I know there have been several a/c issues I've read of recently...so I figured I'd post this.

My a/c wasn't blowing cold at all, so had it evacuated and recharged...it would only blow cold for about 10 minutes before going warm again. Turns out there was a pretty hefty leak around the compressor, so I replaced the compressor...blew cold for about 10 minutes, then I heard a hissing noise, I looked through the grill and could see it seeping out really fast from the condenser...must've blown the condenser once the compressor started working. Sooooo...I take the front clip off, remove the condenser and notice a small tear in the bottom line of the condenser going back to the firewall...I may have caused that tear when trying to remove the line...but that's neither here nor there...I replaced the bottom line...the o-rings on both sides of the line and take it back to have it evacuated and recharged...I should be good right?

Wrong...not blowing cold. Blowing COOL, but not cold. So I go over my steps...and realize after looking at a diagram of my system from the chevy dealer that there should be an orifice tube between the bottom line and the condenser...I disconnect that line, and of course...no orifice tube. Call Napa...get one for $2.44, put it in, recharge the system and FINALLY blowing ice cold.

So...moral of the story...make sure to do your homework first! Something as small as an orifice tube could be your problem!

 

a guy i work with did the exact same thing, this is where good communication kept me from doing the same thing

 

Glad you figured the problem out and got it fixed cheap. But what is the whole function of an orifice tube anyway?

 

An orifice tube changes the refrigerant from a high pressure liquid freon into a low pressure liquid freon before it inters the evaporator...then the evaporator...the as it evaporates it extracts heat from the air around it resulting in a cool, low pressure gas. So basically the orifice tube acts like the valve on top of a can of spray paint...changes the liquid into a gas or a spray that can easily evaporate.