99 Sunfire - Need help - 2 Problems....

[upmm019]

I have a 99 sunfire. 2.2 auto. has 140k on it.

I have two main issues.

1. Since it's blazing hot.... my air does not work. HOwever, if I charge it, it will then work for about a day or two and then it stops. The last stuff I put in had a dye and I looked all over in the engine bay and could not find any leaks.

So I presume it the evaporator inside the dash.. question.. how hard is it to remove and if I remove it can I just fill the system again or do I have to take it to a service shop?

2. When it's blazing hot... my car is very hard to start. Might have to crank it a few times but then it will fire up. When it's cold out.. it starts up right away..... do you have any suggestions of what may be causing this??

Thanks.

Kris

[J-Ri]

You need a UV light and goggles to see the dye, without them the dye is just a dull yellow/green that you'll never see. I haven't yet seen the evaporator leak on a Cavalier, not saying yours isn't, but I'd look closer before you go removing the entire dash. I would charge it again, with dye, and then run the A/C until you see a leak. Be sure you check the service ports, they're a common source of leaks. With the A/C on, the water runoff from the evaporator will wash the dye down the drain and you'll see it. Not as bright as pure dye, but it'll glow.

After you find the leak, you'll want to take it to a shop to have the system evacuated and the refrigerant recycled. Not only is the refrigerant bad for the ozone layer, but the dye and oil will make a huge mess. Then repair the leak. I strongly recommend that you have it charged at a shop as well. Modern A/C systems have to be very close to the correct fill, otherwise they don't cool right. A shop will also put a vacuum on the A/C system that gets all moisture and air out, both of which hurt cooling performance, and moisture damages the oil which can damage the compressor.

For the starting issue, check for spark and fuel pressure. It could also be a sensor reading wrong and giving too much or too little fuel.

When it's above 80 or so and I've been driving my car hard, and try to restart after a minute or two of sitting, it will take 5-10 seconds to start. Pretty sure it's vapor lock since the fuel rail loses some of it's pressure while sitting. Everything checked out good, so I'm just going to leave it unless it starts acting up while it's easier to diagnose.