1995 Impala SS A/C not working

I have a 1995 Impalla SS with 42k & yesterday the AC stoped working... I turned it on & it was just blowing hot air I killed it after like 5 seconds & pulled over to check the compressor & it not engaging. I know the sell R-134 recharge/stop leak kits but do the really work? Or is there another way for me to check the compressor with out having to replace it first ?


Thanks in advance for any & all help

I have a 1995 Impalla SS with 42k & yesterday the AC stoped working... I turned it on & it was just blowing hot air I killed it after like 5 seconds & pulled over to check the compressor & it not engaging. I know the sell R-134 recharge/stop leak kits but do the really work? Or is there another way for me to check the compressor with out having to replace it first ?


Thanks in advance for any & all help

The sealerproducts are to be avoided,,,what must be determined is do you have a leak that needs repair or is this simply a compressor seal leaking because of a low oil condition...

GM for some reason for many decades does not put sufficient oil in the a/c system....this causes the seal to leak...

check all fittings for oil stains/residue..
if its wet at compressor only then you have the common seal leak..

when my 1996 was new the a/c needed a 12oz adding of r134...then the next year it was down again but now needed 20oz....

so in 1998 I added pag 150 to the system 4oz of oil 8oz of r134,,,then topped it off with r134....

now it is 2009 and since then I have added 12 oz over the last 10years....

my 2000 silverado the same thing occured...
my 1983 same problem after 17yrs still ran great ,,,actually r12 beats r134 for cooling but to be fair the 83 had 40oz of refrigerent..


on adding of the refrigerent do not over charge us a guage...

with the air temp of 80-85 deg F you should have 40-45 psi on the charge low side fitting at an idle of 1500rpm..doors open fan/blower on max.

the high side pressures are variable depends on many factors ...
I have usually seen 280psi range....this is higher than the R12 which is usually in the 175psi area..

I would say if you do measure the high pressure 325 psi is the absolute max ...

Thanks for the reply.....I checked all fittings for oil stains/residue & could not find any but psi on low side was low...just over 20 psi with air on max & hi. I added Napa r-134 plus it has the oil & ink & now low side psi is around 42-43 & compressor now go's on & stays on. now I wait to see any ink stains to find leak.. I will keep all of AF updated...So I now know the compressor still works

Thanks for the reply.....I checked all fittings for oil stains/residue & could not find any but psi on low side was low...just over 20 psi with air on max & hi. I added Napa r-134 plus it has the oil & ink & now low side psi is around 42-43 & compressor now go's on & stays on. now I wait to see any ink stains to find leak.. I will keep all of AF updated...So I now know the compressor still works

part of my job was to repair a/c units on large transit vehicles,,
this seal in the compressor requires oil for proper sealing..when the oil is low the r134 comes out quickly...up north during the cold months with a low oil level the seal dries out ...by by refrigerent..

like I stated before do not use sealers of any kind and adding pag 150 is the correct oil for THIS vehicle ....

it is better to be at a low charge than having too much r134 as the pressures will damage the compressor ,,,the compressor must never compress liquid refrigerent at any time or its over..

yesterday the verizon tech wanted to buy my 96 ss ...he sold his 95 ss last year ,,now he missing his ride...

once these cars are gone thats it....

part of my job was to repair a/c units on large transit vehicles,,
this seal in the compressor requires oil for proper sealing..when the oil is low the r134 comes out quickly...up north during the cold months with a low oil level the seal dries out ...by by refrigerent..

like I stated before do not use sealers of any kind and adding pag 150 is the correct oil for THIS vehicle ....

it is better to be at a low charge than having too much r134 as the pressures will damage the compressor ,,,the compressor must never compress liquid refrigerent at any time or its over..

Thanks for the info. How do I install the pag 150 into the compressor?

yesterday the verizon tech wanted to buy my 96 ss ...he sold his 95 ss last year ,,now he missing his ride...

once these cars are gone thats it....


I know exactly what you mean. A buddy of mine out in NJ had a 94 SS that he sold a few years ago & now every time he see's my 95 SS he tells me how much he regrets selling his & he misses his car & offers to but mine

Thanks for the info. How do I install the pag 150 into the compressor?

NAPA HAS/HAD the pag 150 oil in a 12 oz container...4 oz was oil and the rest was r134...you add as you would add a regular charge with the low side charging hose/kit...


you live in wisconsin ?????
If so you will have to go to Illinois to get this...

the oil amount of 4oz appears to be suffecient to keep the seal wet to reduce refrigerent loss..
did you add refrigerent with oil if so what oil ??? use of other oils may cause problems///loss of effeciency...

NAPA HAS/HAD the pag 150 oil in a 12 oz container...4 oz was oil and the rest was r134...you add as you would add a regular charge with the low side charging hose/kit...


you live in wisconsin ?????
If so you will have to go to Illinois to get this...

the oil amount of 4oz appears to be suffecient to keep the seal wet to reduce refrigerent loss..
did you add refrigerent with oil if so what oil ??? use of other oils may cause problems///loss of effeciency...

I use the Napa brand r-134 plus I do not rember what type of oil it said on the can but I do rember it had 2.5oz of oil in the 11 ounce can I threw away the empty can so I have to call the Napa store in IL I bought it from to see what type of oil it has in it.............

Update I cant not find any ink stains to trace the leak I might have to put the car on a lift to find the ink stain/leak

Update I cant not find any ink stains to trace the leak I might have to put the car on a lift to find the ink stain/leak

maybe the oil you added was enough to stop the leak at the seal???

when my seal was leaking it would throw the oil up on the coolant res...

It was 80's today in your area how did the a/c work ???

j cAT,

After years of my 96 ss A/C not working I had the dealer check it. The result is "leaking from the shaft seal" Of course they said it would need a new compressor and cost 1k. My question is since this is not my daily driver and the A/C hasn't been used in years would adding the pag/refrigerant as you suggest possibly resolve my issue as well? I am sure it can't hurt.

Thanks for the info.
Happy Fathers Day (if you are a dad)
Dan

Letting the A/C sit for years can also dry out the shaft seal. I have had good luck using the oil/134 mix cans as well.
I would try to recharge it, and use it for at least a few minutes every few months or so to keep the seal lubed.

j cAT,

After years of my 96 ss A/C not working I had the dealer check it. The result is "leaking from the shaft seal" Of course they said it would need a new compressor and cost 1k. My question is since this is not my daily driver and the A/C hasn't been used in years would adding the pag/refrigerant as you suggest possibly resolve my issue as well? I am sure it can't hurt.

Thanks for the info.
Happy Fathers Day (if you are a dad)
Dan

this question is very hard to answer correctly....the system of your vehicle has not been working for several years,,,no matter where the leak is and this is something that now may mean a contaminated system which could very well cost 1g to fix..

since this is the condition , I would give it a go with adding the charge with the pag 150 oil....just to see if it runs///no weird noises...no leaks , then I would dump the charge of refrigerent you just put in , and place a vacuum pump on it ,,,then charge with the correct amount of refrigerent....

the oil installed has been a GM problem for a long time....this has probably caused massive ozone damage when r12 was used years ago...r134 is not a chemical that is damaging to the ozone in the atmosphere..

like I stated it has been years now that I added some refrigerent,,I think it was 2004 ...this year both the 96 impala and the 2000 silverado work fine...

just to add some info on the oil,,,if you put too much oil in it will just reduce the effeciency of the system. system needs 8oz. ...never though put too much refrigerent in , as this ,, WILL damage the compressor....

respond with the results if you try to get it to work..