1995 Ford Taurus A/C service ports leaking

Maintenance/Repairs
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1

The A/C in my 1995 Taurus SHO stopped working suddenly on my way to work. I found that the compressor clutch was no longer engaging. I tried tapping the clutch with a broom handle while the car was running and the A/C on to see if the clutch would engage and indicating that the gap my be too wide but I had no luck.

I then hooked up the guages to check the charge and performance of the system. When I removed the service hoses both service ports were leaking gas. I tried to poke them with a small scredriver to get them to seal but that didn’t work. I ended up losing the entire charge.

The service ports in the A/C lines do not appear to be schrader valves. There appear to be small rubber balls in the port that seal. However I knocked one of the apparent balls loose and found simply a flat plate in the service port. I am certain that it is not a schrader valve unless one exists under this plate.

Are these service ports repairable/replaceable or do I need to replace the entire hose assembly?

2

I don’t know if they are serviceable, but usually the caps have o-rings that seal out the dirt and can keep it from leaking down.

3

The valves cores can be replaced with the proper tools. You also need to know the size of the valve cores.

Here’s a kit that has various sizes. http://www.autozone.com/autozone/accessories/Interdynamics-Valve-core-assortment/_/N-26fl?itemIdentifier=236108&_requestid=74350

Tester

4

Thanks Tester. What special tools are required and how to you determine the size of the valve cores. Do you know?

5

You’ll need one of these tools. http://www.autozone.com/autozone/accessories/Santech-R12-and-R134a-valve-core-remover-installer-master-kit/_/N-26fl?itemIdentifier=952313&_requestid=1690396

I can’t tell you what size valve cores are used. I just remove the old one and match it to a new one.

Tester

6

Tester, do these valve cores install from the bottom of the service port? I ask because there doesn’t appear to be any way to remove/install the valve core from the top of the service port.

If this is true, that would indicate that the service ports are removeable from the lines. Is that correct?

Thank you very much for your assistance.

7

They come in a kit with the valves and a tool for about $5 at AutoZone and other parts stores.

8

Thanks for the information Keith. Do you happen to have a link to the kit you are referring to? The links that Tester provided were separate for the valve cores and the tool kit which was in excess of $200. Prohibitive to say the least.

9

If I read your post correctly, you have lost your refrigerant charge so you really don’t need the tool kit that Tester linked to. His kit was for replacing the valve on a fully charged system without having to discharge the refrigerant. You just need a relatively inexpensive valve tool to unscrew and replace the valve like the one keith mentioned. You just need to match the size of the tool to the valves in your vehicle. If you are having trouble determining the size of the valves, go to a Ford dealer parts department. You only need two valves. Just get them there and be done with it.

10

When you replace that clutch, you can do it without taking the compressor off of the engine by dropping the end of the engine cradle. There are several “how toos” on you tube. That is one respect where the SHO is not different from the standard Taurus. Since the system has been open, you will need to replace the receiver dryer too.

Good luck