dougeefresh Posted May 29, 2007 Share Posted May 29, 2007 I turned the air on yesterday in about a month and it's blowing warm air. It wasn't very cold before either but I was able to tell that it was working. Now it's just warm air coming out. There's no light on the dash to indicate anything's wrong. What can I diagnose what's causing the problem? Thanks! PS. It's 92 ES300. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dcfish Posted May 29, 2007 Share Posted May 29, 2007 I turned the air on yesterday in about a month and it's blowing warm air.It wasn't very cold before either but I was able to tell that it was working. Now it's just warm air coming out. There's no light on the dash to indicate anything's wrong. What can I diagnose what's causing the problem? Thanks! PS. It's 92 ES300. Get the system recharged, They will do a full diagnosis on the system and tell you if anything else is wrong. Good Luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrbutz1 Posted May 29, 2007 Share Posted May 29, 2007 I turned the air on yesterday in about a month and it's blowing warm air.It wasn't very cold before either but I was able to tell that it was working. Now it's just warm air coming out. There's no light on the dash to indicate anything's wrong. What can I diagnose what's causing the problem? Thanks! PS. It's 92 ES300. My '94 had the same issue first time I turned on the air last week...two days before a long trip South. Had it recharged for $90 at a local Midas-type place. Frosty cold air in 90 minutes. Try that first before you do anything more drastic! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougeefresh Posted May 29, 2007 Author Share Posted May 29, 2007 Thanks, guys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steviej Posted May 30, 2007 Share Posted May 30, 2007 if a recharge doens't work, have the expansion valve investigated. It is a common AC problem with early model ES300s. steviej Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kmb4701 Posted May 30, 2007 Share Posted May 30, 2007 I had the same problem about 2 weeks ago. My a/c button began to flash and the air turned warm. Eventually it stopped. I had been hearing the belts when ever i turned the car on for the past 6 months until the car warmed up. My mechanic told me that my compressor went bad. it took $900 to fix. I hope this isn't your situation. 96 es300 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougeefresh Posted May 30, 2007 Author Share Posted May 30, 2007 Nothing's flashing so I hope it's not serious. Is there a way to check the expansion valve without having to take it to a mechanic (or before have it recharged)? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrbutz1 Posted May 30, 2007 Share Posted May 30, 2007 Nothing's flashing so I hope it's not serious.Is there a way to check the expansion valve without having to take it to a mechanic (or before have it recharged)? I think that part of the process of checking the system is to check the expansion valve (correct me if I am wrong!)...they inject some sort of dye and make sure that it isn't escaping anywhere in the system (at least that is what I was told). However, I suspect you would have to pay up front for the recharge in order for them to take a look at it. I would recommend a Midas-type place before you go to a dealership or any more complex mechanic shop...no reason to pay more for what is probably a simple fix. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
voteforflea Posted May 31, 2007 Share Posted May 31, 2007 I had the same problem with my '92 and it turned out that my compressor had gone bad so I had to order a new one which took a while. It was also very expensive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikemillionz Posted June 7, 2007 Share Posted June 7, 2007 Bottom line you have a refrigerant leak Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougeefresh Posted June 18, 2007 Author Share Posted June 18, 2007 So I finally took the car in to a local Firestone. They called me and said it needs a new dryer & receiver, a line to accumulator, and recharging with R12. They quoted $849.73 :( So my question is, what are my options? How difficult is this as a DIY job? Will I save money by buying parts online (assuming it's possible, where?) and bring them to a mechanic to get them done? Or, would it be better off to bite the bullet and have Firestone fix it? Thanks Doug Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shayan Posted June 19, 2007 Share Posted June 19, 2007 no, THats a rip off, the drier is very easy t odo and it costs 33.00 at autozone. Other parts arent much either doshop around, firestone is a ripp off, almost as bad as lexus them selves. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougeefresh Posted June 19, 2007 Author Share Posted June 19, 2007 Thanks, at least that gives me some hope! no,THats a rip off, the drier is very easy t odo and it costs 33.00 at autozone. Other parts arent much either doshop around, firestone is a ripp off, almost as bad as lexus them selves. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shayan Posted June 19, 2007 Share Posted June 19, 2007 i bought a used compressor, and a new drier for mine ,and its easy labor, and im a 17 year old who doesnt know too much. take ur alternator off and there it is. and ur drier has couple of screws and its next to your drivers headlight. now mine was good for a week,and then it went back to warm , coem to find out i have a leak, and does anyone have a pic of that solenoid? or know where its located? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougeefresh Posted June 19, 2007 Author Share Posted June 19, 2007 I am more than willing (and somewhat capable) to do this myself! Is there an instruction on how to do this and where I can get parts? After getting screwed by the online used parts stores (and their incompetency to get the right parts), I am reluctant to go back there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
porkchop520 Posted June 19, 2007 Share Posted June 19, 2007 I had this problem in my old dode (2002 Dodge Intrepid SE) and they said it wasn't the compressor, in fact they said there was nothing wrong with it, stupid people musta been on something :snoooorrrtttt: . Luckly I just ended up getting a new car! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leert12 Posted June 29, 2007 Share Posted June 29, 2007 This might be a simple Refrigerant issue... go to AutoZone like he suggested and you'll be able to do it yourself. AutoZone has a diagram they'll show you where to fill what. Or you can go to AllData site and get the printout of the refrigerant system and do it yoursef. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tckcumming Posted June 29, 2007 Share Posted June 29, 2007 This might be a simple Refrigerant issue... go to AutoZone like he suggested and you'll be able to do it yourself. AutoZone has a diagram they'll show you where to fill what. Or you can go to AllData site and get the printout of the refrigerant system and do it yoursef. '92 ES300 is filled with R-12 - hard to find and pricey when you do find some. My '93 had the same problem a couple of years ago (no/little cold air), no A/C repair places would recharge with R-12 because it's illegal now (here in Canada, anyway). I didn't want to buy one of those R-12 recharge kits on ebay, so my only option was to convert from R-12 to R-134a refrigerant. I wasn't sure how well this would work, had heard (and read) some stories about this conversion, opinions were both good and bad. I just went ahead and had my ES converted - new refrigerant, receiver-drier, some new o-rings, and that was it. Not expensive (can't remember how much, but I was surprised it wasn't more $$), the shop gave me a warranty and 2 or 3 free visits to check that there were no leaks or problems. AC worked fine after conversion, back to normal. AC still works great, no problems at all. If I had it to do over, I wouldn't mess with trying to find R-12 and recharge it. Just go to a good shop and convert it to R-134a. tck... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougeefresh Posted June 29, 2007 Author Share Posted June 29, 2007 I read somewhere that to do it correctly, you have to take the compressor out, disassemble it and clean it thoroughly because the oil in there is not compatble with the R-134 system. This makes the price much higher than just simply replacing nozzles and such. How much did you conversion cost and do you know if they took the compressor and cleaned it? This might be a simple Refrigerant issue... go to AutoZone like he suggested and you'll be able to do it yourself. AutoZone has a diagram they'll show you where to fill what. Or you can go to AllData site and get the printout of the refrigerant system and do it yoursef. '92 ES300 is filled with R-12 - hard to find and pricey when you do find some. My '93 had the same problem a couple of years ago (no/little cold air), no A/C repair places would recharge with R-12 because it's illegal now (here in Canada, anyway). I didn't want to buy one of those R-12 recharge kits on ebay, so my only option was to convert from R-12 to R-134a refrigerant. I wasn't sure how well this would work, had heard (and read) some stories about this conversion, opinions were both good and bad. I just went ahead and had my ES converted - new refrigerant, receiver-drier, some new o-rings, and that was it. Not expensive (can't remember how much, but I was surprised it wasn't more $$), the shop gave me a warranty and 2 or 3 free visits to check that there were no leaks or problems. AC worked fine after conversion, back to normal. AC still works great, no problems at all. If I had it to do over, I wouldn't mess with trying to find R-12 and recharge it. Just go to a good shop and convert it to R-134a. tck... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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