Air conditioning upgradeable?

D

derek_flint

Member
Good day all,

Silly question I know but will ask anyway. I have a leak in my system which I will be getting fixed soon. I have a 2015 trail edition. Been very happy with the truck , but I find in really hot weather when the truck was brand new AC had a hard time keeping up. My truck is black on black so I know that is a factor. Any way to upgrade the system since I am getting probably a new condenser?
 
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derek_flint said:
Good day all,

Silly question I know but will ask anyway. I have a leak in my system which I will be getting fixed soon. I have a 2015 trail edition. Been very happy with the truck , but I find in really hot weather when the truck was brand new AC had a hard time keeping up. My truck is black on black so I know that is a factor. Any way to upgrade the system since I am getting probably a new condenser?
Click to expand...

not sure there is but I've wondered about upgrading to a stronger fan motor before. Current fan isnt the best but seems like it could be possible.
 
there is no way to upgrade the vehicles AC system. you need qualified and knowledge people to properly fix the AC system. the leak needs to be fixed. if it is coming from the compressor then replace the compressor as well as you noted. it needs to also be refilled to spec and done properly using the expensive machines or it will not last. you can easily check the performance of the cars AC using the chart in the attached article by finding the current ambient humidity and temperature when you are testing (the chart is in the article). the vehicle will not be able to cool down as efficiently and get as cold when it's hotter and more humid out. upgrading the blower motor is not going to improve your AC cooling ability. it will just move the air faster


How temperature and humidity affect the car's AC performance.
 
I have a white 4R with black interior and it doesn't seem to have a problem cooling. I can say that using a cabin air filter from Autozone may make a difference.

I cheaped out and bought an AZ cabin air filter, and noticed that the filter is not only lighter, but thinner than the OEM filter. My AC makes a little more noise at full fan speed. Maybe that extra noise comes with slightly more air flow. Never tested to see the difference.
 
Good advice so far.
I am black on black in South Florida and if parked in the sun, it will get to 140° easily.
Trick is to roll down a couple windows for a few minutes and get the hot air out of there with the air on of course.
Otherwise the air works well. For example, it's been 95° here for the last 3 weeks and the sun is stronger than anywhere in the US.
Ceramic tint will work wonders, it's highly recommended for the windshield too.
Operation of a/c is critical to heat gain.
Keep your condenser clean.

Strongly suggest you have a shop that is dedicated to A/C repair work on your system. Your dealer most likely does not have the compareable skills no matter how large they are.
A/C repair is not inexpensive.
 
Humble Leader said:
there is no way to upgrade the vehicles AC system. you need qualified and knowledge people to properly fix the AC system. the leak needs to be fixed. if it is coming from the compressor then replace the compressor as well as you noted. it needs to also be refilled to spec and done properly using the expensive machines or it will not last. you can easily check the performance of the cars AC using the chart in the attached article by finding the current ambient humidity and temperature when you are testing (the chart is in the article). the vehicle will not be able to cool down as efficiently and get as cold when it's hotter and more humid out. upgrading the blower motor is not going to improve your AC cooling ability. it will just move the air faster


How temperature and humidity affect the car's AC performance.
Click to expand...

yes that is the point of the fan upgrade
 
Look into a ceramic windshield film. Some brands have no tint options and it will reject a lot of heat from entering the vehicle and actually more than tinted film since the ink takes up space. It's not an AC upgrade but it will help the AC work better.

As far AC upgrades, I don't think that's reasonably possible. I'm thinking you would need a larger evaporator which isn't something you can really do since the airbox only allows a certain size. Maybe look into an electric pusher fan on the condenser.
 
Subscribing to hear if there is a blower motor upgrade. Something with a better blade design or faster speed might help move the air.
 
As I remember AC performance is measured by checking the temp of the air coming out of all ducts. So by checking those locations will tell the temp in each place and verify that the mixing doors/s are working properly. There should be a maint manual procedure for this.

If gauge pressures are good but duct temp is high then a couple things to check are: blower motor running at correct speed, radiator and condenser coils are clean, compressor pulley engages completely and not binding. ducts are not clogged causing reduced airflow. I was surprised what a difference hosing out both the radiator and AC condenser coils helped make things cooler on another vehicle.

A few years back we took a trip to Phoenix when the temps were 120 and the AC system worked pretty well.
 
Adding an auxiliary fan in front of the condenser (radiator) will help, Prado's and Fjs (same platform) in the Middle East come equipped with it from factory.
 
Thanks for the information. I was originally thinking of a larger condenser but by the replies that's a no go. Will see what my mechanic thinks of an additional fan for the condenser.
 
Derek - another thing or two you can do, if you are not already, is install the darkest window tint allowed in your area and using a windshield shade screen while parked.
 
Okay wow a big can of worms were certainly opened on this job. This is a cautionary tale. Brought my truck in for service and of course fixing my AC. Turns out the fan clutch was bad which meant not enough airflow going through the condenser which apparently had the compressor compensate by increasing the pressure which caused 4 leaks in the condenser. I could not remember last time I changed the coolant but my thermostat was sticking which was causing minor overheating. I never knew the " mechanical " fans had a clutch in them.

I bought my truck with 14kms on the odometer now I am at 122,231kms. How often does the fan clutches need replacing?
 
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