Now I have a leak !!! 1998 Frontier

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Cusser
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Re: Now I have a leak !!! 1998 Frontier

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bohica2xo wrote:Still have the old hoses?
Rebuild them.
Yes, I still have the old hose, and I have considered that. It's the high pressure hose only.

I was wondering if there's a trick to get the hose fittings to seat completely? I guess I figured that would be a no-brainer...
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Re: Now I have a leak !!! 1998 Frontier

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AZ Auto Air in Chandler can rebuild your old hoses. Mention me and they should provide a discount.
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Cusser
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Re: Now I have a leak !!! 1998 Frontier

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Tim wrote:AZ Auto Air in Chandler can rebuild your old hoses. Mention me and they should provide a discount.
Thanks, I'll call them if it comes to that; perhaps we can arrange to do this while I wait, as it would be 40 miles away from me in NE Phoenix (right now truck is north of Prescott).
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Re: Now I have a leak !!! 1998 Frontier

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I have a new theory: the fan clutch could be faulty, causing higher pressures than optimal, caused the first pinhole. After the initial hose replacement the AC ran fine for 350 miles - but highway miles. When it leaked after that, Mrs. Cusser was idling/driving it around the arena at very slow speed, not enough to ram air over the condenser. So my theory is that the high pressure kept building up, and thus had to "find a place to leak out" eventually.

After start up, one can readily see that the fan blade is spinning slower than it should, and the blade failed the "rolled up newspaper stoppage test". It is a lifetime warranty fan clutch, and should be easy to replace using the special extra-long 10mm wrench I invented.

Anyway: fan clutch is bad, and I always say "fix first what you KNOW is bad".
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Re: Now I have a leak !!! 1998 Frontier

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It turns out that my fan clutch was 4 years old, installed the free replacement one from local O'Reilly store. The old fan clutch was definitely bad, maybe why the high pressure read so high this morning - could readily see that the fan blade was spinning slower than it should, and the fan blade failed the "rolled up newspaper stoppage test". So maybe the fan clutch was the underlying cause - time will tell.

I think this falls into line why the AC shut off a few times on Monday June 19th in the record heat - poor fan clutch caused high pressure safety to disengage the AC compressor. After that I discovered the pinhole, thought the pinhole was just due to trucks age/219K miles.

So the bad fan clutch may have accelerated the pinhole to happen. Anyway, new fan clutch spins much better, we'll need to try out that AC system in real life now, see if that O-ring holds; if not, then I'll go to that next step. I'll keep this thread updated as I find out more.
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Re: Now I have a leak !!! 1998 Frontier

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Cusser wrote:
bohica2xo wrote:Still have the old hoses?
Rebuild them.
Yes, I still have the old hose, and I have considered that. It's the high pressure hose only.

I was wondering if there's a trick to get the hose fittings to seat completely? I guess I figured that would be a no-brainer...
OK - finally GOT TO THE BOTTOM OF THIS !!!!
Cusser wrote:Leaked refrigerant through the O-ring seal at the compressor !!! It seems like this high pressure hose is only from one manufacturer, in China, sold at both Autozone and O'Reilly and others as different brand names like Murray or Four Seasons or Everco, all with same sticker with Texas address and stating made in China. This part has been discontinued through Nissan.
Cusser wrote:The issue is that I can't get the end fittings of the hose to fit into the recesses of the compressor and condenser 100% flush, there's like a 1/16-inch gap when I use a mirror and look, on the side opposite the bolt. So I think this will leak refrigerant again. The O-ring itself it NOT visible through this gap. I don't feel like trying to hammer on the fittings ends, plus access there is not so good.
Today, had to return to Phoenix to investigate an electric water heater leak discovered by my youngest daughter (it's at the top, may be a connection, but may need a new WH). Once there, I located my original AC line and matched it up to the 2nd AC line (one Murray from O'Reilly, one 4 Seasons/Everco from Autozone, same exact hose, same sticker with Texas address on the hose, even though made in China). The cylindrical fitting on the aftermarket fittings extends 14mm, yet the cylindrical fitting on the original Nissan unit extends just 9.5mm. My math skills tell me that's 4.5mm difference, a TON !!! I had already ground off about 2.5mm of the 1st aftermarket hose/fittings, but it looks like I was at least a full 2mm shy, no wonder these ends did not fit flush in the condenser or compressor !!! The O-ring looks to be in the same position on both, but I cannot believe that everyone is grinding these shorter. See photo:
Image

I don't know if the computer listing is wrong (hose is correct length and metal parts the same shape as the original Nissan) just the cylindrical metal protrudes too far, or if someone botched it during set-up in China. Anyways, I cannot be the first person to have this issue, I'll be calling 4 Seasons/Murray tomorrow.

The 4 Seasons web site does list #56134 as the correct discharge hose assembly for the 1998 Frontier...

I don't know whether to let it just run fine (like on the 225 mile trip today) until it "might" spew out someday through the O-ring, or be proactive and remove the hose assembly and grind both ends down even further to match the original assembly so it will fit flush and re-evacuate and re-fill.....
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Re: Now I have a leak !!! 1998 Frontier

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Yeah, trim that fitting to OEM length.

Sometimes the aftermarket misses. That fitting should sit flush - or the clamp & fitting have a bending load on them.

.
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Re: Now I have a leak !!! 1998 Frontier

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bohica2xo wrote:Yeah, trim that fitting to OEM length.
Sometimes the aftermarket misses. That fitting should sit flush - or the clamp & fitting have a bending load on them.
So you feel that I should open it up and fix the ends, even though it's working great now?

I have vacuum pump and gauge set here, but no recovery equipment.
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Re: Now I have a leak !!! 1998 Frontier

Post by bohica2xo »

I thought you had it apart.

If it is sealed up & working, I guess you should be ok.

With aftermarket parts on older stuff this sort of thing is common. Ford used a long snout on a fitting that was cut away at the end so that it indexed in the compressor Aftermarket hoses have a short snout that can be installed at any clocking.

Just have to closely compare parts for our older stuff before installing. It took me several tries to get all of the correct brake hardware for my 1965 Barracuda. Raybestos lists several kits, and if you buy 3 different part numbers you can build a correct kit.

.
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Re: Now I have a leak !!! 1998 Frontier

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bohica2xo wrote:I thought you had it apart.

If it is sealed up & working, I guess you should be ok.
Nope, it's all put back together and the AC blew nice and cold in 112F yesterday, well over 200 miles driving. I realize that if it blows through that O-ring someday I risk the unknown of how much oil gets lost, but I've already had one such "blow out", and I added back about 3.5 oz. of PAG 100.

All three reviews on Amazon were positive, no comments about the ends not fitting. I called Murray/4 Seasons this morning and talked to their technical rep, he said that I was the FIRST person to bring this to their attention (I wonder if there was some early-year change by Nissan?). I asked if grinding down the ends shorter would be a decent idea, and he said Murray/4 Seasons could not "recommend" grinding down, but probably what he would do if there was no correct fitting hose available, or get the original hose repaired by a specialty shop. When I asked if Murray/4 Seasons also is the supplier to NAPA and CarQuest, he was unable to state specifically due to business reasons, but said that likely Murray supplies everybody.


So I win, I'm the very first to have this issue apparently !!!
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