VR V6 Comm, Due to re Gas the Air Con

Accellerate Auto Elect up here had a special for the past 6 months at $97 for memory.
Big RACQ Approved sign outside so they need to do things right.
Did the partners ASX for $97 but prior they did my VZ and charged me for extra 2 valves another $44
Both cars nice and cold.

 

Most AC repair places are a license to print money as no one has the ability to do this type of work at home. Also the Government regulations around the gas also makes it really hard not to be extorted by most of these pricks.

 

AC place near Port Adelaide cracked my friends windscreen when removing the cowl panel. They said sorry when he went to pick it up and was just about to pay. He left it there and picked it up the next day after they replaced the windscreen for free and only paid for the AC work that was done.

 

By law you cant fill a leaking A/C unit, they would of tested the system for vacuum leak first to find out if its leaking, the place I went to charged me 160 in Victoria its the going price for service, I say they loosened your nuts to make more money they would of spotted those leaks as the same as when I got mine done but mine was the compressor seal rooted you could see the oil trothing out with the dye.
As for your ball joint well I had my car checked some years ago and change out the link arm bushes the prick didn't even retighten the nuts on that sway bar on one side, he also said my steering rack was shot, took it for a wheel alignment after that and they said its fine, hard to find a descent mechanic these days that are trust worthy and honest. I do all my own work if I can.

Some of those cheap dodgy places use chill air gas not the 134a gas which can give the incorrect fill, found that out but it was much colder than the 134a though until it all leaked out lucky it was only 60 bucks.

 

A lot of places don't have the equipment required to pressure test the system prior to filling. Many workshops still fill and add dye in the hope it doesn't leak. My bloke doesn't pressure test but he runs over it with a sniffer after the job is done. Some but not all have nitrogen they fill the system with and see if it leaks out prior to gassing. So in reality no they are not allowed to fill a known leaking system but limted workshops have the $20k machine that tests for pressure before allowing it to fill. Even then those specialised machines don't always work. Mine leak out within 12 months of having been regassed with the specialised equipment.

 

Been while since I had any air con done, but the place I went too in Nambour years ago always checked for leaks with a sniffer and also used ultra violet, as some use a UV dye.

 

There is so much mis information in this thread.
If a shop lossened nuts to try and get work you can report them to arctick after getting a reputable shop to asses the system.
Vac testing is not the same as pressure testing but both methods can miss slow leaks which is why you dye.
A pressure tester is a cheap piece of equipment but will add extra to your bill if used. The reason is you have to vac the system down twice and you should vac it down for 10-30mins the longer the better to remove moisture.
Like I said any dodgy workshop can be reproted to Arctick.org

 

Shane the equipment used to pressure test and fill mine automatically was over $20k. If you want to question this then call the autoelectrician at Aldinga and have a chat to the bloke who owns the workshop. If you like i can find out the number for you. $20k is probably conservative. While you may have a fair amount of knowledge. You don't know everything, just saying.

 

Yea the automated machines are expensive and they don't just do pressure testing they recover, vaccume down the system and pressure test. But these automated machines are not nessacery and are not worth the money. At work we've been through many machines and now we have a package from cooldrive where we have a manual manifold a seperate vac pump and a recovery unit with a scale and recovery bottle all on a trolly we built. So far it's done about 3 and a half years without issue and costs about 4k all up then you just have a nitrogen bottle to pressure test the system.
I live this every day.

We probably have 300k of broken or unused machinery at my work between 3 work shops. We are a local private company not a big chain but the boss is rich.

 

State laws ant doing their job then, because no gas emissions are allowed to be escaped from the system, if a leak is detected they are not to go ahead filling the system, those return bottles of waste gas have to be sent back there a lot more involved todays, those machines that reuse your old gas and others cars gas and oil should be banned they the high chill units that recycle the stuff, well that what I was told by Auto plus.
U can buy those cans on ebay that claim to seal leaks and fill your system but even then you got to be careful to add the right amount of gas and oil or risk damage to your compressor, one of the reasons you vacuum out the system for about 20min to remove any moisture and oil.

 

Schrader valve ?

 

Service ports.

 

You don't vac the oil out ffs. The gas is synthetic and does not deteriorate so it can be reused. Logs have to be kept.

 

So how do they remove the old oil then? Of cause it all gets vacuumed out so they put the correct weight of oil and gas according to specs. I prefer new gas over recycled gas which could be many different gases as who knows what people put in them.