2004 S ... A/C not holding Freon. Put it in FESM for full access. No A/C pressure. Fitted new dryer and condenser. Charged with Freon and UV dye and no discernible leaks anywhere using both a UV flashlight and soapy water. Pulled a vacuum and it's losing the vacuum almost immediately so there's obviously a fairly large leak somewhere. The only thing I can come up with is that possibly the A/C compressor front seal (behind the clutch pulley) is compromised somehow although there is no UV dye showing there. Anyone else run into this same type problem and have a solution? Thanks.

 

I once emptied an entire can of alternative freon (with oil and dye) and lost pressure almost immediately. Also couldn't find the leak until the next morning I noticed a puddle of oil mid/mid the car. Turned out the evaporator was rusted through because there was a lot dirt (small leaves and such) were the evaporator was sitting in and that dirt also blocked most of the ac water drain.

So check that tube and pray it's not the evaporator. I did a write up on how to remove it not too long ago. Not fun since it's a dash out job.

 

I appreciate the information and I hope you're not correct. I did go back and pull all the underhood parts that obscured the A/C line that I installed that attaches to the firewall to check for dye/leaks and found nothing. There is no evidence of leakage under the car or inside the interior so I'm hoping against hope that the evaporator is not the problem. I did find the smallest yellow dot on my new condenser but I stupidly spilled some while putting it in the system so I'm not sure there's a leak there. I'm going to charge with shop air and use soapy water to check that again but I honestly don't think that's the problem. I moved forward and bought a compressor since the one in there was a reman and it's approximately five years old. If I'm lucky the issue may be internal to that compressor or leaking at the front seal behind the clutch where it can't be seen. Once it's installed I'll go through the entire vacuum pull process and hope it holds vacuum. More later.

 

Let's hope that will fix the issue. I can't think of any other ac hiding places. Keep us posted

 

FINAL UPDATE: The replacement A/C line (evap to condenser) I bought from salvage was damaged even though visually it looked fine. Recommendation: when buying a used part like this have the supplier pressure test it in front of you before purchase. I asked but was told the car's A/C was working when they obtained it. I shouldn't have trusted that comment. You shouldn't either. Obtained another A/C line, pressured tested it, installed it and now have air conditioning. YAY!!!

 

Good to hear you've sorted it out. 👍

AC is my least favourite part when wrenching, purely because as a diy I just don't have the right tools to diagnose it properly.

 

@LukasH Curious how dirt and leaves got to the evaporator in a system with a cabin air filter?

 

I don't know, I bought it with the message "ac needs recharge". Little did I know 😉