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Dodge Dakota
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9/05/2006
10:41:49
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 Subject: AC/Heater Core issu
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Message:
2000 Dakota 4x4. 3.9l V6. Manual Transmission.
About 3 weeks ago, my AC stopped working. The vents blew nothing but very hot air. The last few years, but not this year, I had always needed to recharge the AC with a can or two of freon at the start of summer. I had never been able to find the source of the leak but given how small it was, I wasn't looking all that hard, either.
I grabbed a can of freon that was waiting in the garage and tried to charge the system. Immediately, the line that is between the firewall and the expansion valve frosted over. Figuring that it just filled too fast, I let the vehicle sit for an hour or so, to thaw the line, then tried to test it again. The AC still blew hot air and the line refroze. I figured that the expansion valve had a blockage and needed to be replaced.
As I rolled back into the house from an errand later that day, I noticed a puddle under where the truck normally sat. Coolant. The radiator was clean, but the overflow drain in the firewall was dripping. I figured this meant the heater core had popped a leak, and I was right.
I took the truck to a friend in town who repairs vehicles out of his garage. He pulled the dash and repaired the heater core. I told him to ignore the AC since I knew it was that expansion valve and could fix that on my own.
I got the truck back and put another can of freon in the system, which promptly leaked out as fast as I could put it in. I am unable to find a leak under the hood and there is nothing leaking from anywhere I can tell. This leads me to believe that there was some kind of waterfall failure around the heat pump, that either the AC dying broke the heat pump or the other way around.
Has anyone else seen an issue like this? Since fall is rapidly approaching, and I don't feel like having someone pull the dash a second time to check it, does anyone have a suggestion as to what might be the problem?
Thanks!
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