Suburban Owners AC Question - Does Your Truck Get Cold When It's Really Hot Out?

[df2x4]

slowburb - that's an interesting idea. I have noticed the ac seems to work a bit better on the freeway.

Then it is as I stated. Your AC system is working per its design and intent.

Not necessarily... It could just be that the highway RPMs are turning the compressor faster than in-town driving and causing a temporary boost in effectiveness. I'd be getting all your refrigerant levels checked, cleaning the evaporator/condensor and making sure there's absolutely no leaks in the system before I start throwing fan upgrades at it. Also a quick note on electric fans, they almost never push as much air as a proper clutch fan setup. Even the ones rated for ridiculous CFM levels sometimes fall way short of their ratings. Not nearly as reliable as your factory clutch fan setup, either. Plus they draw a ton of electrical current. If you're trying to squeeze a few extra HP out of the engine then an e-fan setup might help you, but definitely don't do it for cooling purposes or reliability IMO. Never heard of the TrailBlazer fan swap, but I'd be pretty reluctant to start chopping on my fan shroud for a minimal gain like that. If you're dead set on upgrading the clutch fan for some reason I'd just buy a new Flex-A-Lite or equivalent with more blades, or one of the 9-blade GMT400 fans that are a direct swap with no trimming. Just my opinion on the matter, not trying to start an argument.

 

[slowburb]

The reliability concerns expressed above are exactly why I'm still running the factory setup. Since I gave up trying to find a mark vii fan, I didn't see the point in ripping it all out for something I wasn't sure wouldn't leave me high and dry with no engine cooling. My trucks ac is in factory spec in every way and in 110° heat/rush hour traffic is not as cool as a lot of newer rides I ride in.

 

[df2x4]

Just thought I would update like I said I would. Went and got the Suburban out of the shop just now. About $1000 later, my AC blows ice freaking cold. I don't remember it ever working this well even when it was new. New lines, new evap cores, bunch of other miscellaneous crap. Compressor was fine. Granted it's only about 75 degrees here right now so I can't exactly torture test it, but there's a very noticeable difference even from when it was working before.

 

[Cokeman95]

Just thought I would update like I said I would. Went and got the Suburban out of the shop just now. About $1000 later, my AC blows ice freaking cold. I don't remember it ever working this well even when it was new. New lines, new evap cores, bunch of other miscellaneous crap. Compressor was fine. Granted it's only about 75 degrees here right now so I can't exactly torture test it, but there's a very noticeable difference even from when it was working before.

Glad to hear your Suburban is icy cold again. Mine is black and you could hang meat in there until about 3 weeks when the compressor started spewing freon. So I'm looking at a complete a/c rebuild before next summer.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Tapatalk

 

[my name is alex]

Just thought I would update like I said I would. Went and got the Suburban out of the shop just now. About $1000 later, my AC blows ice freaking cold. I don't remember it ever working this well even when it was new. New lines, new evap cores, bunch of other miscellaneous crap. Compressor was fine. Granted it's only about 75 degrees here right now so I can't exactly torture test it, but there's a very noticeable difference even from when it was working before.

Glad to hear your ac is working well now! I had the system flushed, a new compressor and evap added, but didn't replace the lines. I haven't used my ac in 75 degree weather yet, but I assume it'll work nice when it's that cool out. I'll also be curious to know how well your ac works in the extreme heat.

 

[my name is alex]

Old dead thread, but just wanted to add this note. I just cleaned out my front AC coils and pulled out a crap load of leaves and crud. Now the AC is blowing noticeably cooler and harder. Not a day and night difference, but all take all I can get in this heat.

I also added a finer mesh under the plastic grid below the windshield so that I won't have to clean that **** out again.

 

[Ironhead]

Did you clean it out by pulling out the blower motor and fan assembly? How tough is it to get out, if this is what you did?

 

[grampadirt]

Glad you got the A/C to cool the inside better and yeah it's been hot here except for the last few days.

 

[my name is alex]

Did you clean it out by pulling out the blower motor and fan assembly? How tough is it to get out, if this is what you did?

Yeah, you have to pull out the fan assembly. Here's a video that I checked out before doing mine:

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There's really no reason not to remove your glove box - makes it much easier. I also had a OnStar module I removed to better access the fan, but you may not have that. The major issues/annoyances I had were with trying to get the damn fan cover off. I eventually realized there was a screw in the upper middle of it that needed to be removed. After I pulled the screw, the insulated cover came off relatively easily. There are also some plastic tabs that help hold the cover, I believe mine just broke off in the process of removing the cover. Doesn't seem like a big deal. There is one right on the bottom that I could have been more careful about had I known it was there beforehand.

There are also a series of 7/32 (I believe that's the size) screws that need to come out to pull the fan. One of these damn bolts is really tough to get to. Not enough room for a socket wrench, and I didn't have a simple wrench in that size. Ended up buying a small adjustable wrench (couldn't find any 7/32 locally and didn't want to wait for an online order), which did the job, though it was a pain in the ass and took way too long for a single screw.

It's a pretty easy job if all goes smoothly. You can probably get this done in about an hour, give or take. I did mine over two days (a little the first night, gave up, and resumed the next morning). These two snags frustrated the **** out of me and I almost gave up, but I've got a relatively low frustration threshold and probably shouldn't work on things like this!

Let me know if you have any questions.

Glad you got the A/C to cool the inside better and yeah it's been hot here except for the last few days.

It's like winter again

 

[ByronY]

I don't know about other years but my '95 with a 5.7 can use two different orafice tube filters. One is designed for better perfomance in high temperature climates. But, yes even on a 90+ degree day I can turn my 'burb into a refrigerator in stop and go traffic.