Hi everyone,

Have a slow leak (takes a month or two) in the A/C system on my '95. I borrowed one of the dye injector/uv lamp kits and put dye into the system. Read that the compressor seals are the common issue, but don't see any dye thrown around the compressor area/hood/fenders.

Only leak I've found is around the threaded nut on the evaporator tube/valve area in the back. I circled the area in the attached picture. Could I have a bad seal there?

 

i had the threads go away on the expansion valve when i took the hoses off and had to replace it. there are four seals on it. if i remember right the valve is not that costly.

 

So you would recommend just replacing the entire valve and seals then?

I assume I need to evac everything in the system, replace the parts, evac again(?), then fill the system with oil/r134.

 

i took mine in and had a shop recharge it after replacing. i had the charge taken out before i took it apart. i was changing engine. looks like a price difference with brand name https://www.carid.com/1994-chevy-ca…

 

Yeah, there is a good price difference between the valve parts. Some cheaper ones seem to be made out of cast metal or something, while the original is aluminum.

I'm not really that cheap...I've bought a lot of AC Delco brand parts this past year. But I wonder if there is anything wrong with something like this: UAC Valve

Thanks for the help btw.

 

i dont think so. autozone is usually got good products. be careful when starting to screw into them. aluminum is easy to mess up. also clean and check your hose ends to make sure there is no burrs in the threads.

 

If you are going to open the system to replace the expansion valve I also recommend replacing the accumulator. You have to loosen it to remove the lines going to expansion valve anyway. I prefer buying from Rockauto.com. They have multiple manufacturer parts including AC/Delco and their prices are usually much lower than most local stores. There are two seals between the expansion valve and the evaporator and two seals on the hoses going into the expansion valve. You will have to buy them separately. They usually come in a complete set. You will also need some PAG 150 oil.

John

 

I'm going to go ahead and pick up an accumulator/drier as well.

Thing about that is all of the parts listed on the auto stores, Amazon, etc. are wrong. The '95 does have a different part number listed, but everything now matches you with a part that has a 90 degree angle between inlet/outlet. I checked mine, looked at pictures of 93, 94 & 95 3.4s and 5.7s and all of them have a 135 degree (or so) angle accumulator. Even the ACDelco website has it wrong. Don't know what that's about.

Incorrect:

I also got a good deal on an OEM Delco expansion valve as well.

 

The GPD part listed on Rockauto has the correct angle. That's what I used last summer when I repaired the A/C on my '95.

John

 

Yeah, I'll have to go aftermarket since AC Delco doesn't make the correct angle part anymore, and I'm not paying $80-150 for an old stock from a dealer.