1st Gen A/C System Replacement How-To (Seized Compressor)

Yep those numbers sound right
Did you replace the expansion valve as well?
If the refrigerant/oil mix has too much oil then it won't cool as well as it should either, but that doesn't sound like your situation

 

Yep, replaced the expansion valve (by the evap core) and pressure switch (also at evap core) with OEM when I was replacing the evap core... just so I wouldn't have to go in there again.

 

Perfect. Wise
Being you and what I've gathered from the years here on TW about you, I'm guessing air flow through the condenser or the refrigerant mix is too heavy on oil or too much refrigerant.... Wait a minute, did you flush the refrigerant out of the condenser when you had everything opened up? Yeah, I'll bet you did.
How about the magnetic clutch on the compressor pulley? I guess if you have good high pressure then the clutch should be good...
I'm curious how well it cools while driving freeway style. Or, since you have a good baseline on how it acts on the driveway, put a box fan in front of condenser blowing into it and see if anything changes. That could tell us something before taking it on freeway too

 

Nope, haven't messed with the condenser at all. Replaced the components on either side of it, but never touched it (or flushed it). I assume the refrigerant was completely out of it though - because my system had no pressure at all (due to the leak that got me started replacing components, hahahaha).

I'm pretty sure the clutch is good, the Denso came with a new clutch. Feels much tighter than the original when I turned it by hand. Sounded like a lot better seal on the internals too.

 

no, but I did clean out the evap assembly with AC coil cleaner from my local home improvement store, and extended the drain line (it was dripping directly onto the frame before)

 

Did you drain any factory filled oil from the compressor first? Usually if there is too much oil in the system, it will not blow cold enough

 

I did drain all that I could get out of the compressor from the factory. Probably about 50-75cc came out, and then I filled with 125cc.

Q: does the oil stay in each major component when the system is under pressure, or does it redistribute itself? As in, if I have too much oil, could I simply remove say... the receiver/drier ... and put a new one with no oil, and solve the problem? Or, am I looking at pulling the compressor again?

Edit: sorry, one more Q - "too much oil causes it to blow warm" - is that too much oil in the compressor, or in general? (does it matter where the extra oil is, or is this just a "can't fit enough refigerant" in the entire system issue)

 

Yeah I cleaned the shit out of mine too. Might open it up again and see whats going on.

 

It's this.

You could potentially do that (remove a part and drain a little oil), but you would need to evacuate the system and recharge it all over again. The oil mostly stays with the part where the oil resides. A little residual oil will distribute through the lines, but not much, maybe 10cc or so if I had to guess. The only place where you'll be able to drain oil easily would probably be the compressor.

 

did you extend the drain at all?

 

Fun times. Will give it a shot. Might replace the condensor at the same time, since it's the only part I haven't replaced at this point. Just get the entire system to be new/refreshed.

 

No but I plan on it after I rip it apart again. Did you put on a whole new hose?

Shit can I even clean the evap box without disconnecting it?

 

I just zip tied a rubber fuel line hose down to just below to frame and cut it at an angle. Let me see if I can find the thread I posted it in.

I see you found the other thread - yes it's serviceable but if you say it's new then it probably isn't the issue, but you might have a clogged drain hole for whatever reason

 

here you go:
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/frame-rust-from-ac-condensation.390399/

 

How is your fan clutch @turbodb

 

I recently replaced two entire ac systems for both my Tacoma’s my 03, and 04. The 04 has a new fan clutch and is frozen cold, the 03 if i idle it and air doesn’t pass through the ac blows cold, but not like the 04, that trucks like an ice box.

both trucks got brand new everything denso minus the evap cores.

 

I got asked that above. Here was my response... obviously, I don't know how to tell if it's OK - please enlighten me - beyond the fact that the engine never gets too hot.

 

Oops I’m sorry bud I didn’t see it above.


honestly and I know this is not the right Way to do it but I try stop it with my hand to see if I can stop it. Dont do it this way do it the right way which per google is checking for play when the engines off

 

No worries about above, I was just trying to relay that I already didn't know the answer to that question, hahahaha.

Just gave it a run on the highway for about 30 minutes, temps got down to around 48 with the outside temps around 70. So, it's cooling, and feels cool in the truck, but I feel like it's not cooling as much as it should...

Will probably go back in and pull the compressor again, and take out a bit of oil.

 

Doesn't the PAG oil mix all up with the refrigerant after being run? I'd think it does. That's why some of those all in one cans of R134-A come with 'lubricating additive'. Don't think you can remove only oil, you'll remove some of the mixture that's in there and then add refrigerant alone back to the system to get it back up to correct pressure.
As stated above, it could be a symptom of too much oil in the refrigerant mix when temps don't come down as much as they should.

So at freeway speeds, the AC cooled the air down to 48 measured at the vent right? Is that better than the temps you were getting while sitting in driveway? So more air going through the condenser did seem to help?
Fan should roar on cold startup as the clutch is still 'engaged' from turning engine off and obviously was hot. Fan clutch starts up locked and roars and it senses the temp isnt got enough to be locked up so it disengages and you should hear that roar die down after a minute or two of the cold start up.
Crap, dunno if that even makes sense. Timmah or someone prolly has a good video explaining that stuff.
But a symptom of a weaker fan clutch could be AC air temp not very cool at idle while AC air temp improves at freeway driving. And it could be possible to have that going on while not registering anything amiss with engine temperature, just FYI since I noticed you asked that above