Those DIY A/C recharge kits at Walmart

[Rage232]

Anyone use one to refill their A4?

[Elliott]

Those kits (like 100% of everything else Walmart sells) is chinese garbage. If you need to recharge your A/C you obviously have a leak somewhere that needs to be addressed first.

[Rage232]

i don't have a leak... i haven't had a/c since i've replaced the water pump and timing belt b/c i removed an ac line...

Since you say they are: "chinese garbage" - should i assume you have used one and it didnt work?

Has anyone used one of these ??? if you HAVE NOT tried one, no need to post. k thanks.

[OneBadAudi]

Just used it. Even got the gauge from them and checked the pressure and it was perfect. Went to my buddys shop the next day to check pressure on their system and it was the same. Worked fine for me but i have heard of some saying the gauges sometimes are faulty. They will say their overcharged, or nothing in the system when its still cool but not freezing. Its nice if you are low, but not to fill the whole system. Get it evacuated and run new refrigerant. Good luck

[bigblue]

You should just have it recharged... if its empty chances are it needs the lubricant and everything as well... spent the $100 an get it done at the dealer.

[A4SoftWalker]

2nd vote for dealer my car is 8 years old and the AC is still ice cold - factory fill though. Far better than my BMW's system.

[Rage232]

Thanks guys - i'll take have to call up the dealer and get a quote... i'll post back and let ya know what they want. if you's say around $100, then i'm sure the dealer i have went to will charge at least $200.. agh man i hate them stealerships!

[CardFan]

It wasn't from wally world, but I just used a cheapo refill kit w/ gauge trying to figure out my a/c issues. The gauge said my pressure was fine as well. Took the car to a local shop since I couldn't figure out what was wrong and they said the r134 level was only half of what it should have been, so they evacuated and refilled. They also found no leaks. Maybe try a local Audi/VW shop (non-dealer) as well?

[n7plus1]

Get it done professionally.

[Gmoney]

I would go to the dealer as well. But if you choose to fill it yourself you can get the oil and r134 from an auto parts store and it would be the same just the equipment used to install it would be way nicer than a cheapo can. the only way I've gotten ac really cold on previous vehicles is by putting a high altitude orifice tube on when changing the compressor. a mechanic showed my that trick years ago and it is way cold when you do that. But that is not necessary with just a refill just thought I'd share the info.

[Rage232]

Hey guys, i haven't had a chance to come back and update this until now - but i took your advise and had it done professionally, but not at the audi dealer. $65 and the air is ICE cold!

[NetLogic]

You have no choice but to have some one else do it since it will have to be vacuumed then recharged because you disconnected it. Glad to see you have cold ac.

[imnuts]

Those kits (like 100% of everything else Walmart sells) is chinese garbage. If you need to recharge your A/C you obviously have a leak somewhere that needs to be addressed first.

This isn't generally true. Any air will leak out of any closed system over time. Nothing is completely impervious to leaking, even if it is fully sealed. If you get it recharged and a few days/weeks/months later it's not getting cold again, then something is wrong. If this is the first time it's being recharged and the car is an older B6, the A/C gets used frequently, or the car sat for an extended period without use, then it could be that over time, the coolant has just leaked out naturally and the system is just fine and needs refilled. I just got my A/C recharged at the dealer at the beginning of summer, likely the first time it's been done since the car was made, and the air is colder when I got my car (used).

[pimpbot]

I just did mine. Started the engine, put the temp on Low let the AC pressurize. Put on my safety glasses and hooked the goofy thing up. Gauge read pretty low. My AC was working, but not very well. My office is in a town that hits 100F on a regular basis, so yeah... I needed my AC to work it's best.

I emptied the whole can in there and the gauge went up to about halfway in the green, but not enough to correct for the 90F day around me. Still... an improvement. I'm going to hit the PepBoys on the way home for another can of R134a to finish it off.

I haven't driven the car around yet, but I can tell just parked here that the AC is blowing much colder.

Not bad for a $45 can of stuff. Much better than the $300 the dealer wanted to evacuate my AC, put dye in there, check for leaks, and then I'm sure they would have sold me a new compressor for a crapload of money (that I don't have). Hey, if it pisses down in a year or two (I've had the car for 1 1/2 years) I'll do it again.