I have been driving my 2006 V8V for exactly 4years now and the AC was ok-ish when I got it ... Thought it was just the way it was...

It was really blowing noticeably warmer lately so I brought it in. Oddly the drivers side would blow warmer than the passenger... Needed 'upper and lower valves' .. (I assume fill valves) which wasn't much $$ . And a recharge. Now blows colder than ever. Seriously needed here in south FL!

So if your AC is marginal... definitely go to your local Indie mechanic and see if there is an inexpensive fix!

 

How much do "Upper & Lower valves" run in Florida? and what was the total cost w/labor.

 

Recharging your AC is one of the easiest things to do, I did it on my land rover last year and it was easy as pie, thanks to watching a chris fix video on how to do it. Not sure what you mean by valves, they are usually welded into the hoses, unless you mean the little plastic caps on the high or low nozzles?

Buy this recharger and leak finder kit for $35 http://amzn.to/2rV5b7X

watch this video

and BOOM done

 

Not sure what "recharge " meant. If all you are doing is adding some freon to the system then the you can certainly do it yourself with any number of store bought freon canister units. If, on the other hand you are emptying the system and recharging it you need to take it to a professional, due to the equipment needed it's not something the average person can do at home. Upper and lower valves I suspect are the scharder valves used to add freon to the system. They can leak over time.

 

Correct... the Freon add valves... I wasn't going to mess with it .. You can certainly recharge yourself on the cheap, but it'll keep leaking of course if there is an issue. "Typically" if you are low on Freon .. its because you have a leak of some sort somewhere. (crazy logic right?) I'll dig up what the bill was in a little bit. Perhaps its a good thread to pin that captures typically what happens to these cars with age. Like the headlight circuit board issue that kills the directional or parking light, dashboard leather, etc. the 'typical' things. There are not that many, but there is a list forming.

 

Two charge valves = 25.30
Freon = 30
Diagnose and labor = 210

Happy customer in summer = Priceless


BTW pushing 70k miles so $262.50 labor on plugs...

Plugs = 229


I picked up a bottle of touchup paint from the dealer a few weeks ago. for 110. I use it like it has stem cells in it!

 

Ok I'll try to educate you guys on A/C . Im a 38yr commercial A/C tech . You cannot fix A/C yourself CORRECTLY without specialty tools . The main one being a vacuum pump .And no Im not talking one of those brake bleeder vacuum things .
Freon is a trade name like xerox or coca cola .
The system contains refrigerant not Freon .
If its low on REFRIGERANT it leaked out and those leaks need to be fixed , simply chugging FREON back into the air/moisture contaminated system is a back yard 24 redneck repair that is a waste of time and money that will not last and will end up costing you way more due to a failed compressor eventually .
Air (non condensibles) in a refrigeration system robs the system of capacity and connot be removed fully by simply chugging the system with more FREON .
The oil and REFRIGERANT quantities in an A/C system are precisely measured by volume/weight for good reason .
Let me know how the back yard 24 repair lasts when your compressors fail due to moisture /non condensibles and FREON/ oil overcharges .

 

While I basically agree with vantagelvr, adding one can of refrigerant will not destroy your system. Adding numerous can will, the reason is simple. When you add a can of refrigerant to an AC system, you are also adding a small amount of air. Air also means moisture in the air. Moisture is an AC systems kryptonite.
That is why vacuuming the system after evacuating any remaining refrigerant is so important. The vacuum should be held for at least 30 minutes at 29 inches.
This performs three main functions.
It performs a leak test (Not 100 percent conclusive because you can have a leak under pressure but not under vacuum)
The vacuum will boil off and remove any moisture in the system.
The vacuum creates a “potential vacuum” in the system which draws in the refrigerant without any additional air or moisture.
Note that the correct amount of refrigerant and the oil is critical for the system to perform correctly.
Each system is based on the capacity of its components and is available from each car manufacture. These quantiles should not be changes unless some of the components (i.e. parallel flow condenser while upgrading to R-134) is changed.
Finally most current AC repair facility has systems that attach to the high and low ports that evacuate, vacuum and charge all in one operation.

I owned a Jaguar XJ-3 for almost 30 years. During that time we changed from R-12 to R-134. The AC system had to be rebuilt and modified for the R-134 to work properly. For those who might want to see a more detailed process it’s detailed on my website at the following links.

http://bernardembden.com/xjs/134/index.htm
http://bernardembden.com/xjs/pcond/index.htm


My two cents

 

29" is not a deep enough vacuum for todays R134 sytems which use POE oil . POE oils are extremely hygroscopic . (Google it).
A pure vacuum is 30" which is next to impossible to achieve on earth . You need to get below 29" and measure it with a micron gauge . The difference between 29 & 30" is 760,000 microns .
To give you some perspective . I work on large commercial centrifugal chillers . Im doing a weekend long vacuum test on a 3500 ton capacity chiller which has had two vacuum pumps pulling vacuum for nearly two weeks .My vacuum pumps are now isolated from the system . The vacuum level was below 300 microns and it has to hold with minimal rise . If it doesnt hold that means either a leak or moisture .
Moisture and air are the enemy in AC sytems , they turn into acids which attack anything they can inside the system they create sludge and wax which blocks expansion valve orifices etc . .
In short AC be it a car ,truck ,house ,commercial building etc etc is not a DIY job if you want it done correctly .
One of the worst things you can put in your AC system other than air/moisture contamination are the snake oil dyes to find leaks .
Just like you wouldnt ask your doctor to test your eyes , dont get your carpenter mr fix it buddy to fix your AC .

 

I know what hygroscopic means, thanks.

We are always fortunate on these forms to have members who actually work in the field being discussed. Thanks for your knowledge and input, it is greatly appreciated.