Sand
Greenie N00B Member
Hello All!
TLDR:
I have a 2007 Speed 3 that I recently did a bunch of A/C work to. Its cooling but not as well as it should be and we (my Dad and I) suspect the drier may be in backwards. Does anyone know which way its supposed to go? I currently have the "drier In" side (with the long tube plumbed to the top of the drier) towards the front of the car
More Details:
I bought my Speed after the previous owner lost timing, pulled the engine, and decided he didnt want to deal with it. The guy decided to pull the A/C Compressor with the engine for some reason and the A/C system was left open for a few years... I should have replaced the drier and pulled a vacuum on the system before filling it but I was excited to finally run the car after rebuilding it and decided to just slap the A/C system together and send it.
The A/C worked kinda ok for three years but this year there was a noticeable decrease in my A/C performance, blowing 80-90 (and sometimes not cooling much at all) on a 90-105 degree day. (SIDE NOTE I did install a damond oil cooler kit with a pretty sweet thermostat this winter which mounts the air to oil cooler element in front of the condenser) I've also been noticing the compressor clutch has been getting loud and it sounded like compressor was starting to make some whining noise which sounded like a bearing getting ready to go out.
I pulled the compressor off and there was no metal in the oil so I replaced the compressor, receiver/drier, and expansion valve. I noticed that the receiver/drier could very easily be installed backwards so I made sure to get it on the same way as the old one (but in hindsight there is no guarantee that it was on right in the first place...). The compressor was pre filled with oil but i was instructed to add an additional ounce of oil per new component, so I added 2 oz (maybe more like 2.5 by accident) of A/C oil and charged it up with refrigerant.
the car was now blowing ~70 (60 if i turned the fan down) on a 90-100 degree day. Servicable but not what as good as it should be. Also, my Dad said the high pressure side looked a little high: ~300psi (low side ~20psi)
So the way i see it, I could either have:
-a blend door in the dash leaking air into the heater circuit
-the oil cooler is heating up the condenser too much
-maaaaybe the receiver/drier is on backwards
Troubleshooting:
-I tested the blend door by turning blower motor on with the engine off in the morning while the engine was cold and getting a vent temperature reading vs same setup with the engine running and coolant up to temp.
RESULT: both tests yielded ~80 degrees, so the blend door must be working right
-I tested the oil cooler theory by running the ac after cold start and getting a vent temp reading vs after the oil warmed up.
Result: both tests yielded ~60 degrees, so i dont think the oil cooler blowing hot air on my condenser is the issue. I plan to retest by taping some carboard around the oil cooler and running the test again just to cover my bases...
-I know the receiver/drier is supposed to be just after the condenser. I looked up pictures of a new condenser unit and *think* i know which port is the condenser out, but its kinda hard to tell... so i think i have the receiver/drier in right but the performance of the A/C indicates it might be in backwards.
I might flip the drier around just to see...
Any other ideas or opinions are welcome!
Resources:
-Other random forum post with lots of relevant info: https://rennlist.com/forums/928-for...if-the-receiver-drier-is-in-backwards-s4.html
-Screenshot showing the order of components in A/C system
-screenshot of condenser showing condenser in (big tube) goes into the top of the condenser, and condenser out (little tube) comes out the bottom. so, flow through the condenser is from top to bottom
-screenshot showing that drier "in" is to the left of the tubing restraint bolt
-my receiver/drier. Per previous screenshot, refrigerant should be flowing from top to bottom, meaning the top tube in the pic should be condenser out. per previous screenshot, drier in should be to the left of the tubing restraint bolt, which in this case it is. but then it gets confusing because the drier out looks like it gets plumbed back into the condenser underneath the "condenser out" port...
TLDR:
I have a 2007 Speed 3 that I recently did a bunch of A/C work to. Its cooling but not as well as it should be and we (my Dad and I) suspect the drier may be in backwards. Does anyone know which way its supposed to go? I currently have the "drier In" side (with the long tube plumbed to the top of the drier) towards the front of the car
More Details:
I bought my Speed after the previous owner lost timing, pulled the engine, and decided he didnt want to deal with it. The guy decided to pull the A/C Compressor with the engine for some reason and the A/C system was left open for a few years... I should have replaced the drier and pulled a vacuum on the system before filling it but I was excited to finally run the car after rebuilding it and decided to just slap the A/C system together and send it.
The A/C worked kinda ok for three years but this year there was a noticeable decrease in my A/C performance, blowing 80-90 (and sometimes not cooling much at all) on a 90-105 degree day. (SIDE NOTE I did install a damond oil cooler kit with a pretty sweet thermostat this winter which mounts the air to oil cooler element in front of the condenser) I've also been noticing the compressor clutch has been getting loud and it sounded like compressor was starting to make some whining noise which sounded like a bearing getting ready to go out.
I pulled the compressor off and there was no metal in the oil so I replaced the compressor, receiver/drier, and expansion valve. I noticed that the receiver/drier could very easily be installed backwards so I made sure to get it on the same way as the old one (but in hindsight there is no guarantee that it was on right in the first place...). The compressor was pre filled with oil but i was instructed to add an additional ounce of oil per new component, so I added 2 oz (maybe more like 2.5 by accident) of A/C oil and charged it up with refrigerant.
the car was now blowing ~70 (60 if i turned the fan down) on a 90-100 degree day. Servicable but not what as good as it should be. Also, my Dad said the high pressure side looked a little high: ~300psi (low side ~20psi)
So the way i see it, I could either have:
-a blend door in the dash leaking air into the heater circuit
-the oil cooler is heating up the condenser too much
-maaaaybe the receiver/drier is on backwards
Troubleshooting:
-I tested the blend door by turning blower motor on with the engine off in the morning while the engine was cold and getting a vent temperature reading vs same setup with the engine running and coolant up to temp.
RESULT: both tests yielded ~80 degrees, so the blend door must be working right
-I tested the oil cooler theory by running the ac after cold start and getting a vent temp reading vs after the oil warmed up.
Result: both tests yielded ~60 degrees, so i dont think the oil cooler blowing hot air on my condenser is the issue. I plan to retest by taping some carboard around the oil cooler and running the test again just to cover my bases...
-I know the receiver/drier is supposed to be just after the condenser. I looked up pictures of a new condenser unit and *think* i know which port is the condenser out, but its kinda hard to tell... so i think i have the receiver/drier in right but the performance of the A/C indicates it might be in backwards.
I might flip the drier around just to see...
Any other ideas or opinions are welcome!
Resources:
-Other random forum post with lots of relevant info: https://rennlist.com/forums/928-for...if-the-receiver-drier-is-in-backwards-s4.html
-Screenshot showing the order of components in A/C system
-screenshot of condenser showing condenser in (big tube) goes into the top of the condenser, and condenser out (little tube) comes out the bottom. so, flow through the condenser is from top to bottom
-screenshot showing that drier "in" is to the left of the tubing restraint bolt
-my receiver/drier. Per previous screenshot, refrigerant should be flowing from top to bottom, meaning the top tube in the pic should be condenser out. per previous screenshot, drier in should be to the left of the tubing restraint bolt, which in this case it is. but then it gets confusing because the drier out looks like it gets plumbed back into the condenser underneath the "condenser out" port...
