1998 Monte carlo a/c problems

[themindbender]

I am assuming that the Lumina and Monte are the same concidering the a/c. With that said, two days ago I noticed that the a/c was A. not blowing very hard, and B. not very cold. I am in Tucson and the temp is hovering around 100 and will only climb. Now today, sure thing, very little air pressure on the driver side but good on the passenger side. The temp is still warm. Also, now that I think about it, about a week ago, it took about 20 min. for the a/c to get "comfortable" in the car and that was at freeway speeds (80mph). Any help would be great. I have a pressure gauge but don't know where to test it at. My old '68 Impala is easy, but this is mind-boggling to me. The only idea I have is that there are two spots behind the battery, towards the firewall. One is straight on top and the other is lower and bends towards the air cleaner. Can I check the pressure at either spot?

[Scott-Ohio]

- If it's not cold, it sounds like your refrigerant is low, you may need to add a can or so.

- You use your gauge on the low pressure side of the system, which is also where you would add refrig. Your auto supply store, where you buy a can of R134a, should be able to help you locate where to add/measure under your hood. Also, I believe the fittings are different so your gauge should only work on the low side too.

- Your blower speed is not affected by refrigerant, but you may have some restriction in the intake to fan motor/blower.

[themindbender]

Thank you for the response. I had assumed that I was low on refrig. but did not know what side to fill up. I park under a da** mesquite tree and it is either dropping A: leaves, B: Beans, C: Bird scat, or D: Pounds of pollen. I will clean up the vents and hopefully add the refrig to the right side. No one at the autozone or checker store arond here knows either, I already asked them. Will update the page when I find out. Or I will have lost an arm trying. Wish me luck.

[Scott-Ohio]

Originally Posted by themindbender

Thank you for the response. I had assumed that I was low on refrig. but did not know what side to fill up.

What type of gauge do you have? Is it an inexpensive type designed to just test the low side? If so, it will only work on the low side so you needn't worry about any danger--they have different type of fittings.

[richtazz]

does your car have dual zone climate control air or manual a/c controls?

[themindbender]

I was told that the valve was bad (stuck) in the compressor and needed a new compressor, drier, and accumulator. Can I un-stick the valve?