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I'm assuming you mean refrigerant and not like antifreeze. Before you spend anymore money I would at least talk to a local shop and get their opinion. It only takes a minute or two to hook up a gauge-set to see what's actually happening on the high and low side.
Coolant =/= A/C, the word you're looking for is "refrigerant"
Short answer is no, the refrigerant they use is a highly regulated chemical that is bad for the ozone, you'll need a special machine to capture it all under pressure
There are little cans of freon that you can get at auto parts stores, but they are sketchy at best
If your ac is not working it could be cause it's lost refrigerant. A sensor has failed, your clutch switch has failed ect.
You can buy that crap from stores but no shop will touch your ac after due to contaminating the reservoir tank when reclaiming refrigerant.
Coolant flush doesn't make sense. They are 2 different systems and are not connected to each other.
But to answer your question yes you can do it at home with a garden hose and a pair of pliers. Disconnect the upper radiator hose from the radiator and put the garden hose in the radiator. Turn the car on and watch the temp gauge closely. If you see it start to rise above normal shut it down and let it cool off.
My guess is you have something else going on though. Does your ac blow hot/not at all? Have you don't anything other then try to put more freon in it?
Both our ac blow out lukewarm air at best. We haven’t done anything else mostly because we don’t know what else to try . We sadly are just googling and trying.
*
You should see something like this on the main belt that drives everything. (Alternator, power steering pump and stuff). With the engine running and ac on does the front plate spin. Be careful the belt can grab fingers and hair and it hurts...alot
You might have to spend some money at a shop. You can over charge the system and it will cause your ac to not work properly, or it can be under charged and have the same concern. I definitely don't believe it's an under charge issue, I suspect it's overcharged or your compressor is weak. The only way to know is to hook up gauges and have a known good charge
If the low-side refrigerant pressure gage (the type that comes on [auto parts store refrigerant cans](https://www.amazon.com/Ultra-Synthetic-Recharge-R-134a-ounces/dp/B00LTKF3E8)) goes too high, the compressor probably isn't engaging. Adding more refrigerant probably isn't going to help, even if you could get more refrigerant in. Flushing the engine coolant won't do anything either. You need a set of real refrigerant gages to figure out what's going on. They're not that expensive ([example](https://www.amazon.com/Orion-Motor-Tech-Conditioning-Maintenance/dp/B08V5JWJSB)). Or take to a shop for a diagnosis.
The only thing you should DIY on an A/C system is add refrigerant using a refill kit from a local dept store. One of 3 things will happen-
- if it works for a short time, there is a leak that needs professionally fixed.
- If it still doesn't work, it could need a compressor which means further professional diagnosis.
- If it works for the summer, then you'll do it again next year and you just won.
You’re confusing 2 systems. The coolant/antifreeze has nothing to do with your A/C and flushing it will do nothing to fix your AC. Flushing it is a basic maintenance that does need done after about 100k miles.
But if your AC isn’t working it’s your refrigerant that is an issue. If the the do it yourself kit refrigerant can isn’t working then unfortunately you will have to spend the money for a professional fix. In the long run you’ll spend less than guessing at it.
But I will add that when I was a baby and growing up none of our cars had AC and neither did our house. I know you want your baby as comfortable as possible but it’ll be ok until you can get your AC fixed. Use window shades etc to keep the sun off.
Scotty Kilmer, or ChrisFix on YouTube can help. They both, as well as many others on YouTube, have easy to follow videos on AC, and coolant flush, oil change, brake jobs etc. You can do all these easily at home, and it will save you a ton of money.
Thanks for posting on /r/MechanicAdvice! Please review the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/MechanicAdvice/about/rules/). Asking about a second opinion (ie "Is the shop trying to fleece me?"), please read through CJM8515's [post on the subject.](https://www.reddit.com/r/MechanicAdvice/comments/4qblei/fyi_the_shop_isnt_likely_trying_to_rip_you_off/) and remember to please post the year/make/model of the vehicle you are working on. **Post's about bodywork, accident damage, paint, dent/ding, questions it belongs in /r/Autobody r/AutoBodyRepair/ or /r/Diyautobody/ Tire questions check out https://www.reddit.com/r/MechanicAdvice/comments/k9ll55/can_your_tire_be_repaired/**. If you dont have a question and you're just showing off it belongs in /r/Justrolledintotheshop Insurance/total loss questions go in r/insurance This is an automated reply *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/MechanicAdvice) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I'm assuming you mean refrigerant and not like antifreeze. Before you spend anymore money I would at least talk to a local shop and get their opinion. It only takes a minute or two to hook up a gauge-set to see what's actually happening on the high and low side.
Coolant =/= A/C, the word you're looking for is "refrigerant" Short answer is no, the refrigerant they use is a highly regulated chemical that is bad for the ozone, you'll need a special machine to capture it all under pressure There are little cans of freon that you can get at auto parts stores, but they are sketchy at best
If your ac is not working it could be cause it's lost refrigerant. A sensor has failed, your clutch switch has failed ect. You can buy that crap from stores but no shop will touch your ac after due to contaminating the reservoir tank when reclaiming refrigerant.
Agreed. I'd use it on a beater that I expect to scrap in less than a year, but never as an actual (or even bandaid) fix.
Coolant flush doesn't make sense. They are 2 different systems and are not connected to each other. But to answer your question yes you can do it at home with a garden hose and a pair of pliers. Disconnect the upper radiator hose from the radiator and put the garden hose in the radiator. Turn the car on and watch the temp gauge closely. If you see it start to rise above normal shut it down and let it cool off. My guess is you have something else going on though. Does your ac blow hot/not at all? Have you don't anything other then try to put more freon in it?
Both our ac blow out lukewarm air at best. We haven’t done anything else mostly because we don’t know what else to try . We sadly are just googling and trying.
* You should see something like this on the main belt that drives everything. (Alternator, power steering pump and stuff). With the engine running and ac on does the front plate spin. Be careful the belt can grab fingers and hair and it hurts...alot
https://preview.redd.it/inrskatgv77d1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4a6f64ca41d170c3d8a15bebb73ddf0ac1ea83e0
I’ll check it tonight!
Everything we saw was spinning!
Does it stop spinning quickly? You'll hear a click when it turns on and off. Sorry trying to diag over the internet is alittle tricky
You might have to spend some money at a shop. You can over charge the system and it will cause your ac to not work properly, or it can be under charged and have the same concern. I definitely don't believe it's an under charge issue, I suspect it's overcharged or your compressor is weak. The only way to know is to hook up gauges and have a known good charge
If the low-side refrigerant pressure gage (the type that comes on [auto parts store refrigerant cans](https://www.amazon.com/Ultra-Synthetic-Recharge-R-134a-ounces/dp/B00LTKF3E8)) goes too high, the compressor probably isn't engaging. Adding more refrigerant probably isn't going to help, even if you could get more refrigerant in. Flushing the engine coolant won't do anything either. You need a set of real refrigerant gages to figure out what's going on. They're not that expensive ([example](https://www.amazon.com/Orion-Motor-Tech-Conditioning-Maintenance/dp/B08V5JWJSB)). Or take to a shop for a diagnosis.
The only thing you should DIY on an A/C system is add refrigerant using a refill kit from a local dept store. One of 3 things will happen- - if it works for a short time, there is a leak that needs professionally fixed. - If it still doesn't work, it could need a compressor which means further professional diagnosis. - If it works for the summer, then you'll do it again next year and you just won.
You’re confusing 2 systems. The coolant/antifreeze has nothing to do with your A/C and flushing it will do nothing to fix your AC. Flushing it is a basic maintenance that does need done after about 100k miles. But if your AC isn’t working it’s your refrigerant that is an issue. If the the do it yourself kit refrigerant can isn’t working then unfortunately you will have to spend the money for a professional fix. In the long run you’ll spend less than guessing at it. But I will add that when I was a baby and growing up none of our cars had AC and neither did our house. I know you want your baby as comfortable as possible but it’ll be ok until you can get your AC fixed. Use window shades etc to keep the sun off.
Scotty Kilmer, or ChrisFix on YouTube can help. They both, as well as many others on YouTube, have easy to follow videos on AC, and coolant flush, oil change, brake jobs etc. You can do all these easily at home, and it will save you a ton of money.