Our AC system SUCKS

Yep, doesn't make sense, does it?On a hot day, heat it then cool it.

 

Here's an interesting observatio and find about these systems.

I believe they used to be called heater control valves or similar.

I find it interesting that our trucks do not have it and if our AC is fighting itself by going through the heater core than I am officially perplexed yet pissed off at Toyota for making such a stupid decision.

 

Agreed. I can't prove anything by posting links. And according my wife I don't know shit anyhow.

 

Because you do not understand either science-speak or government-speak. I do. There is a reason why the drama on this issue has all but vanished. Its because of the false claims and hysteria about ozone depletion.

But I agree on returning this to an AC performance thread....

 

I'm sorry DoorDing but I can assure you the internal discussion has gone something like this "oops, we kind of blew that one didn't we?" I used to hear that all the time. You simply do not know how this works, but I am sure you are well meaning though. You should have seen the early propaganda about all this. I almost fell on the floor reading the Smithsonian article. You have to read it like kind of a mea culpa because that is what it is but hedging just enough to save face.

 

It depends a lot on the design of the specific motor. For instance a motor that has a rear fan that blows over the fins to exchange heat or one that is in the flow path for the air that it moves would get hot and display the overheating...

A blower motor such as the unit in the Tacoma does not depend on air flow for cooling of the motor itself. The resistor pack for speed control is another can of worms.

 

Guys. Stay on topic here please.

I do not want to get this thread shut down over a political/ environmental debate over refrigerant and what it is or is not doing to the environment. We have a lot of knowledgeable comments and insight here regarding design, and general function of these and other types of HVAC systems. Please don't ruin it for others.

Thanks in advance.

 

This is true. Lol, ask any of the guys whois head gaskets fail. Coolant is always flowing through the heater core. The sevo decides hot air gets mixed in or not.

 

Agreed.
Also so comparing my 05 tundra (with the 4.0 v6 in it) to my taco, it seems like the tundra condenser is much smaller than the tacomas, but still performs just as good if not better? I need to measure it because I know looks can be deceiving. I wonder if it is thinner for more air flow. Or just because the tundra rad stack is a lot more sealed than the tacoma.

I don’t remember, did anyone in this thread install ALL of the seals from the tsb and see any improvement?

Edit: also forgot to include it holds a tiny bit more r134 than the tacoma does. Makes me think the evap core may be larger.

 

It could be your low on refrigerant. Might be ideal to take it to a reputable A/C shop for diagnosis. I used to work at mobile a/c shop back in the day so it's basic thermodynamics. Get rid of the heat to get the cold. Maybe a pusher fan could help in your case but without hooking up gauges it's really a guessing game. True with higher ambient temperatures it'll take longer to cool. One thing I'd highly recommend is not replacing your fan clutch with an aftermarket POS electric fan! Seen multiple vehicles have severe damage not only to there A/C but to there engine.

 

Wayyyyyy late to this party but I have read some interesting conversations and "data" points. The conversations were gems though I got a good chuckle out of them. Some really good information was passed along in here that no one really picked up on it seems and everyone is still all about this fan speed thing. I'll make this easy to read.

1. R134a isn't nearly as efficient as R12
2. When idling you are heat soaking all of your coolers
3. There is no shut off valve to the heater core and yes it sits right beside he evap (but this is like 99% of vehicles these days)
4. R134a is smaller particle size and leaks through the rubber hoses so you will loose some each and every yr.
5. Make sure your system has a proper charge in it by going somewhere that will do a full evac, vacuum test, and recharge not knowing this data point you are assuming. This is highly important as A/C systems these days are much more sensitive to over or under charging than previously.
6. you can easily get more airflow through your coolers by closing the air gaps around the outsides of them off so there is a tunnel for the air to go through like the fan shroud.
7. Junk clogging the airflow through the fins of the condenser and evap core.
All of these things combined is like compounding tolerances. One alone may not completely screw everything up but all or some combined and there you have it a problem.

As @Sandman614 said just talking about this stuff doesn't do anything making changes or trying something and gathering data before and after not just how it feels will help a lot more than just offering suggestions

Just to be an ass my A/C blows 52 out of the vents on a 100* day and 60+% humidity and my compressor clutch sounds like it'll grenade any day now!

My take on half these fixes is they are bandaiding the problem. As trucks age the parts get worn and aren't as efficient thus reducing how well your A/C works. Example fan clutch could be weak not allowing the fan to spin fast enough at idle. Also the clutch on the A/C compressor starts to wear and slip some, I have demonstrated this to customers before using a timing light. Compressors internally wear and don't do as well.

 

regardless of any of that there's no reason to put anything in the air that damages shit.

 

So, I've added a few helpful part numbers to my previous posting in a different thread. Thought you guys might be interested as well.
Anyone interested in trying to control their condenser fan based on refrigerant pressures should find these helpful.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/increase-a-c-performance.554887/page-5#post-18121286

 

On the topic of the heater core always getting hot coolant. Could this be the reason why when the ac is off and the coolest air option is selected (without turning ac on) the air coming out of the vents is much warmer than outside? My taco is the only vehicle I have been in that suffers from this.

 

I usually just turn on recirc to avoid hot air from coming out of the vents.

 

Really? This makes it 100x worse for me.

 

I wonder if your recirculation vent is working correctly?

 

I have seen it close before. It jusy feels like the air it blows is a lot hotter than with it off. Unless my AC is on. With AC on it doesn’t seem to make a difference in temp.

 

Sitting here waiting to go in drs office, 25min idling ac on
What am I doing wrong ?

 

It's under 100 degrees outside. That's what you're doing wrong.