So, last year was the first time after the 3 year covid hiatus that i had the FD out and drove it. One of the things i noticed was the lack of cool.
So i took it to a shop and had the AC refilled. And the AC was cold as hell again (its an R134 (?) system, 94 mod EU).
But then this year again, my first hot day i am agian disapointed by the lack of cool.

So what do i need to change to get **** working again? given that it lasted the entire summer last year im ruling out holes in the condencer. So then im left with O-rings and?
Any tips on what to buy and where to get it?

 

fill it using the dye and the leaks will expose themselves. no need to guess where the freon is going

 

Finding AC leaks can be tricky, but a functioning system shouldn't leak ANYTHING.

Easiest route would be a good AC shop, have them use a sniffer and leak detecting dye and they can find it fairly easily.

There's a LOT of culprits it could be - AC barrier hoses, compressor seals, O-rings, hole in the condenser or evaporator, hole worn through an aluminum hard line.....

I've worked on leaks on my RX-8's AC and it's VERY hard to find in many cases. It's a little more of an art than a science. If a shop can find the leak and show it to you, then you can fix it and have the system recharged.

Dale

 

We had a crazy cold snap that caused one of my cars to leak freon. I'm assuming that the metal parts shrank enough to cause an O-ring to leak when it got that cold. I replaced the O-ring just in case and topped off the freon.

 

Well we had a -21C stint here this winter so this is plausible

 

Good suggestion! Will try to find some competent people here and not just the regular shops that does what the machine says.

 

replace the o-rings and use a lube like Nylog blue ...

 

^Good tip here, the Nylog really helps ensure leak free A/C plumbing. Also, make sure you're using HBNR (green) O-rings, which seal the R134A & newer refrigerants better. If your FD system is an older R12 system converted to R134A, it may still have the black rubber O-rings in there that don't seal R134A as well.

 

Is there a place i can order this for the FD other than Mazda? Tho im pretty sure mine is R134A from factory.

Also, some say i need to get a new dryer also if its ben empty?

 

You can get O-ring kits that have a variety of sizes, that's the easiest way. They are standard parts.

Most likely you have a JDM AC so the drier is a standard part that is still available. If you are opening the whole system up it's worth replacing.

Dale

 

If the system has ever been opened to atmosphere for any length of time beyond the time needed to complete a quick component repair & replacement procedure, you should replace the dryer - It's good insurance to make sure there won't be any moisture trapped in the system, which is what will happen to a new/used dryer if it's left open to the air for any significant amount of time. New dryer's are typically sold capped, with either a low pressure charge of an inert gas inside or evacuated to vacuum before capping - if someone tries to sell you an uncapped dryer, don't accept it.

 

Its never been open to the atmosphere outside of the leak i have had, but i guess its so small that it only would leak untill pressure is equalized.
BUt its good to know that mosture is an issue and to not elave the system "open" overnight while working on it

 

Problem is to choose between the 20, 40 and 80 dollar kits on ebay. I mean if i knew that the 80 dollar one was 4 times better quality than the 20 dollar i would buy it, but it might just be the same kit with a nicer sticker on it
Part numbers for the compressor is FD05-61-731, condenser is F110-61-480 and the dryer is N026-61-501. The later comes back as "Denso" in google.