AC toolkit recommendation

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michael67

Well-known member
My '96 F250's AC is no longer cutting it and my 110's 300 Tdi AC lost all its refrigerant back in '15, so I'm looking to buy an AC manifold gauge set & pump. Amazon has the "XtremepowerUS" one (where do they come up with these names?) for $140 that has mostly good reviews. I've also used some stuff from Harbor Freight in the past with good luck, and I can buy a similar setup there for $215. These won't see daily use, but likely used a couple times and put away until I need them again.

Any setups out there worth looking at?

Thanks.
 
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michael67

Well-known member
Thanks for the feedback. I'll try the Vevor and definitely be picking up the recharge with dye & stop leak in it. I think the Ford's leak is slow but the 110 is going to need some new parts.
 
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LR Max

Well-known member
Go rent the tools from autozone/advance auto/etc. Go on their website and look for "loan a tool" or "Tool loan program" or whatever. Dead simple. Walk up, ask for it, pay with credit card. KEEP RECEIPT. Use. Return. Get money back. Use money to buy rover parts/beer/steak/tacos (not in any particular order).

They typically have decent tools to rent and its one less thing sitting on your shelf. I just checked, Autozone has a mess of AC tools. I assume the defender AC kit is old school so the tools will fit. The ford should be dead easy.

My preferred flavor is Autozone as there are two near me. But advance auto has also been good to me in this regards.
 
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michael67

Well-known member
LR Max said:
Go rent the tools from autozone/advance auto/etc. Go on their website and look for "loan a tool" or "Tool loan program" or whatever. Dead simple. Walk up, ask for it, pay with credit card. KEEP RECEIPT. Use. Return. Get money back. Use money to buy rover parts/beer/steak/tacos (not in any particular order).

They typically have decent tools to rent and its one less thing sitting on your shelf. I just checked, Autozone has a mess of AC tools. I assume the defender AC kit is old school so the tools will fit. The ford should be dead easy.

My preferred flavor is Autozone as there are two near me. But advance auto has also been good to me in this regards.
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I've never been a fan of renting tools unless they're expensive, something I'll likely never use again, or I need it in a pinch. It's not worth it to me to get a used tool, hope it's not missing anything important, use it on someone else's schedule, return the tool, then need it again six months later.
Shelf space is the least of my worries - with a wife & kids my free time has been negative this last decade.

I think the Ford and the Land Rover are of similar vintages.
 
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michael67

Well-known member
Well, the Vevor AC kit was a bust - not ordering from them again. The pump worked OK, brought the system down to -30 in Hg. Held the vacuum for a couple hours then started putting in refrigerant. It took some refrigerant then stopped, after which you're supposed to start the engine and it'll start sucking in more. Well, it sucked in some, but not even a full 18 oz can (system capacity is 38 oz). The low pressure was reading too high and the high pressure too low - made no sense. So I shut the engine down and disconnected the low side, but the low side pressure gauge did not drop. I then disconnected the low pressure line from the gauge itself and then the pressure dropped. I disassembled the low pressure fitting adapter and found metal shavings, some of which had flaked off. I disassembled the high pressure adapter and found the same thing:

shavings.jpg


I'll go buy a gauge set from Napa tomorrow. Very disappointing. Hopefully it didn't get sucked into my AC and only plugged the low pressure adapter valve.
 
MountainD

MountainD

Technical Excellence Contributor
michael67 said:
Well, the Vevor AC kit was a bust - not ordering from them again. The pump worked OK, brought the system down to -30 in Hg. Held the vacuum for a couple hours then started putting in refrigerant. It took some refrigerant then stopped, after which you're supposed to start the engine and it'll start sucking in more. Well, it sucked in some, but not even a full 18 oz can (system capacity is 38 oz). The low pressure was reading too high and the high pressure too low - made no sense. So I shut the engine down and disconnected the low side, but the low side pressure gauge did not drop. I then disconnected the low pressure line from the gauge itself and then the pressure dropped. I disassembled the low pressure fitting adapter and found metal shavings, some of which had flaked off. I disassembled the high pressure adapter and found the same thing:

View attachment 27629

I'll go buy a gauge set from Napa tomorrow. Very disappointing. Hopefully it didn't get sucked into my AC and only plugged the low pressure adapter valve.
Click to expand...
Well that is disappointing enough to soil me from the brand! i feel bad for even recommending them. that Sucks.
 
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michael67

Well-known member
MountainD said:
Well that is disappointing enough to soil me from the brand! i feel bad for even recommending them. that Sucks.
Click to expand...
No problem; Vevor offered me a lofty $20 in lieu of returning the thing since I'd have to pay for shipping. At least the pump works good, and it looks to be the same pump Napa wants $250 for. The Napa AC manifold gauge set is made in USA and worked well. Got the Ford's AC up and running today, hope to get to the 110 next month....
 
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