R134a into the passenger compartment?

[Joshua Van Tol]

1st, R134a is not flammable. The oil that's in the system may be though.

2nd, some leak detectors are sensitive to high gas flow rates. Mine
will peg out at 5 bars if I blow on the sensor tip. Make sure your
mechanic had the blower on low, and didn't have the sensor tip directly
in the flow.
The best way to check for evap leaks is to let the car run for a few
minutes with the AC on, then shut it down, and wait about 5 minutes.
Then put the sniffer probe near the condensate drain for the evap and
have someone turn the blower on low. If there's any refrigerant leaking
it will have collected in the bottom of the evap case, and will come
right out past the leak detector probe.

Also, generally any leak as large as you describe should empty the
system in a few days or weeks.
On Thursday, May 22, 2003, at 03:12  PM, Andrew Sitzer wrote:

> Hey all,
>  I was wondering if anyone has any advice on what would cause R134a to
> leak through the vents into the passenger compartment.  My mechanic's
> 134a
> sniffer was off the charts (5 of 5 bars) when he put it to my vents..
>  He insisted that it isnt anything to worry about, but I disagree --
> this
> stuff is flammable, poisonous, and bad all around.
>  The system itself functions fine (nice cold air).. and we didnt pick
> up
> any leakage in the engine compartment; though the system was
> pretty much empty after about 2 yrs of use.
>  I am thinking the evaporator could cause this -- anything else?
> Also, am I just over-reacting?
>
> Thanks in advance!
> Andrew
>
>