dan2race

Can I recharge the air conditioning system myself like I could my other cars? I've got a '01 A4 1.8T. I have the complete kit with gauges, all I need is a fresh can ot the refrigerant/sealant. Or does it require a professional to do the job?

JAFO

imo yes you should be all set.

mack12v

Its a bit more difficult than on other vehicles.

Most cars you charge through the "low side" port with the vehicle on. Ours you charge through the high side port with the engine and A/C OFF. This last part is very important. The high side pressure is over 200 psi when the A/C is going, and if you hook a bottle of refrigerant to it with the A/C running you _will_ hurt yourself.

A pro would fill it with a bottle heater on their refrigerant tank, with the tank on a scale so they can measure the exact charge.

A pro would also pump down the system with a vacuum pump prior to charging the system, to rid it of any moisture.

You'll want to replace the receiver/drier when the system has been open to the atmosphere at all, meaning if there's a leak or if you've replaced parts.

Why do you need to recharge the system anyways? Is there a leak? Has it been fixed? Are you sure your compressor isnt dead? (common problem)

I've done this all myself, with a rented vacuum pump and a bottle of refrigerant in warm water, but it isn't for the faint of heart =)

Duderino201

I charged it through the low side with the A/C running just like any other car when I did it. I rented the vacuum pump from Autozone and used some gauges that I already had. Mine is a '98 1.8T Don't know if that's any different than the '01.

My problem was a clogged expansion valve. My gauges were reading a high high pressure and a low low pressure and the compressor seemed to be operating normally but warm air would come out of the vents. I believe my compressor is going out though, there was this black stuff clogging up the expansion valve. I just cleaned it up and put a new one in and recharged the system. My AC is ICE cold now and has been working like it was when it was new for about a month. I plan on driving it like this until the compressor completely goes out on me. For $25 in freon a $4 expansion valve and about an hour of my time it was worth it even if I only get one more summer ouf of it. Especially living in Arizona, I really needed the A/C working.

Just a side note, your supposed to replace the receiver/drier if you open the system, but I tend to do things the ghetto way.

Hope this helps out, just wanted to share my experience with it since I was pretty surprised on how easy it was and how well it's working for the time being.