My CL-S Air Con runs somewhat cooler than just the fan however I get a sighing sound every 10 or 20 seconds from the vents, it is similar to there being a leaf scraping about in the vents but it only happens with A/C on.

With summer approaching, I would like to know if I am looking at a simple A/C recharge or a much more costly repair...I searched high and low but all I could find was "this only happens under acceleration" and "check your battery"...

For me, this happens all the time, stopped, accelerating or steady speed. I also have a brand new battery.

 

Bump for summery-coolness...

So I managed to pry off my bumper today while backing out of a parking spot at school.

Apparently when I pulled the car in, by myself, it was tall enough to go over top of the three inch high concrete barrier thing, but when I left, with a "heavier-set" friend in the passenger seat, it was lowered enough for the splash shield and bumper to grab on and attempt to flee the car...

Anywho, after toying with various non OEM "back-yard-mechanic" fixed put on the bumper by the previous owner, I got er back all nice and snug (minus the driver side, where it hangs down 1/4 inch ) and I took some time with a mobile shop light to look around the engine bay for cracked motor mounts (none to be found!) and various other problems...

When I looked at the underside of the car, I saw this, didn't notice it before at KalTire when I went in on the 4th of April (had the car on a hoist then)... there is some fraying going on around the middle of the picture (exhaust?) and I do not think it should be frayed...

Whatever it is, it isn't grass, it is grayish-clear, kind of like fiberglass... I am stumped...

Could you guys please tell me what in the hell is going on?

 

Thats your flex pipe. Its broken. You need a new one.


Get headers

 

That sounds like its going to get expensive it also probably explains the whirring/whistling sound I am getting under acceleration... if it fixes it, I am going to miss it only because it sounds like I'm running a turbo...

Suggestions on which headers are best price/performance? Potential shop hours spent to do it? I am not all that good with doing work on the car (7/10 attempts failed) and I have no access to proper tools... yet... If this is going to run me up to $1K or more to put on headers, could I just pop on an "OEM" or equivalent Flex Pipe?

As it is, would is potentially keep me from passing any emissions tests?

I will probably get it done when I go to do the brakes...damn, just as I wasn't broke/in debt...

 

Since you have an automatic you can get pretty much any set on the market. Its the 6MTs that are limited. DC Sports makes a set.

As far as install time, that all depends on the condition of the parts. My install didnt take all that long, but I did have to cut through the stock exhaust manifold to get it off due to rusty bolts.

 

Any ideas of what is going on with my AC?

 

Have the lines pressure tested. There may be a small leak.

 

So I decided to check the Cabin Air filter because there was more of a scraping/leafy sound (yes, leaves do in fact talk) and since the previous owner more or less trashed this CL instead of babying it, I figured I might as well change the air filter.

Turns out, the last time this air filter was touched was on April 17th 2001, when the car was assembled. I went through the easy process of removing the filters and giving them a quick vacuum to re-use them while I order new ones at 1/4 the local price.

Managed to pull out 4 fist fulls of crap from inside of the filter mount, left a good hand-full on a piece of paper to show you guys the crap that accumulates inside of the cabin.

 

Did that make your sound go away?

 

Seems to have done the trick, I will test it out over the next few days...

 

It seems like I only get a sound for about 3 seconds when i turn on the AC and so far once after turning it off (after cleaning the air filters some). Other than that, my AC went from meh-cool to ice cold