Got My A/C Fixed!
By Jeff Moffitt
@moffittjc (121487)
Gainesville, Florida
May 15, 2024 4:39pm CST
...in my truck.
It stopped blowing cold air about 5 years ago due to a freon leak in the coil. I had asked the dealership where I get my truck serviced how much it would cost to repair my A/C, and they said about $2000, most of which was labor charges (in order to get to my compressor where the leak is they would have to take out my dashboard on the inside of my truck). Not worth the cost to me. So I've been without A/C for the past 5 years. And in our brutal Florida summers, that's no small feat.
Anyway, I was talking to a guy recently, and he asked me if my leak was a slow leak over time, or a quick leak. I told him it was a slow leak. He then told me they make a stop-leak product for A/Cs that have slow leaks.
What????? Why didn't anyone tell me this? I could have been driving around in comfort all this time!
Anyway, there's this kid at work (he's a kid to me, but probably in his mid-20s) who is studying and training to be an auto mechanic. Apparently everyone at work has been using him to fix things on their vehicles, and he's done a great job. So I approached him about putting stop-leak in my A/C and re-charging it with freon. When I asked him how much he would charge, he said he would do it for free, because he is trying to gain experience right now. He even said he had lots of cans of freon and wouldn't even charge me for them.
He was hesitant about putting stop-leak in my system, so I told him let's just re-charge it and see how long it blows cold air. He told me if it lasts about a month or two before running out of freon, he would just keep adding more for free for me, but if it only goes a couple of weeks, then he'll put some stop-leak in.
Anyway, my A/C is back to blowing freezing cold air, and it is now a pleasure to drive again!
With summer approaching, you don't know how excited I am to have a working A/C again in my truck.
19 people like this
18 responses
@AmbiePam (91720)
• United States
15 May
That’s awesome! I couldn’t have done 5 years, but then I also couldn’t have done $2,000. You know some deluded woman from a European country that shall not be named, told me Americans were spoiled for having air conditioners in their vehicles? I told her she must not have lived in a place where it can get to 110 degrees Fahrenheit. She had no idea what real heat is!
3 people like this
@AmbiePam (91720)
• United States
15 May
@moffittjc She’s been gone quite awhile. She’s nuts if she thinks when it’s 100 degrees, and it’s raining outside, we’d be fine with no air. Not in Oklahoma, and not in Florida.
2 people like this
@moffittjc (121487)
• Gainesville, Florida
15 May
Is that delusional European woman still around on myLot? I haven't seen her hear in quite a long while.
So what if us Americans are spoiled and have A/C in our vehicles! If we have the means to do it, then there's nothing wrong with enjoying some creature comforts in our vehicles! Why is that a bad thing?
2 people like this
@moffittjc (121487)
• Gainesville, Florida
15 May
@AmbiePam Yeah, clearly she's never had to experience our brutal summers!
2 people like this
@Juliaacv (50953)
• Canada
16 May
@moffittjc My last car had the bad habit of losing freon also, we had to get it recharged every couple of years.
2 people like this
@moffittjc (121487)
• Gainesville, Florida
16 May
@Juliaacv Every couple of years is not too bad, at least not quite as bad as me probably having to replace my freon every couple of weeks or months.
2 people like this
@moffittjc (121487)
• Gainesville, Florida
15 May
That's exactly what I thought. I have nothing to lose. And the nice thing is that I will keep track of the number of days it takes for the freon to leak all the way out again, so I know what I'm up against in the future. I really don't need A/C in the fall or winter, so I'll be happy if I can make it through the summer months without having to add freon again.
2 people like this
@snowy22315 (179489)
• United States
16 May
I can only imagine. I need some freon too..but luckily that is all it needs.
2 people like this
@snowy22315 (179489)
• United States
16 May
@moffittjc I am sure it will be better than 2000 whatever you have to do.
2 people like this
@moffittjc (121487)
• Gainesville, Florida
16 May
@snowy22315 I don’t mind paying $20 or so every couple months to have cold A/C. That’s a small price to pay for summer comfort.
2 people like this
@moffittjc (121487)
• Gainesville, Florida
16 May
I never realized freon was so cheap, so even if my leak is worse than I thought, it won't be too expensive to just keep adding more freon every now and then.
2 people like this
@LadyDuck (470492)
• Switzerland
19 May
@moffittjc All types of business do the same. My mower did not work because the small rubber push button was broken. The local store announced that the repair could have been between $ 150 and $ 180.
I watched a YouTube video "how to replace the button" I ordered one through Amazon, I paid $ 10 and I received 3 buttons from China!
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (121487)
• Gainesville, Florida
18 May
You are right, the garages want to keep us coming back time and time again so they can keep overcharging us for simple and cheap repairs that we could probably do ourselves.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (121487)
• Gainesville, Florida
25 May
@LadyDuck I love the fact that we can learn how to do just about anything from watching videos on YouTube. I've been watching videos for various things I need to fix on my vehicle, that would only cost me a few dollars to fix myself versus hundreds or thousands of dollars to take to a mechanic to fix.
1 person likes this
@RasmaSandra (79236)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
15 May
Glad you got it fixed, Soon we will have the tropical heat and I am set in my workroom by my PC with AC and a fan blowing on me,
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (121487)
• Gainesville, Florida
15 May
It's already a scorcher in Gainesville, and summer is not even here yet. I am not looking forward to this summer, they are already suggesting it could be a record-setting one with the heat.
1 person likes this
@RasmaSandra (79236)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
15 May
@moffittjc for me that means grabbing onto my four pronged cane getting down the three blocks to the ocean and throwing myself in and then after cooling off coming back home and probably I will dry out on the way
2 people like this
@moffittjc (121487)
• Gainesville, Florida
15 May
@RasmaSandra Wow, only 3 blocks from the ocean. I would craw there on my belly if it meant enjoying a cool swim in the ocean!
2 people like this
@moffittjc (121487)
• Gainesville, Florida
16 May
I know right! It was horrible. I was a hot, sweaty mess.
How are you? I miss you.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (121487)
• Gainesville, Florida
16 May
@Fa_Maverick I just miss interacting with my favorite Australian! So…catch me up on what you’ve been up to these past few months!
1 person likes this
@Fa_Maverick (9486)
• Australia
16 May
@moffittjc ewh, gross... Sticky...
I miss you too!
I am good, sat at work on my lunch break at the moment. Back to phone queue soon. Wonder if anyone here misses my science-medicalness rants
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (121487)
• Gainesville, Florida
15 May
So they are going to fix your A/C while you are there? How hot is it right now in Oregon?
We're going to soar into the mid-90s this week, with a heat index of about 105.
1 person likes this
@jstory07 (139308)
• Roseburg, Oregon
16 May
@moffittjc It was 80F during the day and 67F right now at midnight.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (121487)
• Gainesville, Florida
18 May
@jstory07 Those temperatures sound amazing! We’re lucky if we get down to 80 at night! Lol
@wolfgirl569 (104992)
• Marion, Ohio
15 May
Glad you have it working again. We never use the AC
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (121487)
• Gainesville, Florida
15 May
I wish I could get acclimated to the heat enough to never desire A/C, but I guess that's not in the cards for this guy. I love cold air too much!
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (121487)
• Gainesville, Florida
16 May
I don't know how the early inhabitants to the state were able to survive. No A/C, lots of bugs, and nothing but swamp land for as far as the eye could see.
@JESSY3236 (19862)
• United States
21 May
That's great. My mother's car once had no a/c in it. I didn't like that.
1 person likes this
@Deepizzaguy (101875)
• Lake Charles, Louisiana
15 May
I am happy for you that your air condition in your truck is working once again.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (121487)
• Gainesville, Florida
15 May
We're already getting into the mid to upper 90s here in north Florida. Has it gotten that hot for you in Lake Charles yet?
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (121487)
• Gainesville, Florida
18 May
@Deepizzaguy Haha that’s about what our lows are.
1 person likes this
@Deepizzaguy (101875)
• Lake Charles, Louisiana
16 May
@moffittjc It is around the middle 80s for the high temperatures.
1 person likes this
@LindaOHio (176200)
• United States
16 May
I couldn't have waited that long for AC in FL. I'm glad your AC is working again. That kid is a lifesaver. Have a good day.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (121487)
• Gainesville, Florida
16 May
I think my only saving grace was that I drove to work in the early mornings when it was still relatively tolerable outside, and came home late in the evenings. I didn’t care how much I sweated on the drive home from work, because I would just shower when I got home.
1 person likes this
@Scarred4Lyfe (571)
•
15 May
You silly Hoomins. I always go outside into teh heat when mai Hoomin turns his ac on in teh houws.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (121487)
• Gainesville, Florida
15 May
Just rub it in why don't you! I tried over the last 5 years to become acclimated to the heat, and it didn't work. I would have never survived as an early settler.
1 person likes this
@MarieCoyle (36486)
•
16 May
Florida, in the summer, with NO AC in your vehicle??
And you survived 5 years of that torture? After that, you can survive anything. Florida heat in the summer is beyond terrible, at least it is to me. I hope the fix works!!
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (121487)
• Gainesville, Florida
16 May
Trust me, summers in Florida are about as brutal as they come. I don’t know how I survived without A/C. But somehow I did. And I’m not going to lie, there were summer days when I would strap ice packs on me when I had to drive in the heat of the day.
@kaylachan (68231)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
16 May
I'm glad you have something that works. I hope you don't need the stop leak.
@just4him (317012)
• Green Bay, Wisconsin
16 May
I'm glad you got the A/C fixed in your truck. The price is right too. He'll gain experience and you will have cold air in your truck. It's a win/win.