Grayish Powder Inside High Pressure Line

[m240b]

Status update. Looked into the location of the blend door actuator and it was relatively easy to access. Turned vehicle on, ran A/C on max, moved temperature knob while observing blend door actuator. The actuator was trying to move, but was not able to move the plastic linkage and gears. Removed the blend door actuator, and manually moved the linkage to max cold position. Cold air came out right away. All that work for nothing. Failure to recognize symptoms, lesson learned. The air temp coming out of the vents was 59F which is not optimal I believe, so I assume that I did not charge the system perfectly. It is difficult to charge correctly without the proper tools. Again thank you to everyone here for helping me out.

[JohnHere]

Status update. Looked into the location of the blend door actuator and it was relatively easy to access. Turned vehicle on, ran A/C on max, moved temperature knob while observing blend door actuator. The actuator was trying to move, but was not able to move the plastic linkage and gears. Removed the blend door actuator, and manually moved the linkage to max cold position. Cold air came out right away. All that work for nothing. Failure to recognize symptoms, lesson learned. The air temp coming out of the vents was 59F which is not optimal I believe, so I assume that I did not charge the system perfectly. It is difficult to charge correctly without the proper tools. Again thank you to everyone here for helping me out.

Glad you found one of the main problems. You can replace the actuator yourself. By going through the process, at least you learned more about the complexities of MVAC. You should consider your work not as wasted but as an educational process.

As for the refrigeration system, since you can't know for sure how much oil is in it now after you added "some," you'll need to recover the charge, take everything apart, flush all the flush-able components, replace those that can't be flushed, reassemble everything with new green HNBR o-rings, replace the R/D, and put back the specified amount of oil: 5 ounces of Double End Capped PAG-46.

On adding the oil, distribute 3 ounces to the compressor (after completely draining it, of course), 3/4-ounce each to the condenser and evaporator, and 1/2-ounce to the R/D. Then have the system professionally evacuated and recharged to the precise amount: 18 ounces of R-134a.

Good luck with your project, and let us know how it turns out.