Advice Needed: Air Conditioner

D

Debbie Rooth

New Member
I have a 1993 Toyota extra-cab, 4 wheel drive, automatic that I bought new in Fall, 1992. This wonderful truck has only 160K miles on it. The problem is my air-conditioner. It sux. I live in TN and the summers here are hot and wet. My truck's a/c just can't keep up. When I come to a stop, it starts pumping out hot air, but when I'm rolling, it's fine. Lots of folks are telling me to get rid of this truck. I have a reliable repairman who has done everything possible to fix it, but nothing works. I'm just a lady who isn't mechanical, so I don't know what's the smart thing to do. Sell it? Dang, I'd miss it. Would it be possible for a dealership to truly fix this 25 year old a/c and replace the compressor, etc.? Would that be a stupid waste of money? I just wanted some opinions.... Thanks in advance for your advice!
 
Debbie Rooth said:
I have a 1993 Toyota extra-cab, 4 wheel drive, automatic that I bought new in Fall, 1992. This wonderful truck has only 160K miles on it. The problem is my air-conditioner. It sux. I live in TN and the summers here are hot and wet. My truck's a/c just can't keep up. When I come to a stop, it starts pumping out hot air, but when I'm rolling, it's fine. Lots of folks are telling me to get rid of this truck. I have a reliable repairman who has done everything possible to fix it, but nothing works. I'm just a lady who isn't mechanical, so I don't know what's the smart thing to do. Sell it? Dang, I'd miss it. Would it be possible for a dealership to truly fix this 25 year old a/c and replace the compressor, etc.? Would that be a stupid waste of money? I just wanted some opinions.... Thanks in advance for your advice!
Click to expand...

First off, welcome to the forum. That’s awesome that you’ve still got your Toyota truck from ‘92. Those were the trucks that made the dependability name Toyota still uses today.
The big question is how was your AC when you bought the truck? If it sucked when stopped in 1992 then it probably isn’t going to be great now or get any better. But if you’re on the same compressor from 25 years ago than it is probably getting a little worn and having trouble keeping up. It boils down to: how much do you love your truck? Enough to throw money into a compressor and keep fixing it? Or do you want to take on a new truck?
In my opinion if the truck still ran well and the body was good I’d throw a little bit of money in it to keep it going.
 
It’s not that expensive to have a shop or the dealer check the system. Sounds like your reliable repairman was able to do that so what was the diagnosis? Or was he just replacing stuff and nothing has worked yet? What did he replace or repair so far?
Did he recharge the system?
Cheap easy checks and fixes:
Check your vents that they are opening and closing correctly?
Check fuses related to the system?
Check and replace cabin air filter?
 
Thank you for the input! Yes, he's recharged it multiple times. No issue with fuses, vents are good, cabin air filter good, It does seem to be the compressor. When he attaches the cable and pressure gauge, he's said it isn't performing like it should. He's said that's real expensive to replace. I've been told that when I'm sitting in traffic (not moving), to put it into park and give it some gas and that will keep "something" moving to keep me cooler. I just don't know if it's smart to put $1K -$2K -$3K into the a/c repair? The truck is mechanically sound otherwise. Could use a paint job, but that's way down my list of priorities.

OR17TRD said:
It’s not that expensive to have a shop or the dealer check the system. Sounds like your reliable repairman was able to do that so what was the diagnosis? Or was he just replacing stuff and nothing has worked yet? What did he replace or repair so far?
Did he recharge the system?
Cheap easy checks and fixes:
Check your vents that they are opening and closing correctly?
Check fuses related to the system?
Check and replace cabin air filter?
Click to expand...
 
Wow, such quick replies! Thanks for jumping in! Yes, this truck has been amazing. If I do end up getting another vehicle, it will be a Toyota, but probably not a truck. When I first bought my truck, I lived in CA, so I never had to deal with humidity and the a/c was just fine. I think the move to TN 4 years ago, with our summer heat/wet, has put a strain on the aging system. This is the original compressor. Do you think that replacing it would make it better? My repair guy has not told me that, mainly because I think he wants to buy my truck from me, LOL. Guys stop me at gas stations and ask if I want to sell it. I guess it couldn't hurt to ask Toyota what they could do for me, and how much $$ they'd charge. I just hope I can find a dealership that (1) won't rip me off, and (2) has repair people who know anything about the '93 truck. Thanks again!

Bogunn said:
First off, welcome to the forum. That’s awesome that you’ve still got your Toyota truck from ‘92. Those were the trucks that made the dependability name Toyota still uses today.
The big question is how was your AC when you bought the truck? If it sucked when stopped in 1992 then it probably isn’t going to be great now or get any better. But if you’re on the same compressor from 25 years ago than it is probably getting a little worn and having trouble keeping up. It boils down to: how much do you love your truck? Enough to throw money into a compressor and keep fixing it? Or do you want to take on a new truck?
In my opinion if the truck still ran well and the body was good I’d throw a little bit of money in it to keep it going.
Click to expand...
 
Debbie Rooth said:
Wow, such quick replies! Thanks for jumping in! Yes, this truck has been amazing. If I do end up getting another vehicle, it will be a Toyota, but probably not a truck. When I first bought my truck, I lived in CA, so I never had to deal with humidity and the a/c was just fine. I think the move to TN 4 years ago, with our summer heat/wet, has put a strain on the aging system. This is the original compressor. Do you think that replacing it would make it better? My repair guy has not told me that, mainly because I think he wants to buy my truck from me, LOL. Guys stop me at gas stations and ask if I want to sell it. I guess it couldn't hurt to ask Toyota what they could do for me, and how much $$ they'd charge. I just hope I can find a dealership that (1) won't rip me off, and (2) has repair people who know anything about the '93 truck. Thanks again!
Click to expand...

It’s worth getting it looked at with a reputable shop. Getting it diagnosed with someone that knows what they’re doing. Like OR17TRD said, it isn’t that expensive to get a diagnosis. And it also doesn’t hurt to have more than one shop to diagnose it to compare prices and findings. So you don’t get ripped off.
 
Welcome to the forum, alot of your A/C's performance hinges on maintenance, this would be yearly or bi-yearly service, Any ac system needs unfettered air flow, cabin filters are notorious for gathering dirt & need to be changed, if you don't then the coil clogs with dirt & reduces air flow, this alone will diminish cooling capacity....
 
Ha ! New car prep strikes again, people be amazed how many diffs out there that are dry, trans with low fluid, no wiper fluid, ya pay big $$$ for that prep ****, not just toyota tho'... they all bad...
 
Debbie Rooth said:
Thank you for the input! Yes, he's recharged it multiple times. No issue with fuses, vents are good, cabin air filter good, It does seem to be the compressor. When he attaches the cable and pressure gauge, he's said it isn't performing like it should. He's said that's real expensive to replace. I've been told that when I'm sitting in traffic (not moving), to put it into park and give it some gas and that will keep "something" moving to keep me cooler. I just don't know if it's smart to put $1K -$2K -$3K into the a/c repair? The truck is mechanically sound otherwise. Could use a paint job, but that's way down my list of priorities.
Click to expand...

I just actually read this & let me hit a few issues... If he's charged a few times , this is simple, you have a leak somewhere, do a dye test in a competent shop, a compressor can't be labeled as "bad" if there's no refridgerant in system to compress (because of said leak) Refridgerants don't dissipate out of compressor, they leak out...
 
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