Hey guys im trying to remove my AC condenser and doing it i was removing the two nuts that connect to the ac condenser itself and it popped shooting yellow neon fluid all over my engine, it sounded like a ballon letting out air super loud while spraying my engine with fluid, any idea what i just possibly messed up? Im afraid to take the bottom one off now. Any help would be appreciated.
Ac condenser removal help
- Thread starter 01MustangV61999
- Start date
Did you evacuate the system first? If not you just released the refrigerant, the coloring is for leak detection and there should be oily residue(there is oil in with the refrigerant to lubricate the compressor).. You can finish the removal now, you may get a little more release as it heats up and turns into a gas but nothing like the first release. Not a system to play around with if you not trained in it, hundreds of pounds of pressure is created on the high side during normal operation that can F you up good.
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Im just considering it a total loss and called a junkyard to come pick it up, i previously beforehand got thrown off the road due to snow coming in a day after it being 60 degrees and it completely trashed the under frame and knocked everything around from the pulley foward. Plus the exhaust was stuck in the tar and was bent up and now has not one leak but two.
Thanks for the reply though, should've done more research on how to remove it, you live and you learn.
Getting something better shouldn't need an excuse! Junkyards are full of cars that are filled with value. Get that value for yourself rather than letting a junkyard collect on it.Okay, say i didnt fully clean everything out but most and the refrigerant was still on the engine, its literally all over the left side of the engine (wires, metal tubings, plastic pieces) and even got some on the windshield because like you said its alot of pressure and it shot everywhere, and if i got everything fixed with the front part atleast, is refrigerant flammable? Would it catch fire when the car heats up, i tried lighting it on the tool i used to unscrew the nut because it got drenched in it and it didnt catch, but my car is in my garage and i dont want to waste my money if the cars just going to burst into flames and i dont want it taking my house with it. I dont want to totally scrap the car because ive put alot of money into it and i could always cancel the truck coming on tuesday but the car has 140,000 and im still unsure if its even worth it, with the money i already put it in i couldve gotten a 2004-2007 GT with 100-130k miles and no issues (so far around 6k including price i paid for the car but not adding whatever i would be spending on repairing it to fix this)Or a good excuse to get something "better".
This is actually a good question. Any stock or aftermarket refrigerant for vehicle AC's is not flammable but that doesn't ensure what was in your car isn't. Flammable refrigerant's can't legally be used in cars but that doesn't prevent them from being put in by the unscrupulous or the downright idiot. Even then I don't think you have much to worry about by what you've described. A garden hose and paper towels along with some common sense should take care of your concerns. Wash everything down but don't go nuts on any electronics, wipe everything down well and give the engine some time to dry out. As someone said, what you're mostly looking at is lubricant. What were you trying to achieve when you started tearing down your AC? I'm no AC expert but some here like @wmburns are probably better sources of information specific to your car but there is nothing about AC that I can rationalize junking a car over.
Just some advice but consider picking up the factory shop manuals or an online vehicle specific access to repair manuals. A week's online access costs $12 and would have prevented what happened with your car. $12 or $150 investment in the information will save you much more in the long run.
http://www.auto-repair-manuals.com/...stic-Import-1983-2014-Online-eAutoRepair.html
http://www.auto-repair-manuals.com/Ford-1999-Mustang-Factory-Workshop-Manual.html
Another option is $50 to $100 on an AC delete kit to run the car until you've decided how you want to proceed.
Just some advice but consider picking up the factory shop manuals or an online vehicle specific access to repair manuals. A week's online access costs $12 and would have prevented what happened with your car. $12 or $150 investment in the information will save you much more in the long run.
http://www.auto-repair-manuals.com/...stic-Import-1983-2014-Online-eAutoRepair.html
http://www.auto-repair-manuals.com/Ford-1999-Mustang-Factory-Workshop-Manual.html
Another option is $50 to $100 on an AC delete kit to run the car until you've decided how you want to proceed.
Well i was trying to take out my AC condenser because it was super bent at the bottom from crashing into a upward dirt hill and a few small trees as well as my radiator and radiator fan and my abs/traction control module was pushed against the radiator making it squeezed in, my heat stopped working right after so i thought about just replacing all the damaged pieces. Doing so i saw a video online thats how i learned everything i know (i have a repair manual but you need to search for stuff and its a pdf so if i search for a AC condenser it'll show up with 2,000+ words with AC condenser and ill have to manually search until i get to the right section) and i followed the video he just removed the bolts and unplugged the metal hose, thinking that nothing was in it (he mustve discharged it before hand) because I drained all the radiator fluid and a few other fluids came out but not much, i didnt think anything was in it to begin with so i unscrewed the bolt and the hose shot off and released just like a c02 cartridge. I didnt know you could run your car without a AC condenser? I just need my heat to work for the winter, i can always put my windows down. What about a radiator? That keeps the car from overheating right? And radiator fan?
Thanks for the reply btw, never came to a forum to get help because i thought it would take weeks to get answers. Everyone that has replied thanks alot
Thanks for the reply btw, never came to a forum to get help because i thought it would take weeks to get answers. Everyone that has replied thanks alot
Anytime you are working on a system that has rubber or flexible hose and metal tubes the high pressure will be on the tubes. I can only guess at why your heater quit working but from here it would only be guessing. First guess was you probably got air in to the system from the impact. If you drained the radiator and more came out then antifreeze and water that suggest something is wrong. The most common problem is a blown head gasket but it's hard to say after an accident. I picked up an F150 years ago that had a 4.2 which is basically the same as a 3.8, that had a cracked block. The guy I bought it off of discovered the problems because his heater didn't work. From what you've described everything you need should be available at the junkyards you are going to send your car to. Use a yard where you pull your own parts to save some cash. Finagle over the prices quoted and getting the parts for 25% to 50% less then the first price is typical. And yes, you can run your car without the AC. An AC delete kit will have a bracket and pulley to replace the compressor and any block-off plates if needed. Even if you have to put another engine in the resale value of a running car should justify doing it instead of just junking the car. Just my opinion but it's all work I enjoy doing.
I dont think its a blown head gasket, i had one before but got it repaired at a shop, plus i dont think the impact was that big to the point where it would hurt the motor, it was mostly just from the timing belt (that wasnt even touched) and up, the k member barley dug into the dirt and nothing above it looked damaged, i think i was very very fortunate but the exhaust was stuck in the tar and the tow company that pulled it out had no option but to just let it push into the tar while the car used the exhaust to pivot onto the road, my exhaust is bent almost at a 90 degree angle towards the passenger side and right about at the passenger rear wheel. Im concerned that the exhaust was putting heavy pressure all the way up to the manifold or wherever it connects. Its definitely leaking a bit but not under the engine its more towards the middle of the car a little more foward than the middle, again i should probably check it out i think it might just be a new exhaust hopefully and not engine damage aswell. The car ran after the impact but couldnt get it up a hill cause of snow, shortly after a tow truck brought it to my house and dropped it at the top of my driveway and it started for a few seconds and stopped, tried again started for a few seconds and stopped, went the next day to try to bring it down the driveway and it drove, only reversed it maybe 10 feet and drove it down my driveway into my garage where it currently is, check engine light is on, ive been meaning to get a OBD scanner but no places rent them anymore and id rather not spend money on one and no one i know is mechanically inclined. Im hoping it was something to due with the radiator situation or sensors on the exhaust got snatched off.
