R134 capacity ?

[Maxima SE]

I would like to evacuate and refill my refrigerant. I vaguely remember from M3F that the capacity was different for the E46 M3 throughout the production years. Unfortunately I do not have the luxury of looking under the hood for the sticker as my car came with a vorsteiner hood and the sticker is no longer there. Is there any way to verify the capacity by VIN or other information? Can anyone with a 2005 tell me what their fill capacity is?

According to this link, the capacity is different as well. Look under M series: https://ricksfreeautorepairadvice.co...rant-oil-type/

M series:
2006 6 Cyl. 3.2 Eng. – 26.10 Oz. R-134a
2004-05 6 Cyl. 3.2 Eng. – 26.00 Oz.
2002-03 6 Cyl. 3.2 Eng. – 26.00 Oz. R-134a
2001 6 Cyl. 3.2 Eng. – 36.00 Oz. R-134a

Would you guys verify with your own car if the above information is correct? perhaps we can compile this data and I can make a DIY when I do this on my E46 M3. I have done it once on a Subaru and it was fairly straight forward using the service manual. Autozone rents all the necessary tools for free and R134 is dirt cheap.

[Inizes]

I may make a separate thread on this if I don’t see a response. I have noticed that I get semi cold air blowing out on driver side, but lukewarm-warm air on passenger side when driving. Do I just need a recharge or is something more going on?

edit: spoke to a friend who was a BMW tech for a while, pretty classic BMW symptom of needing a recharge.

[COVID-19]

Let me check my neighbors sticker he has an 05 lol

[Tbonem3]

Driver side vents get priority, so as your conditioning fails, you'll notice warmer air out the far right passenger vent first, then center.

I have to recharge my system (with one of those cheap cans from the parts store) every other year. Probably could do a dye and do it right, but I can't be arsed.

[Maxima SE]

Driver side vents get priority, so as your conditioning fails, you'll notice warmer air out the far right passenger vent first, then center.

I have to recharge my system (with one of those cheap cans from the parts store) every other year. Probably could do a dye and do it right, but I can't be arsed.

The recharge cans work but the problem is that you're introducing air into the system which is bad on the long run and more importantly, the pressure reading on those recharge cans is never accurate and you may over-pressurize the system and cause a leak somewhere. From what I have read, the system is always filled by weight and not by pressure. To do it correctly you must remove the old R134, create a vacuum and then fill with the correct amount of 134, which is what Im trying to do as I'm super anal lol. The hardest part IMO is being responsible about evacuating the system.

[jbfrancis3]

I've messed with the cans and DIY stuff on several vehicles, including BMWs and non-BMWs. My view is now that you get far better performance and longevity with evacuation and recharge on proper equipment. And yes, you should be responsible on disposal - we are all in this together.

[ATB88]

Yeah this is something where I think it's best to just swallow the $200 and have it done properly by a shop that has all the right equipment and knows exactly how much to put into your system.

[Maxima SE]

I've messed with the cans and DIY stuff on several vehicles, including BMWs and non-BMWs. My view is now that you get far better performance and longevity with evacuation and recharge on proper equipment. And yes, you should be responsible on disposal - we are all in this together.

Yes I agree.

Yeah this is something where I think it's best to just swallow the $200 and have it done properly by a shop that has all the right equipment and knows exactly how much to put into your system.

Autozone rents the equipment for free which is just a pump and the manifold gauge set. The only thing you pay for is about $15 worth of R134. I used to think it is very complicated but it is actually very straight forward. I have done it before and it took 30 minutes. Sure some people may be more comfortable just paying the $200. But I like to do things myself which makes it easier on the wallet to have more toys in the garage.

[terra]

Yes I agree.



Autozone rents the equipment for free which is just a pump and the manifold gauge set. The only thing you pay for is about $15 worth of R134. I used to think it is very complicated but it is actually very straight forward. I have done it before and it took 30 minutes. Sure some people may be more comfortable just paying the $200. But I like to do things myself which makes it easier on the wallet to have more toys in the garage.

Trouble is capturing the existing refrigerant, which you're technically supposed to do.

[timmo]

Driver side vents get priority, so as your conditioning fails, you'll notice warmer air out the far right passenger vent first, then center.

I have to recharge my system (with one of those cheap cans from the parts store) every other year. Probably could do a dye and do it right, but I can't be arsed.

Yeah I'm the exact same. I suspect I have a small leak somewhere, but it's only $20 for the 1 can I need every year. Not the proper way to do it, but $20/year is cheaper than actually finding the leak and repairing it

[Tbonem3]

The recharge cans work but the problem is that you're introducing air into the system which is bad on the long run and more importantly, the pressure reading on those recharge cans is never accurate and you may over-pressurize the system and cause a leak somewhere. From what I have read, the system is always filled by weight and not by pressure. To do it correctly you must remove the old R134, create a vacuum and then fill with the correct amount of 134, which is what Im trying to do as I'm super anal lol. The hardest part IMO is being responsible about evacuating the system.

Ya I don't shoot much into the system with those cheap cans.

One day I'll delete ac or I'll pay to have it properly evac/filled.

I've been doing this on e36/e46 for 17 years now no probs.

My 1999 civic still blows cold, never been touched

[ATB88]

Yes I agree.



Autozone rents the equipment for free which is just a pump and the manifold gauge set. The only thing you pay for is about $15 worth of R134. I used to think it is very complicated but it is actually very straight forward. I have done it before and it took 30 minutes. Sure some people may be more comfortable just paying the $200. But I like to do things myself which makes it easier on the wallet to have more toys in the garage.

Yeah, I tried to do it that way and still somehow failed and ended up overfilling it. One advantage taking it to a shop over the Autozone rental route is that their machines can accurately measure the actual mass of refrigerant in your system (and it's specced by mass) instead of guessing based on pressure measurement and a possibly incorrect assumption that the refrigerant is the only thing in your system. But to each their own for the money, as long as you're not venting refrigerant to atmosphere.

[Pnick]

Well, to do it right as mentioned you have to evacuate and recover. Under the same breath, when recharging...the refrigerant container must sit on a weighing machine to track how much refrigerant is going into your system by weight not by saying 15lb can and charge until empty.

Did my 05 the can+sealer way twice until the leak stopped and it was good for 7-years until I recently totaled my car. AC was so cold even on high 90s low 100s summer days here in Fl I had to turn the shit off just so my fingers don't freeze.

[Icecream]

I would like to evacuate and refill my refrigerant. I vaguely remember from M3F that the capacity was different for the E46 M3 throughout the production years. Unfortunately I do not have the luxury of looking under the hood for the sticker as my car came with a vorsteiner hood and the sticker is no longer there. Is there any way to verify the capacity by VIN or other information? Can anyone with a 2005 tell me what their fill capacity is?

According to this link, the capacity is different as well. Look under M series: https://ricksfreeautorepairadvice.co...rant-oil-type/

M series:
2006 6 Cyl. 3.2 Eng. – 26.10 Oz. R-134a
2004-05 6 Cyl. 3.2 Eng. – 26.00 Oz.
2002-03 6 Cyl. 3.2 Eng. – 26.00 Oz. R-134a
2001 6 Cyl. 3.2 Eng. – 36.00 Oz. R-134a

Would you guys verify with your own car if the above information is correct? perhaps we can compile this data and I can make a DIY when I do this on my E46 M3. I have done it once on a Subaru and it was fairly straight forward using the service manual. Autozone rents all the necessary tools for free and R134 is dirt cheap.

You can go either way, I have used the cans before with good results but they are finicky sometimes. The first time I did it with great results. There is a very tiny leak so I had to charge again and it didn't work as well the second time, I added some oil too and a full can of refrigerant and still wasn't very cool. At this point I had lost track completely of what was in the system and the pressure was high so I stopped and had it professionally recharged the other day.
It had .5lbs in it when the charge started (wasn't really blowing cold at this point) and machine emptied, did a leak test (non detected apparently) and charged with 1.6lbs. Blows very nice now
Honestly, if the leak is very slow (or you have lost track of the amount of R134 in it), a professional charge is the way to go.

[Cubieman]

These items have payed for themselves many times over. But I've got an old WJ Jeep thats my daily and that sucker used to leak ALL the time. Got tired of doing the cans with the gauge.

https://www.harborfreight.com/25-cfm-vacuum-pump-61245.html

https://www.harborfreight.com/ac-r134a-manifold-gauge-set-62707.html