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Well, after about ten years of on and off work on my AC system between Coupe King and other specialty shops and replacing damn near everything along the way (incrementally, versus all at once which I should have), my car had a catastrophic AC incident on the way home from my local shop that had just flushed my brake fluid. Chris from Don's shop had installed the new evaporator and expansion valve last year, along with new heater core, so I could finally drive with dignity like most of you. And my local repair shop had filled the system with R134a after that and Don finished the system off Spring of this year chasing down an AC fan swith problem. Finally, it's done, I thought.
Anyway, on the drive home after the brake fluid replacement, my AC was working okay but I was hearing weird vacuum type sounds periodically under the dash or engine compartment...and then ten minutes later I heard a loud pop and immediate filling of my cabin with freon smoke while the rest of the 2 lbs exited my AC's bloodstream under my car and behind me on the freeway. The drivers behind me were terrified (and I wasn't far from that point myself) thinking I had blown an engine and to steer clear from any oil that may be coming from my E9 in their paths.
The smoke disappated quickly and I had already realized my AC had, once again, given up duty...
After getting home and sending a few photos attached to my local mechanic (who did my last R134 fill last year) and Don Lawrence, it appears something shorted near the compressor and exploded the high pressure hose connecting the condensor to the compressor, it appears. Clean up this morning was a pain but the car runs fine and now I just need to contemplate what to do next. Maybe give my AC system the win and call it a day or go back to square one and attack the hoses and wiring which go back to Coupe King days in 2010. And the compressor may be toast too...
Never a dull moment with these cars and maybe the E9 gods are trying to tell me to suck it up and live without AC like so many other coupsters. Honestly, in the 14 years I've had AC, it's really only worked about an hour or two total time and that was sending only cool versus cold air to my knee caps. And I stopped counting how much $$$ I've put into it along the way.
Anyway, on the drive home after the brake fluid replacement, my AC was working okay but I was hearing weird vacuum type sounds periodically under the dash or engine compartment...and then ten minutes later I heard a loud pop and immediate filling of my cabin with freon smoke while the rest of the 2 lbs exited my AC's bloodstream under my car and behind me on the freeway. The drivers behind me were terrified (and I wasn't far from that point myself) thinking I had blown an engine and to steer clear from any oil that may be coming from my E9 in their paths.
The smoke disappated quickly and I had already realized my AC had, once again, given up duty...
After getting home and sending a few photos attached to my local mechanic (who did my last R134 fill last year) and Don Lawrence, it appears something shorted near the compressor and exploded the high pressure hose connecting the condensor to the compressor, it appears. Clean up this morning was a pain but the car runs fine and now I just need to contemplate what to do next. Maybe give my AC system the win and call it a day or go back to square one and attack the hoses and wiring which go back to Coupe King days in 2010. And the compressor may be toast too...
Never a dull moment with these cars and maybe the E9 gods are trying to tell me to suck it up and live without AC like so many other coupsters. Honestly, in the 14 years I've had AC, it's really only worked about an hour or two total time and that was sending only cool versus cold air to my knee caps. And I stopped counting how much $$$ I've put into it along the way.
