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Stock XJ Cherokee Tech. All XJ Non-modified/stock questions go hereXJ (84-01)
All OEM related XJ specific tech. Examples, no start, general maintenance or anything that's stock.
I've read about the new "self-sealing" cans but have not dealt with them yet since I still have a case of the old-style ones. I would expect a side-tap would work, and as you say there are new screw-on taps for that type of can. Sounds like a good deal on the UAC kit. You'd want to replace the condenser if there is any possibility of contamination from the old compressor failing. Parallel-flow condensers can't really be flushed out. If the old compressor didn't seize up but just had a noisy clutch assembly or something like that, then replacing the condenser would not be necessary. (It might be though for the new compressor warranty.)
To blow out my AC system I used an oilless compressor and a couple of dessicant-style driers in series with the line to keep the air dry.
I've read about the new "self-sealing" cans but have not dealt with them yet since I still have a case of the old-style ones. I would expect a side-tap would work, and as you say there are new screw-on taps for that type of can. Sounds like a good deal on the UAC kit. You'd want to replace the condenser if there is any possibility of contamination from the old compressor failing. Parallel-flow condensers can't really be flushed out. If the old compressor didn't seize up but just had a noisy clutch assembly or something like that, then replacing the condenser would not be necessary. (It might be though for the new compressor warranty.)
To blow out my AC system I used an oilless compressor and a couple of dessicant-style driers in series with the line to keep the air dry.
The UAC kit with condenser is only about $20 more than without, and that amount is fast getting lost in the rounding after a flush tank, flush fluid, air compressor, gauge and vacuum kit, etc, so going with it when I get to doing this project.
Just picked up some stuff at O'Reilly and looked at the A/C supplies.
True blue DuPont Suva r134a is under $8/12 oz can. If you want sealer in it, those cans are more. They have the special valve for the self sealing cans too. Thanks California.
Also, did not notice the price, they have bottles of PAG100 oil with UV dye. So, that part of the shopping puzzle is solved.
Pretty sure Dupont is the only maker of r-134a, so just get the cheapest you can find. I could only find Carquest brand cans last time (yesterday!) without any extras in it, and the self sealing cans are a pain. There isn't an easy way to know you've "unsealed" it. You have to just keep backing the needle out and checking at the purge valve. I can only ever get mine to suck in the last 1/2 of the refrigerant by turning the can 90 degrees back and forth.
You can check if you have pressure in the system by just depressing the Schrader valves briefly.
FYI I just got a Denso branded compressor and it works. I'm sure Denso just puts their name on it, and is probably the same as some other new compressors being sold. Not much time on it at all (as you know because you were on the thread!). It is quieter and smoother than the original (with 200k on it) and it looks nice and is certainly new, not rebuilt.
If the old compressor didn't die, just the clutch, you are PROBABLY ok without doing a flush or condenser replace. Proceed at your own risk. Dryer/Accumulator should be replaced whenever the system is opened. I didn't the last time and it still worked. This time I did.
If Denso was on Rock Auto, I would seriously consider buying that brand. They have a factory near me and seems like a right skookum operation.
Now it is just dawning on me that the condenser might be a chore to dig out of the grill. At least I am not digging out the evaporator and heater core.
Edit: Harbor Freight has a little 3 gallon, 100 psi oilless compressor for $60 right now, regular price. If I get a super coupon or they go on sale, I guess I need to ****** it up for the cleaning phase.
Last edited by 318SixPack; Aug 23, 2019 at 04:22 PM.
Reason: forgot something
The Walmart supertech r134 is great. I used just shy of 3 cans on my 95. Better to slightly under-fill the system, it will still blow nice and cold.
The condenser is not at all hard to get out. You have to take the front grill stuff off, but it's easier than it might seem. The hardest part for me was the fact that the threaded fittings on my old condenser were frozen solid (rust frozen.. lol) and I just cut the hoses and bought new ones.
I just did my sister-in-law's Prius. It had a hole in the condenser. That condenser was a PITA to get out due to the over-engineered brackets. They put SCREWS in the damn thing, at the bottom, that rusted to hell. I had to drill the suckers out. Even after drilling, there was a ridge that held it in place at the bottom. Still wasn't too bad a job.
I had assumed Denso was a high quality replacement, considering that they were/are an OEM supplier for Toyota, so I got her the Denso even though it was a couple bucks more than the other options on Rockauto. I was wrong. That condenser was freakin' warped, poorly packaged and there were no o-rings supplied. I used it, but I was deeply disappointed in the product. If I were doing it over again I'd go with UAC or Four Seasons.
On the Prius (or any other hybrid), they use an electric compressor and a different type of oil. That oil is -easily- contaminated by PAG oil - so much so that I had to buy a second set of manifold gauges JUST for "Hybrid use" so I could vac the system and check that it held vacuum. So the Supertech from Walmart was nice because it's JUST R134, no dyes, no sealants, no bull-crap. I used 3 total cans on her car. 1 to charge and test with the refrigerant sniffer (couldn't find the leak that way), 1 to charge with hybrid safe dye (found the glaring leak in the condenser but no other leaking) and 1 to charge the system after testing it held vacuum. Her system only takes a smidge over 13 oz., I told her we'd put one full can in and decide later on (after she drove with it for some time) if we felt it would be good to have the remaining 1-ish ounce in.
She told me the other day her friend who has some kind of cold sensitivity literally couldn't handle how cold her A/C was --- and it was over 90F and humid outside that day!
It can be tough these days to detect counterfeit products. There is plenty of R134a coming in from China. Quality might be OK or might be anything in there.
Might not be a bad idea to replace hoses as well given the age of these vehicles. Though the job can grow very quickly as you start thinking about all those old parts. On my daily driver all it really needed was a condenser. However the car was nearly 20 years old at that time and had about 300,000 miles on it - did I really want to put everything back together with all those old hoses? Or risk a 300,000 mile compressor failing and causing major problems? Etc., etc. By the time I was done the only original part left was the evaporator. (On that car actually very easy to replace, but there was nothing wrong with it and new ones are not readily available.)
I'll look the hoses over and whatnot, but even at 352,000 miles everything looks pretty good in there. Will be replacing the belt with a Gates HD belt.
Is an oiled compressor OK for the flush part of the job? I know I need to do the heroic water/filtering setup as if I were doing a paint job with it, but I was looking at oil free compressors thinking an oiled compressor might be bad for blowing it out.
I think I gave some bad info somewhere in one of these threads.
UAC is the only one on Rock Auto with condenser/compressor/clutch/accumulator in one kit ($225). Still seems like a good deal. Just the compressor at any of my local parts places is around that much.
You can get an oil separator/filter for use with an oiled compressor. For frequent use an oiled compressor should last longer. Also the belt drive models are quieter if that's a consideration. (Mine is a Craftsman oil-less, direct drive model that so far has lasted about 20 years now but only gets very occasional use. It is noisy as heck though, you don't want to be standing next to it when it fires up.)
You can get an oil separator/filter for use with an oiled compressor. For frequent use an oiled compressor should last longer. Also the belt drive models are quieter if that's a consideration. (Mine is a Craftsman oil-less, direct drive model that so far has lasted about 20 years now but only gets very occasional use. It is noisy as heck though, you don't want to be standing next to it when it fires up.)
Not going to be used frequently. Just looked on Facebook Marketplace, if today is any indication there is one 1.5 HP oiled Craftsman near me for $70, so hoping there will be something similar out there in the near future. Saw a sweet Ingersoll Rand on there for $200, but that is out of my range for now.
Super easy to use and it will pay for itself on the first use. You can go to Autozone and buy the little bottles of R134 to fill it with (do not get the ones with sealant in them!). They are $20 each and you get $10 back as a core charge when you return them. Should take about 3 bottle to fill the system. So call it all in $120 to do it your self the first time and $30 each time after that. Or you can just fork out $115 for a 30 lb bottle of R134 and refill it many many many times.
If your site glass is now black, then ya, sounds like a flush is next (black = metal particles in the oil). Replacing the condenser would be recommended but the flush may get everything out.
