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more on a/c leak, knee bolster not attached 850 1995



The A/C is cycling in my '95 850. A note in the engine bay says a dye has been added to the refrigerant. I've been thinking about getting the cryoseal stuff that was discussed recently to seal it. Previous notes (end of February, now scrolled off the end of the list) suggested at least finding the leak since a dye is already in there, especially by looking at the evap by removing the right knee bolster.

Once I figured out what a "knee bolster" is I discovered that on the right side 1 nut was finger tight, the other was not even finger tight. There were no nuts on the 2 left side screws. Couple questions: I figure there used to be at least 4 nuts holding the bolster on, right? Are there any besides those 4 (2 left front of bolster, 2 right front)? And, how much trim do I have to take off to get the bolster out? Any hints?

I just got the car in November, and it looks like I'm not the first person to be looking at the evap (previous looker didn't even put all the nuts back on). I don't believe it came from the factory like that. I guess I better get some replacement nuts since that bolster thing is part of the SIPS.

On the good side, there is pressure in the A/C. I pushed in the A/C schraeder charging valve for a sec (another suggestion from previous posts) and green goo shot out. So if/when I do get cryoseal I don't think I'll need a new dryer, since the refrigerant hasn't been completely run down and open to outside air/moisture.

One other thing:

I might just add a can of R-134 and see how long it lasts. Is there anything wrong with just adding it when needed, or can that lead to other damage (like the compressor oil eventually leaking out)?

Thx,

Terry









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    Re: more on a/c leak, knee bolster not attached 850 1995

    Before removing the knee bolster, be sure you have a black light or you might not see the leaking oil dye.

    There's 3 nuts that hold the knee bolster and they're very tight from the factory so apparently someone's previously removed yours and failed to tighten it as they're never loose otherwise.

    It comes out easier if you first remove the torques head screw that holds the right lower side of the dash to the body. Pull back the plastic cover (snaps off) and you'll see it. Then the lower corner of the dash can be pulled out enough to help remove that knee bolster. You'll still have to wrestle with it a little as they don't just fall out easily and re-installing it is also a bit tricky but not impossible.

    You'll then need to remove the blower motor resistor to directly see your evap and using a small mirror with the black light helps too. What we use is a small 12V directional, beam type black light lamp that's made just for seeing AC dye (not cheap) but any black light will work too (no special glasses needed either).

    I read before where someone said to look inside the AC drain tube for visable dye but in my experience, it's very rare where you'ld have that much dye making it that far as it'd take alot of dye leaking fast to make it that far. Most leaking evaps just leave residual spots on the lower part of the evap and sometimes can't be easily seen until the evap is removed.

    As for your health, I've so far not read "officially" that the slight amount of 134a slowly leaking to your interior can cause any "known" health problems (Disclaimer: no, doesn't mean that I think it's OK either). Realize that evap leaks are typically VERY slow and it'll lose 134a slowly. During that time lots of fresh air enters your cabin so it's not like you'ld be breathing an interior full of freon.








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    Re: more on a/c leak, knee bolster not attached 850 1995



    I'm not a doctor or chemist, but I cant image in would be healthy if it's leaking inside of the passenger cabin.








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