unclehotte Posted April 18, 2008 Report Share Posted April 18, 2008 Hello. My wifes Buick Regal, 1993 3.1 AC stopped working today. I used a bottle to charge the system, which made it work again, for a few minutes. Then it was empty again, so I have a leak. QUESTION: Since I know the compressor is NOT broken, can the car be driven WITHOUT using the AC till I get the car in the shop? Or is is already BAD that the belt turns the compressor when I drive the car without AC? Thanks for any advice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
93CutlassSupreme Posted April 18, 2008 Report Share Posted April 18, 2008 You can drive the car without freon in the system. When the freon pressure gets low the compressor clutch won't engage and the compressor pulley just spins freely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unclehotte Posted April 18, 2008 Author Report Share Posted April 18, 2008 Thank you for the advice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
93CutlassSupreme Posted April 18, 2008 Report Share Posted April 18, 2008 You're very welcome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dohc v6 Posted April 18, 2008 Report Share Posted April 18, 2008 I bet it does not matter though. If your A/C does not work I would almost put money on it that your compressor seals are shot. Meaning that either you rebuild the compressor or buy a new one. the lines in the A/C system do not go bad. Check the bottom of your compressor, if you can see a oily (sp) substance on it then its done. Good luck  Oh and you have a r-12 system. Might want to think about changing it over if you get it recharged. I know when I had my first lumina I thought that the system was just low, but I ended up getting the system switch over. A couple days later it was dry. I was happy to put a compressor in, but even happier that i only had to pay $80 to get a recharge, rather than $400. R-12 is not cheap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
93CutlassSupreme Posted April 18, 2008 Report Share Posted April 18, 2008 Not true. Â Â Evaporators and condensers leak much more often then compressors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shadow Posted April 18, 2008 Report Share Posted April 18, 2008 Yeah I just charged mine a few days ago and most of it has leaked out Old cars suck sometimes so I am not gonna put big money in this car to get it working again. I will search for some commercial grade stop leak or something. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
93CutlassSupreme Posted April 18, 2008 Report Share Posted April 18, 2008 Stop-Leak is nothing more than a band-aid and usually does more harm than good. Â I'd try some freon dye and actually try to find the leak however many parts of modern a/c systems especially the condenser and evaporator are very hard to access and obviously you have to see the dye to determine where the leak is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dohc v6 Posted April 18, 2008 Report Share Posted April 18, 2008 Thats not true actually. My father put stop leak in his 98 expo and it lasted 3 summers. Stop leak DOES work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
93CutlassSupreme Posted April 18, 2008 Report Share Posted April 18, 2008 ...sigh... Â Â Â Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dohc v6 Posted April 19, 2008 Report Share Posted April 19, 2008 I was just sayin,. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unclehotte Posted April 19, 2008 Author Report Share Posted April 19, 2008 Just to add, I did change the system to 134 a few years ago, when I lost all charge over the winter. I used the stop leak stuff and id DID last for 3 years....till now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
89SupremeCutty Posted April 20, 2008 Report Share Posted April 20, 2008 o-rings are probly shot shot where the lines come together near the condenser or near the condenser near the heater core. compressor is probly good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
19Cutlass94 Posted April 20, 2008 Report Share Posted April 20, 2008 get the UV R134 and get the glasses to do with it. Fill your system up with this and put the glasses on. then youll know where your system is leaking, instead of trying to guess where its leaking from. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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