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The air conditioning didn't work when we bought the van. To be honest I never thought we would fix it. Well it turns out we take far more road trips in the van than I originally anticipated. It is just hard to beat all the extra space you have in the van versus the Edge. Imagine a passenger trying to change a diaper while cruising down the highway. In the Edge this is not possible. In the van, no problem. The only problem with the van is the lack of AC leading to uncomfortable and loud trips with the windows down.
So after much debate, my wife and I decided it was worth it to fix the AC in the van. The only problem is that we still didn't know what was broken. Not only that but there are enough specialty tools required to service the AC that I didn't even attempt to do it myself. I knew the system was not pressurized so there must be a leak but beyond that, I didn't know what was wrong.
We found a place in Denver called Maxair that guarenteed that they would pinpoint the problem with a $75 diagnostics fee, waived if you had them perform the repair. I was willing to pay $75 to find out the root problem so I took it in. They pressureized the system with some dye and found that it was the compressor that was leaking.
They replaced the compressor, orifice tube, o-rings, cleaned and refilled the system with 4 lbs of R134A, the currently legal refrigerant. Best of all, the rear AC unit was retained.
I did not have high hopes for how well the van would cool off. I had read that even brand new it was a poor performing AC system and that switching over to R134A didn't help any. Well maybe my standards are lower from having driving the van for so long with any AC but I think it works well. It certainly keeps the driver and front passenger cold. It remains to be seen how well it cools the rear of the van but so far I am impressed.
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