap 'green/yellow/red' gauge method. If you want the AC system to operate at it's best, get it done with the proper equipment.

 

Thank you for your help. That is what i will do.

Just quickly what is the difference between recovered and Evac'ed?

 

Recovery is just recovering all of the refrigerant from the system.

Evacuating is pulling a vacuum.

 

Ok works for me.
Thank you. I will get that done professionally.
Thank you for the help!