A/C recharge: now, or wait until spring?

[thomsbrain]

My A/C system isn't blowing as cold as it used to, but still works. Should I get it serviced or use a DIY kit now, or can it wait until spring? I'm wondering if allowing the system to continue losing gas will damage anything. I've heard that the gas is important for lubricating components, but don't know if that is true. Also, are the DIY kits a smart idea?

The system is five years old and has never been serviced. Loss of A/C power has been very gradual. I noticed it was weaker this summer than last summer, but haven't noticed it getting much worse over the course of the summer.

Oh yeah, the system works well enough for defrost functions as it is.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Mxylplyx]

Wait til the spring, refill it, and monitor it. If it loses performance fairly quickly, you should take it somewhere that has a sniffer to find where the leak is at. Mine had a pretty bad leak at the charge ports, and was fairly cheap to fix.

 

[nakedfrog]

I put one of those stop-leak recharge bottles in one of my cars (it was right at the bottom of the acceptable area of the gauge) in May, and it got me through all summer, and still blows cold.

 

[compman25]

A/C is just as useful in the winter if you like your windows to be defogged. I'd do it now.

 

[LTC8K6]

Yep, now. You need it in the winter for defogging. It's not good for it to be low because moisture can be in the lines and the oil could be low as well as the refrigerant.

 

[thomsbrain]

Thanks for the replies.

I bought a recharge bottle/gauge kit at Kragen and put it in. Easy enough once I found the hook to hold the spray button down so I didn't have to bust my thumbs holding it. Pressure went from ~25 psi (bottom of acceptable range) to ~35 psi (middle of acceptable range). I'll run the system today on the way to work and see if it seems to be blowing cooler. I might get a refill bottle and put part of it in to get the pressure up near the top off the acceptable range.

 

[mastertech01]

Your initial thread said that it was defogging just fine so I would have waited till spring. Many things can cause performance issues with air conditioning and just dumping in freon cause it doesnt feel as cool is a REAL DUMB THING TO DO. A proper air conditioning diagnostic can prevent further damage caused by OVER CHARGING your system.

 

[LTC8K6]

Pressure went from ~25 psi (bottom of acceptable range) to ~35 psi (middle of acceptable range).

 

[Bignate603]

Originally posted by: LTC8K6

Pressure went from ~25 psi (bottom of acceptable range) to ~35 psi (middle of acceptable range).

Yeah, sounds like it was just low.