Laney47

Hi all,
I own a 2002 Mustang GT. In the past couple of months I noticed my air hasn't been blowing very cold; sometimes it does and other times it doesn't. Yesterday I took it to a place who said they would have to put some kind of dye in it, let me drive it around for a few days, then go back and have them use a special light to see if there is a leak. They topped it off for me (Said something about it not being empty..it took one can) and it's blowing very cold right now but they want $189 to do the dye thing.

This morning I called another place in town to see what they would say, and was told by them that the manufacturer puts dye into the system and even though it's a 2002 it should still have the dye in it. He said bring it in and they will put a light to it and see what the problem is at no cost.

So who do I believe? Being a woman I know nothing about this and am confused about what to believe. You guys have been so helpful to me in the past. Because I live in Florida I just can't go very long without the air. I appreciate any suggestions/feedback.

Derf00

the oem does not put Dye into the system.

If you want to see for yourself, get a black light ($20) at the auto parts store and in the dark, look around under the hood at the A/C stuff. If there is dye it will glow green/yellow, if not you won't see the glow.

P.S. $189 to add dye and see where the leak is coming from is a ripoff.

Most shops around here (AZ) only charge $55 and that is put towards teh repair if you decide to do it.

Laney47

I figured it was a ripoff....and been asking around and everyone agrees that most places will just check it for you and then do like you said, put it towards the repair. I'm told by a mechanic that I work with that if it's the evaporator it will be very expensive....so I'm wondering if perhaps I should just keep adding the freon at $35 a pop until I decide to get rid of the car, (which I don't see happening for quite a while). I just can't afford to put a fortune into this car.

I'm going to take it to the other place and see what they say. Thanks for your advice!

cliffyk

Its needing one can of refrigerant is not a big deal--I had to put a can in mine last spring and it's supposed to, 1 year and 25k miles later. It could well be it's never been topped off sine it was new, and the system is not so tight that after nearly 10 years it might have lost a bit...

DRAGUL

Relax I would not be in such a rush. Wait and see how it goes. I have a leak in mine but it is so small I just add a little every year. You may not need to add any more refrigerant for awhile. My guess is they were probably pushing you to repair it asap. Remember they make more money off the repair then just adding refrigerant. Good luck.

cliffyk

"They" are also required by Federal regulations to not do anything, even add refrigerant, on a known leaking system--technically they did you favour by topping it off. Often shop's won't even charge for that as they do not want the service appearing on their books...

Mixednuts

Wait it out a bit. You may not need to do anything else. If you find it stops blowing cold again find youself a reputable shop to look at it.

Laney47

Thanks guys for all the input! I was planning to take it into the other shop today but I think I'll wait a while like you all said. I had it done about 8 or 9 months ago also so I guess that's why I was a little nervous about it. A mechanic at the place where I work starting talking yesterday about the evaporator and I'm praying it's not that as from what I understand that can be a very expensive repair since they have to remove the entire dashboard.

So I think I will take your advice and just make note of when I had the freon put in, and how long it lasts. Thanks again! You guys are great!!!