RCV valve replacement, do I add PAG oil?

[Ivnx]

Have started encountering intermittent cooling issues with my 2012 tdi JSW. Have confirmed it’s RCV failure, now looking to replace the valve with this one:
Guteauto AC Compressor Control Solenoid Valve PXE16 PXE14 1K0820803E https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01C5HZQP4/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glc_fabc_5XRFJVTJMPYYR05FYDQZ

my question is, after installing the new valve, do I add PAG oil? (As I would have evac’d the ac system)

 

[AndyBees]

Only a guess, assuming you don't lose any oil when removing the RCV, no need to add PAG oil.

Now, considering you likely have a vacuum on the system, you'll be letting in air contamination when you remove the RCV. So, as soon as you replace the valve, you need the Vacuum Pump in operation pronto.

 

[Mongler98]

Take it to a shop and have it reclaimed. do the work, bring it back to vac and charge. $300 for the tools at a bare minimum to DIY it and you really should reclaim it vs dumping it. IMO if you do not have the tools to DIY it, take it somewhere cheap to do it. if you don't do it right, it's not worth doing, at least with HVAC.

 

[Ivnx]

Thank you for this info . I’ve never worked on my own ac systems before, so wanting to be extra careful. It sounds like once I’ve evac’d before removing the valve, I’ll need to vacuum the system again after installing the new valve, prior to recharging the system.

 

[Ivnx]

Take it to a shop and have it reclaimed. do the work, bring it back to vac and charge. $300 for the tools at a bare minimum to DIY it and you really should reclaim it vs dumping it. IMO if you do not have the tools to DIY it, take it somewhere cheap to do it. if you don't do it right, it's not worth doing, at least with HVAC.

Completely agree, have to do it right or not at all.

Is it safe for me to drive home after having the shop reclaim old refrigerant? I’ve had some mechanics tell me driving without refrigerant in my ac system could damage the system?

 

[Mongler98]

Thank you for this info . I’ve never worked on my own ac systems before, so wanting to be extra careful. It sounds like once I’ve evac’d before removing the valve, I’ll need to vacuum the system again after installing the new valve, prior to recharging the system.

you will need much more than that, a gauge set, 3 or 4 cans of 134a, the adapter, a scale, pencil paper, calculator, temp gauge, micron gauge and your vac pump. about $400 for everything give or take, you need 200 micron at the vary least. otherwise you have a leak. doing anything other than actually reading that on the gauge (not the manifold) is guess work.
IMO most shops will charge you $200 for the reclaim and replace. very common. call around. if your not familiar with AC and your not willing to spend up to $500 on a budget for the tools that are really only good for this type of a job, ..... consider your options.

 

[Mongler98]

Completely agree, have to do it right or not at all.

Is it safe for me to drive home after having the shop reclaim old refrigerant? I’ve had some mechanics tell me driving without refrigerant in my ac system could damage the system?

The AC system will not operate at all unless it has a charge. drive it with or without, nothing bad will happen.
whoever told you that is lying 100% through their teeth and should not be trusted.

 

[Ivnx]

you will need much more than that, a gauge set, 3 or 4 cans of 134a, the adapter, a scale, pencil paper, calculator, temp gauge, micron gauge and your vac pump. about $400 for everything give or take, you need 200 micron at the vary least. otherwise you have a leak. doing anything other than actually reading that on the gauge (not the manifold) is guess work.
IMO most shops will charge you $200 for the reclaim and replace. very common. call around. if your not familiar with AC and your not willing to spend up to $500 on a budget for the tools that are really only good for this type of a job, ..... consider your options.

Edit*
Duly noted. Will make sure to get a micron gauge along with vacuum equipment.

 

[Lightflyer1]

There is also more to it than just having the tools as well. Read up on auto AC before doing. I also have done the pay for reclaim and evac/replace. I had to replace a leaky hose before and was only charged $79 if I got it done quick and back to them. AutoZone and some other places will loan(deposit) you the tools for the most part but you still have to know what you are doing.

 

[Ivnx]

So I took everyone’s advice, called around, and lucked out by finding a place willing to evac and recharge for $120 Took the car ard 12pm to get the refrigerant vacuumed out, drove back home and proceeded the valve replacement process. It took me 4 hours to get the faulty valve out and 45 minutes to get the new valve in

The biggest issue I had was getting the valve out safely, i.e.removing the snap ring without breaking it and then removing the RCV valve itself. The rubbery plastic lip that I needed to leverage broke off early on. I then proceeded to cycle through different pliers for the next 3.5 hours, pulling and pushing on the plastic top housing. Seriously debated removing the bumper and compressor at one point lol. I’m guessing it was a lot more difficult than the YouTube videos showed due to my vehicle age and mileage (2012 JSW tdi, ~100k miles). I was happy to see no gray goop covering the faulty valve (which purportedly would indicate a bad compressor).

Pushing the new valve in was a bit difficult, you really have to make sure to push the valve in until the inner snap ring groove shows clearly. Getting the snap ring back on with the little circles at the head of the valve took a bit of effort as well.

Have to return to the shop tomorrow morning to vacuum and recharge the system, hopefully if all’s well, I’ll be able to update this thread with a successful happy face

Total repair cost ~$153.00
$120 Evac/Recharge
$20 new RCV valve
$4 snap ring pliers
$9 PAG oil

List of resources used

Snap ring pliers:

Snap Ring Pliers with Interchangeable Heads

Amazing deals on this Snap Ring Pliers With Interchangeable Heads at Harbor Freight. Quality tools & low prices.

www.harborfreight.com

PAG oil (for lubricating the new valve gaskets before installing):

https://www.autozone.com/cooling-heating-and-climate-control/a-c-system-oil/a-c-certified-pro-r134a-pag-46-refrigerant-oil-with-ice-32-8oz/70570_0_0

RCV valve:
Guteauto AC Compressor Control Solenoid Valve PXE16 PXE14 1K0820803E https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01C5HZQP...abc_34T1VBCYZS3CNDQ2ADVF?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

YouTube how to guides:

 

[Mongler98]

Nice work. Next time mix up some ATF and acetone 1:1 mix. It has by far the furthest penetrating depth of any solvent stuff you can buy on blaster is 2nd best. Glad you chose this path. That's a good price for the work.

 

[Lightflyer1]

I also like to get the Autozone vacuum pump and vac it down as soon as I am done. Better all around not to leave air in there if possible for any length of time. Makes the shops job quicker and easier too as they won't have to wait as long for it to pump down. If you get a relationship they will remember you do this for them and may discount a little more. It is easy to do and free (deposit).

 

[Mongler98]

only if you sucked in the most humid air possible and left it for months, it might cause issues but the water, and air will boil off in seconds when the shop does it. its contaminants that cause longer vac times. no need to vac it down at all until the shop can do it. if you really cared, you would be purging the system with nitrogen, it dries out things. its logical to think that it might cause damage but it wont. i've been doing HVAC for ages now. i even have my esco Universal if that makes a difference lol
What DOES matter is you want to get a new Filter dryer installed. the one you have is garbage now. the moment air hits it, its trash. they should always be installed with nitrogen purge. all it is, is desiccant to get any contaminates (water) out just incase.
I meant to tell you to do the work with a purge of nitrogen on a cheap HF manifold. BUt filter driers are CHEAP. get one before you take it to them. This is why Lightflyer1 wanted you to vac it down, but the reality is that the damage is done with in seconds of exposure. vacing it down is pointless right now. purging with nitrogen however is useful.

actually if your a CHEAP'O
take the filter dryer out, flush with acetone, let it dry out in the sun. put it in your oven at 150*F for 2 hours. this WILL drive off all moisture. cap off while its hot with some plugs or anything to keep air from rushing in. go to harbor fright, $30 manifold, go to airgas, $40 tank of small nitrogen on rental for $1 a month. purge your entire system with nitrogen and let it flow through the hose slowly as you install the dryer. Or do that same thing with a new dryer!

 

[Ivnx]

only if you sucked in the most humid air possible and left it for months, it might cause issues but the water, and air will boil off in seconds when the shop does it. its contaminants that cause longer vac times. no need to vac it down at all until the shop can do it. if you really cared, you would be purging the system with nitrogen, it dries out things. its logical to think that it might cause damage but it wont. i've been doing HVAC for ages now. i even have my esco Universal if that makes a difference lol
What DOES matter is you want to get a new Filter dryer installed. the one you have is garbage now. the moment air hits it, its trash. they should always be installed with nitrogen purge. all it is, is desiccant to get any contaminates (water) out just incase.
I meant to tell you to do the work with a purge of nitrogen on a cheap HF manifold. BUt filter driers are CHEAP. get one before you take it to them. This is why Lightflyer1 wanted you to vac it down, but the reality is that the damage is done with in seconds of exposure. vacing it down is pointless right now. purging with nitrogen however is useful.

actually if your a CHEAP'O
take the filter dryer out, flush with acetone, let it dry out in the sun. put it in your oven at 150*F for 2 hours. this WILL drive off all moisture. cap off while its hot with some plugs or anything to keep air from rushing in. go to harbor fright, $30 manifold, go to airgas, $40 tank of small nitrogen on rental for $1 a month. purge your entire system with nitrogen and let it flow through the hose slowly as you install the dryer. Or do that same thing with a new dryer!

Is a filter drier different from cabin air filter?
Would you recommend one for me to purchase before taking my car back to the shop later today?
.
.
.

that being said... if it takes me as long to take out my old filter dryer... I’ll pay the shop extra if it means I don’t have to pull a part out from my engine again like I had to yesterday lolollllllll

 

[MATPOC]

Is a filter drier different from cabin air filter?
Would you recommend one for me to purchase before taking my car back to the shop later today?

It's a round cylinder attached to your ac line, literally just a can of pellets that absorb moisture. We don't replace them unless system was left open for months. Amount of air that is in your system now is not enough to contaminate it.

 

[Mongler98]

It's a round cylinder attached to your ac line, literally just a can of pellets that absorb moisture. We don't replace them unless system was left open for months. Amount of air that is in your system now is not enough to contaminate it.

Incorrect. Albeit if you lived in a desert, maybe a day wont hurt much but desiccant will start absorbing instantly. Now you have moisture trapped in your system and it can leach out due to heat cycles. It's not permanently trapped depending on saturation.
Granted, 134a systems are not picky and have lots of forgiveness so sloppy techniques get away with it.

 

[MATPOC]

Yeah, I guess my ASE certified teachers were sloppy techs have not worked on cars in almost 20 years, but in my past life I had all the certifications, it's been a while, but I'm quite sure about the dryer replacement requirements, it's good for minimal air exposure, none of that nitrogen purge was ever mentioned. They are shipped with caps that are not even air tight, if you want to get technical, there is more air getting in to it prior to you buying and installing it than you might let in to the system when you evac and replace RCV

 

[AndyBees]

All things considered, I'd replace the Dryer at this point ............ (black death is no fun). Or, unless they let it stay on the Vacuum Pump for about 6 hours to remove all the moisture than more then likely entered the system while doing the RCV replacement, then that old Dryer may have a bit of life left in it ........ Dang, a new one is cheap insurance!

 

[Ivnx]

(black death is no fun)

As in mold???

 

[MATPOC]

It's not gonna cause mold.

 

[Mongler98]

Black death
Acid from a compressor failing from contaminants.

 

[oilhammer]

I've probably done several hundred RCVs. I've never, ever , replaced a drier (which is part of the condenser, and while they can be replaced, they don't like to come out). You do not have the system open long enough for that.

Also, to make the RCV easier to access, just remove the two bolts from the lower roll mount and rock the engine/trans UP in the back, bringing the front DOWN. It is a 5 minute job not including the evac/recharge.

 

[Ivnx]

*UPDATE

I am happy to report that I now have cold air going into the upcoming hot summer months

thanks everyone for the insight & support!
The only things left for me now are figuring out an airbag light (no previous accidents) and some light body and paint work (Will create a separate thread if I can’t find out on previous threads in this infertility community).

 

[AndyBees]

As in mold???

Do an Internet Search on AC Black Dead ............ it basically the result of too much moisture circulating in the system, among other things and circumstances!

 

[AndyBees]

*UPDATE

I am happy to report that I now have cold air going into the upcoming hot summer months

thanks everyone for the insight & support!
The only things left for me now are figuring out an airbag light (no previous accidents) and some light body and paint work (Will create a separate thread if I can’t find out on previous threads in this infertility community).

If you can Scan all the systems and delete Codes, the Air-bag light may go off. Low voltage, removing/replacing the battery, etc., can cause the light to come on! And, sometimes those codes can be stored in strange places other than the obvious.

 

[Ivnx]

Scan all the systems and delete Codes

Did this and the light went away lol. Thanks for the tip!

*edit 4/7/21

So the airbag light came back on today. The code reader is showing B101904 which after some searching online implies a rear passenger side crash sensor issue. Will create a new thread for this repair journey lol

 

[Ivnx]

So... sad update:

AC failed on me today... after a few wonderful airconditioned days, I turned the car on to find the AC did not blow warm air.
This time, however, I am seeing codes:
B10A911 - Activation AC compressor / short circuit to ground
B10ABF0 - Refrigerant pressure lower limit not reached.

sighhh lol. I'm guessing maybe the cheap RCV valve may have failed. Either that or I improperly installed the valve. A part of me thinks it may be due to old snap ring (except when I looked underneath, the snap ring and valve were still in place).

Any of your insights would be greatly appreciated.

For now, I will be going through the possible causes via info here: http://wiki.ross-tech.com/wiki/index.php/B10A9#Possible_Causes_2

 

[MATPOC]

I had weak AC and last owner told me it was never good, added about 6oz of 134a and it's blowing 32º I think, not a very hot day but all it needed was a charge...

 

[Ivnx]

I suspect a faulty RCV valve. Will know for sure this upcoming week.
*update*
So!

I ended up going through the procedure again, evacuated the system, took off the replacement valve, and recharged it again, and now it works! I suspect the shop may have overcharged the system, but for nowjust grateful to have ac again..