derylehinson Posted April 5, 2022 Share Posted April 5, 2022 Anyone know of a good AC repair shop for rear engine diesel ? N. Fla., S. Ga. area. seems that all the auto shops do not want to work on rear diesels. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cbr046 Posted April 5, 2022 Share Posted April 5, 2022 Where are you located? - bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Schmeckpeper Posted April 5, 2022 Share Posted April 5, 2022 Good luck, I don't think they make those type of shops anymore ! 😀 After taking mine into a very highly rated shop, After almost $600 over 2 trips in 5 days, we made it from the Phoenix to Canyon de Chelly on our way north, before it started blowing hot air again. That's when I got on YouTube and started to learn how to do it myself. You'll save a ton of 💰 . It's not very hard for most of the work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1nolaguy Posted April 5, 2022 Share Posted April 5, 2022 Bob Schmeckpeper, Can you provide a link or what you searched under? I searched youtube but could not find anything related to DP chassis a/c Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobdinsmore Posted April 5, 2022 Share Posted April 5, 2022 Try a mobile RV mechanic. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Whitlow Posted April 5, 2022 Share Posted April 5, 2022 Camping World has a mobile service out of Tampa. 1-813-696-3390 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Schmeckpeper Posted April 5, 2022 Share Posted April 5, 2022 1 hour ago, 1nolaguy said: Bob Schmeckpeper, Can you provide a link or what you searched under? I searched youtube but could not find anything related to DP chassis a/c What is it doing? You won't find anything for a motorhome Specific. With that being said the system is the same as a car ac. The only difference is the length of the hoses & were the different parts are located. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cbr046 Posted April 6, 2022 Share Posted April 6, 2022 On my 2003 ISC 117,000 miles one of the freon lines was rubbing on the # 6 fuel injector line. It hadn't broken through but was just a matter of time. I ran some rubber tubing around the line as an insulator. You guys might check yours. - bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derylehinson Posted April 6, 2022 Author Share Posted April 6, 2022 I am in Tallahassee, Fl. The RV mechanics, all will work on coach AC systems but refer you to auto repair shops. The auto repair shops don't want to get into the labor it takes to remove the compressor. 2011 Diplomat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottjo02 Posted April 6, 2022 Share Posted April 6, 2022 Some of the truck refrigeration service companies will work on DP dash air systems. We have one it Tulsa that does. https://www.wbservice.com/ Scott 02 Knight Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Schmeckpeper Posted April 6, 2022 Share Posted April 6, 2022 Can you tell us what is going on? Do you have a leak near the connection or in a hose, just not blowing cold? That would help a lot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derylehinson Posted April 6, 2022 Author Share Posted April 6, 2022 I had AC checked for not blowing cold, at an auto ac repair shop. Freon was low. Added freon. AC was cold for a little while, then hot again. Toke back to repair shop. Was told freon had to be leaking from compressor. since the compressor was so hard to get to I needed to take it to RV repair shop. I hae contacted several RV repair shops, only to be told they did not work on cab ac units. Told by auto ac shops that they did not want to work on rear diesel ac units. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1nolaguy Posted April 6, 2022 Share Posted April 6, 2022 23 hours ago, Bob Schmeckpeper said: What is it doing? You won't find anything for a motorhome Specific. With that being said the system is the same as a car ac. The only difference is the length of the hoses & were the different parts are located. Watched a number of these last night and some were helpful. Will start my trace today or tomorrow depending on weather (threatening to rain at present). Has anyone in the group replace an a/c compressor on a 2003-2007 Cheetah/Diplomat with a CAT engine? If so would like to PM with you to see if this is something I want to tackle myself or have some one else deal with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ivan K Posted April 6, 2022 Share Posted April 6, 2022 1 hour ago, 1nolaguy said: Watched a number of these last night and some were helpful. Will start my trace today or tomorrow depending on weather (threatening to rain at present). Has anyone in the group replace an a/c compressor on a 2003-2007 Cheetah/Diplomat with a CAT engine? If so would like to PM with you to see if this is something I want to tackle myself or have some one else deal with. I suppose you don't remove the compressor until you confirmed it's failure first. There are other, less expensive possibilities. And you can get free loaner gauges and pump from Autozone if you don't want to keep them. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RBRODDER Posted April 6, 2022 Share Posted April 6, 2022 (edited) Prior to replacing a compressor, I would put in a can of freon with dye in it and get a ultraviolet light source and check everything for traces of dye if it leaking from a hose or connector or even the compressor it will light up like neon...imo. then you can know that you are changing out the defective parts, then draw vacuum on the system and re add the freon required Edited April 7, 2022 by RBRODDER 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacwjames Posted April 7, 2022 Share Posted April 7, 2022 Best way to find a leak is with a "sniffer", no idea what the actual name is but it detects the refrigerant. I've been chasing a leak in my 1989 Suburban, I tried the UV dye and it didn't work. My neighbor does HVAC and he lent me his sniffer, found the area of leak in about 5 minutes. Not sure if it is a leaking line or the rear evaporator, but the sniffer started going crazy beeping when I was checking the rear AC area. If you refrigerant is really low it may take quite a bit to get the system to work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotty Hutto Posted April 9, 2022 Share Posted April 9, 2022 Similar story... except mine has been going on for about a year. And like Bob S, I'm about $600 into two different shops. Both spent significant time (and lots of my money) leak testing & sniffing. Finally determined leak was in the evaporator. My mechanic would refill with R134a and it would leak down over about a 2 week period. Finally he said he shouldn't keep refilling... we needed to fix the leak. At the Gathering this year in Tampa, @David Pratt mentioned Leak Saver and related his experience. So rather than spend an even bigger pile of money replacing the evaporator, I figured I'd spring for the $35 it cost on Amazon. That's been almost two months ago and it's still holding a charge and working. 🤞 Website: https://www.leaksavers.com/collections/automotive Purchase on Amazon: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B071VMXMLS/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1nolaguy Posted April 9, 2022 Share Posted April 9, 2022 Very interesting Scotty, Thanks for sharing. In your application did you use the small (1 ton) version or the standard (up to 5 ton) version? Also did you use the automotive Leak Shot system to install or some other method? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Schmeckpeper Posted April 9, 2022 Share Posted April 9, 2022 On 4/6/2022 at 9:27 AM, derylehinson said: I had AC checked for not blowing cold, at an auto ac repair shop. Freon was low. Added freon. AC was cold for a little while, then hot again. Toke back to repair shop. Was told freon had to be leaking from compressor. since the compressor was so hard to get to I needed to take it to RV repair shop. I hae contacted several RV repair shops, only to be told they did not work on cab ac units. Told by auto ac shops that they did not want to work on rear diesel ac units. How difficult is it to get to the compressor? You need to recharge the system and add a die. Then with a black light you hopefully can find were the leak actually is. It May be a bad o ring. Thought I posted this. In my case the first time around. We have an ac supply store here in mesa AZ. I got a 1/4oz. Of dye and put in the compressor. Large hose, when reassembled use a new o ring. Recharged the system. Used a Scorpion light. It's a black light that has about 30 led. Went out after dark & started looking. Sure enough found the leak in the evaporator Bay, if I remember right it was the dryer. It was a small round canister. Replaced it and was good to go for 2 years. Just had about 2 feet of hose Replaced from my compressor. Put in a splice. When the coach went in to be painted it was still holding. I get it back in 2 to 3 weeks. Hopefully it's still holding. One of our group lives near me and he had a crimper, and he came out and showed me how to do it. Really easy to do. Crimper you can get on Amazon for less than $200. I have been dragging my feet till I get the coach home to thank him. I believe his name is Jim. AC work is not very hard. All my repairs have been haven't added to $300 yet. Including tools to do the work. 134A in our part of town just went up to $8.50 for a 12oz can. Our rig takes 5 cans. That's only $45. When looking for a leak I would stop at 3 cans because you will lose it when you do the fix. Gages I bought at Harbor freight. Vacuum pump I got a autozone and they refund the money when I return it.. The same goes for the gauges. So you don't have to buy a set if you don't want to. When you're charging the system the little $20 gauge from Wal-Mart work just great. Don't go buying a compressor till you know we're the leak is.😇 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1nolaguy Posted April 9, 2022 Share Posted April 9, 2022 Bob Schmeckpepper, thanks for the post. In your case was the evaporator dryer located in the front or in the engine compartment? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotty Hutto Posted April 10, 2022 Share Posted April 10, 2022 1 hour ago, 1nolaguy said: Very interesting Scotty, Thanks for sharing. In your application did you use the small (1 ton) version or the standard (up to 5 ton) version? Also did you use the automotive Leak Shot system to install or some other method? I used the 5 ton. That’s roughly the size of a dash AC system. I did use the Leak Shot system after fully charging the unit. You also need to run the AC at full blast for about an hour. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derylehinson Posted April 10, 2022 Author Share Posted April 10, 2022 Located in front Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hypoxia Posted April 10, 2022 Share Posted April 10, 2022 Be careful using leak sealant, my A/C parts supplier had parts on display cut open showing how leak sealer plugged the system. That turns into quite a goat rope. Deryle, doesn't your coach have a rear radiator? That's a big issue access wise. A common problem on all of these old coaches is the hose leaking through the hose end crimp, especially at the compressor where there is a lot of heat and vibration. You can replace the hose end connector and splice in a piece of hose to the old hose but there is a risk of that developing a leak with the old, not so soft hose. Most shops won't warranty that & with good reason. I had planned to replace all of the A/C hose front to back this winter but haven't had time. Next winters project unless we happen to stumble into a Foretravel or Newell Coach that we like this summer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derylehinson Posted April 11, 2022 Author Share Posted April 11, 2022 Yes it has a rear radiator. That is why regular auto ac shops don't want to work on it. To difficult. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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