zing94

I have a 2000 Frontier Crew Cab 3.3 litre. Sometimes (mostly in idle) my a/c doesn't blow cold air until I am traveling at speed then it gets cold again. I took it into the Nissan dealership and they said my lower hose needed to be replaced. They wanted 300.00 to replace it. I have found the hose online for 60.00, my question is what is involved with me changing this thing myself? Does anybody have any experience doing this out there? Thanks

Rick

 

SPEEDO

you would have to evacuate the system then change the hose, suck the system down then refill it with r134a, thats about it

zing94

Thanks but what about the process of changing the hose itself, I haven't even really looked at it yet, it is fairly easy to do?

Cusser

Do you mean the refrigerant hose in the engine compartment? These should be straightforward to replace, but first the refrigerant needs to be removed and (legally) collected. The hose itself will either connect using new O-rings (lubricate them with refrigeration oil) or flare fittings. then vacuum MUST be pulled and the CORRECT amount of R134a put back in. I'm not sure the dealer diagnosis is correct, i'd take to an AC auto specialty shop myself. I can see a hose leaking or not leaking, and obviously a leaking hose could cause low refrigerant level and your symptoms. You should be able to see the leaky area by a buildup of oily residue.

zing94

Thanks I might do that to see if that is the cause of it or not.

 

SPEEDO

you might want to try putting in a dye yourself (auto parts store should carry it,should also have a r134a re-charge kit) as for the hose its self, simple straight forward stuff. I think the hard part is going to be the evacuating and sucking down the system, unless you have access to that stuff

bump

my truck does the same thing. the ac works very well when engine is above idle. i brought it to the ac shop, and they told me i have a weak compressor. im not surprised, its 18 yrs old. it would cost as much to replace as the truck would sell for.

blitZ

Freon gradually leaks down over time. Unless you have a serious leak, you probably just need a recharge. You can get a recharge kit for $10 - $15 bucks and do it yourself, it's fairly simple. Using the freon with the dye as suggested above won't hurt, in case you do have a leak.

I would do this first, before spending any bucks for repairs.