ac stop leak

[Nate]

recently my 2003 ford expedition ran out of freon, took it into a repair shop and got a quote to replace the condenser (over 1500 bucks! yikes) and i don’t wanna shell out that kind of money i was just wondering if that ac stop leak stuff that you can buy at any auto parts store works or if its a waste of money because i love my ac, thanks

Topic

[Its me]

That stuff is only good if the seals on the compressor may be slightly leaking and your refrigerant is slightly low… Other than that, it is a waste of money…. If your system is totally empty it is too late… It will not help a bad condenser..

-Karl

[Bill]

A/C sealant is a crap shoot. It might work but it might not. If it doesn’t work you will have a system full of snot to deal with as the sealant cures with moisture in the air around the leak. As soon as you open the system the moisture in the air will react with the sealant and solidify.

I would shop around, you might find a price that will fit your budget.

[Nate]

its not completely out there is a very slight amount but the seals are great in the compressor i was just wonder if the stop leak would work (im thinking its the fittings going to the condesor)

[Jason]

DO not use that stuff, it will only cause problems later on down the road. My instructor at college cant stress enough on not using it.. its your vehicle and you can do what you want but I wouldn’t use it. I would be finding out whats really wrong with your ac system and going from there. but winter is coming around the corner

[Nate]

well thanks anyways atleast my heat works great but i would love to have ac again 🙁

[Bryan Carter]

I’m not a fan of any of the stop leak style “mechanic in a bottle” products. They’re band-aids, not solutions. My personal preferences aside, yes A/C stop leak products can work. The deciding factors are the location and severity of the leak. Small pinhole leaks on the “low” side of the system, that take days or weeks to leak out, can often be “fixed” with stop leak. But if it’s on the “high” side of the system (or internal to the compressor), your odds of success drop off in proportion to the size of the leak.

EDIT: LOL! You start typing an answer, and find that everybody and their dog has answered by the time you hit ‘submit’ 😛

[Bill]

[quote=”McWicked” post=112948]I’m not a fan of any of the stop leak style “mechanic in a bottle” products. They’re band-aids, not solutions. My personal preferences aside, yes A/C stop leak products can work. The deciding factors are the location and severity of the leak. Small pinhole leaks on the “low” side of the system, that take days or weeks to leak out, can often be “fixed” with stop leak. But if it’s on the “high” side of the system (or internal to the compressor), your odds of success drop off in proportion to the size of the leak.

EDIT: LOL! You start typing an answer, and find that everybody and their dog has answered by the time you hit ‘submit’ :P[/quote]

That’s OK McWicked. I type so slow the problem has already been solved by the time I submit :silly:

[EricTheCarGuy]

I don’t recommend stop leak for this. Perhaps since you know where the leak is you might consider replacing the condenser yourself. Honestly, it’s not that much more difficult than replacing a radiator on most vehicles and since your system is already empty you don’t have to worry about evacuating the system before you start work. Something to consider anyway. More info on AC here.

http://www.ericthecarguy.com/faq/solving-automotive-hvac-problems

Keep us posted on what you decide to do.

[Author]

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