Buff is mostly accurate in his synopsis on AC systems except.........The average day in the life of an auto AC tech with the run of the mill GM truck.
The condenser...usually in front of the radiator !!! You have found that there is a leak in the condenser ,But where did they hide the radiator?? You can sometimes catch sight of it from underneath the vehicle with a stream light 10,000 lumen laser flashlight that is commonly used just to have the range to illuminate into the shrouded depths and past the cooling push me pull you fan assembly . Now you are firmly wedged under the vehicle ,that is when you discover the possum that has taken residents in the fan shroud and that you have disturbed his\her (or whatever gender it identifies as at that moment ) naptime.
Oh yes, back to the condenser. If you now take that same flashlight, which by now is getting hot in your fingers from megawatts of power consumption and look thru the front grill of the vehicle, you may see this semi-finned object ,this could be a condenser or it may be one of three possible oil cooler assemblies , engine, power steering, transmission and lets not ferget the turbo intercooler.
Yes, the condenser is sandwiched somewhere tween there and believe me this whole assembly is bolted and snapped together into one massive conglomeration.
How does one get to this offending object that seems to be the central subject of this dissertation?
First, from underneath the vehicle just underneath the possum, you remove the air flow panel these are usually found in collections in the corners of automotive shops.
Next, the inner fender panels (these are mud and splattered animal debris
filter devices that reside just above the tires). Oh yeah, remove the tires! You cannot remove thousands of the plastic push rivets (plivets??) and screws with them in the way.
With the tires removed, look up at the underside of this inner fender filter and you will notice a number of feathered plastic spikes pokin down thru the panel. I believe that these are put in place by the automotive engineers to increase the filtering efficiency and road noise generation of the inner fender. But no, these insidious objects are used to hold in place , one ..the inner fender and two, ..every heater hose, wheel speed, abs, engine control wire loom , battery cable, transmission cooling, and brake line. I am sure that the invention of this inner fender device has enabled the advancement of the automotive industry, allowing the designer to attach all the under hood items that could not be fittted on the valve covers!
Next, the upper air control panel. These are usually found in p!ace because when the auto owner raises the hood (yes some do) that is the first thing they will notice missing. You remove the plastic one-time-use push rivets (plivets?) and a few bolts hiding in a place that the engineer placed there just for giggles.
Next the headlights ,YES headlights . This process depends on the make and model of the vehicle dependent on the year the car or truck was made . Right about now you need a breather , grab a cup of coffee and consult with your labor/disassembly guide only to discover that the instructions have now morphed into a generic approximation of what you might reasonably expect to encounter UAV ( Universal American Vehicle) and the total labor cost of 1.2 hours associated with this ever expanding project.
The whole front valance, bumper cover, fog light, turn signal, marker lamp holder grill??assembly must be removed.A word of advice here, it takes two to hold and disconnect and safely store this critter. It is a long, flexible, bulky ,shiny painted, expensive item.
Whew!!! After all dat, you should be able to see at least the upper one quarter of the condenser under the intercooler, oil coolers and this large square tube of metal that is the impact deer to radiator deflector.
This is the time you discover that that sometime in the recent past you needed to drain the radiator, transmission and oil cooling lines. Good luck with not making a mess on the floor!
Now you can access the AC lines going to the condenser (you did remember to have the unit discharged. If not, you will find out that the explanation to friends and even strangers can be embarrassing; describing why you glow all over under the UV lights at the amusement park or county fair.)
Now remove the bumper/ deer deflector tube.
OMG, did I ferget to describe the process of removing the fan and shroud assembly? The possum was still there so I will not venture into that for now.
At this time, you locate and remove the supposedly few bolts that hold the massive cooling assembly from the remnants of the vehicle.
Remove the condenser / radiator/ etc...etc...unit and waddle it over to a large table or work surface . You do this for two reasons, one...so you can locate and separate the various cooling components, and two ... to drain all the remaining antifreeze / transmission fluid / AC oil and leak dye down the front of your pants leg and into your boot.
Now you are gettin somewhere... Except you realize that you have fergetted to order the new condenser unit!!! ... Da$& it...D*%& it!!! And it is past the cutoff delivery time from the parts warehouse. SIGH......
The next morning, three hours past the time the parts warehouse promised to have your part on site first thing in the morning, the highly anticipated parts truck arrives and the parts runner unloads two boxes of brake drums and wants you to sign for them.
@$#%&%$#¥€¢£×π√=°√¶!!!!!!!!!!.
And you still need to evict the possum!
.
I DO NOT have A/c in my truck! It needs the compressor rebuilt, a new evaporator, a new condenser, and on and on!! Too much money for what it's worth!! Those are the WORST to work on!! Yet, I love my truck!! Once the system is contaminated, get ready to pay!! It will need everything!
