A/C went

Hi all!

Any help would be appreciated was driving today all was well then my a/c when parked decided to go. It started to get warmer and then this horrendous chemical smell started coming in the truck.

I immediately turned it off and opened the windows. When it was time to leave the air continued not work and the smell comes whenever turned on.

no check engine lights. My wife drove it and said it felt hot near the gas petal as well.

just seeing if anyone could help give me an idea what’s going on.

Thanks!

 

Sounds like an AC coolant leak. Do not turn the AC on until you get it checked out. And do not inhale those fumes.

 

Agreed, sounds like a major refrigerant leak.
Pop the hood and look for green dye/oil.

 

did that don’t see a thing anywhere.

 

Look at the A/C drain hose coming out of the firewall on the passenger side of the engine compartment and see if it looks oily.

 

The good(ish) news is that a sudden catastrophic failure of an A/C line or other A/C component *should* be easily found.

I had a microscopic tiny leak and it took a year to identify

 

Nothing not a drop of anything anywhere.

 

Betting on the evap inside the cab.

An AC sniffer will pinpoint it quick.

Not a wallet friendly fix unfortunately

 

any idea if it were to be that what it might run?

 

No. But IIRC the dash has to come out.

 

Mine has been out for some time as well. No bad smell but only working on the drivers side. Used AC Pro gauge and the coolant was slightly low so I put a little more in. It helped a little but still the same problem. Took the glove box off to check the recirculating control mechanism and it was moving when I moved the dial. Who knows? Have tint and something else to drive in this damn heat so I’m not to broke up about it. I had my compressor replace about 6 years ago as well.

 

Typical symptom of a low R134a Charge.
Get the leak fixed first then recharge properly and it should be fine.

 

Talked to my mechanic today.. compressor, engine cool fan, a/c clutch, condenser all went and stated it had full Freon. Advised the compressor melted.

any thoughts just throwing it out there.

 

Well if the compressor locked up it would have likely taken out the clutch (probably the burning smell), locked up compressor usually means it came apart and contaminated the system with metal, most of which gets caught in the condenser which can't be flushed and must be replaced in the event of metal contamination, and they may just want to replace the fan clutch "in case" it is weak and led to the compressor failing. So yea sounds plausible if the compressor is indeed locked up.
I see grenaded compressors here in south Texas all the time, the heat here kills A/C systems pretty quickly.

 

appreciate that explanation. He also mentioned the radiator and something else near there would that be related? I’m sorry I know basics but not in depth mechanical stuff other than the basics.

could thins cause further worries?

 

I mean the condenser sits out in front of the radiator so perhaps he is referring to that?

 

I suppose we talked over the phone he told me I could stop by and he’d show me but mentioned the radiator and something else related there in the front I was just so shocked off all this damage and was taking notes I forget he mentioned potential debris in the lines. I’m just frustrated lol

 

I mean unless the radiator is leaking or the fan came apart and damaged it I couldn't tell you.

Yea A/C work is never cheap and when there is metal contamination it's really not cheap, it seems more often than not when a compressor goes it fills the system up with metal.
Just be glad it's not a 1234yf system, the refrigerant alone is stupid expensive.

 

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/ac-compressor.796628/#post-28547145


There are inline filters, but I wouldn't count on them and they will also need to be replaced along with everything else.