Valvoline AC odor eliminator and r134a enhancer

My buddy's 2007 AC vents smell horrible so he picked up one of the Toyota AC Refresher kits from his local dealer per my recommendation. They said they don't sell or use them anymore but had one left. They told him they now use a very potent 3 step Valvoline product. I searched around and found a 2 step Valvoline kit similar to the Toyota one but then found a 3 step product here

http://www.shoptca.com/pc_product_detail.asp?key=15F9BE3213574EBE964EFDC27F28C2AE



I'm curious if this is the kit. I searched around and found the material safety data sheets (MSDS) and compared them and they appear to be a different composition. The Valvoline one uses some type of ethanol while the Toyota is isopropyl based. I used the Toyota kit last year and it only helped about 75% but now the stink is back so I'm debating on taking this in somewhere as I can't seem to source the kit myself.

Also, I thought the r134a performance additive was a gimmick but I've heard of similar products being used on home HVAC to improve efficiencies. I then stumbled across this article https://spinoff.nasa.gov/spinoff1999/ch3.htm and it seems like its a NASA product that is coming to consumer reach now. With the heat in Phoenix I'm willing to squeeze any ounce of efficiency I can get.

Has anyone tried this? Should I pay my local dealer to do this?

 

I question the R134a refrigerant and why you would even need it unless you are low (and how it is different from any other R134a refrigerant??). The evaporator cleaner and odor eliminator probably work fine. I have had very good luck with just a single stage evaporator cleaner though to remove mold and odor.

 

Is the AC drain in the truck working ok? Meaning, on a day when you're running the AC you should see a constant drip or puddle forming under the truck from the drain (on the right side of the truck). If not, it might be clogged up and needs to be freed.

 

^^^ check the AC drain tube as mentioned.

Last week I did a heater core on a first gen Tacoma and when I removed the evaporator section of the HVAC box it was full of moldy leaves and crud. Granted it was an older rig with more time for debris to build up, but I would be skeptical of any aerosol products that would claim to clean that stuff out. In my opinion if you've got moldy odors you really have to start disassembling stuff and clean it out by hand

 

Just want to make sure we haven't missed something easy.....you changed the cabin air filter, right?

 

Smoke/mirrors/snake oil. Take your pick.

 

OP, since you collected some SD Sheets for the other stuff, did you happen to grab one for the refrigerant enhancer? I'm wondering if possibly contains propane as well? Its a great refrigerant and I know that some pirate use occurs, but it is kind of a drag in a crash...

 

I wonder how many will buy the "Extreme Cold 134A" and fill their systems with it w/o any analysis. Shortly after, they'll experience "Extreme Warmth" as the high pressure switch will be getting a serious workout.

 

The mildew odor on these trucks appears to be accelerated by running the AC on MAX (which is cabin recirculate). I believe this closes a damper that then prevents the ability for the evap coil (inside the passenger side of the dash) to dry out between uses.

I've gotten in the habit of turning off the AC (and disable recirc), but leaving the fan blowing, about a mile before I get home each day. This dries out the evap coil which has made the mildew smell never appear.

 

I’ve used that valvoline kit a lot on customers cars. It’s bullshit but they sold the shit out of them. We took a moldy evaporator core, put it in a plastic container and sprayed the foam all over it, let it sit and it looked exactly the same. The fragrance stuff smells good for about 2 days. Save your money and use a can of your favorite scented Lysol and spray it in your ac duct by the windshield with the ac on high and the fresh air door open. As for getting the most out of ac in hot weather, install a pusher fan. Works way better at idle

 

SDS for the 134a enhancer is here, doesn't look like it has propane: http://www.shoptca.com/images/FJC9150_SDS.pdf

Obviously one would want to replace equal weight of 134a with this stuff when putting it into their system. I'm still skeptical if this is snake oil or not, did anyone read the NASA article? Remember how much more efficient r12 was than r134a? Why is it so hard to believe that a more efficient refrigerant was developed? Still though I'd like to see some data on before/after measurements

I live in Phoenix and it's so dry right now that our AC drip lines don't typically start dripping until the humidity comes with monsoon season but I'll double check to make sure nothing is blocking the drain. Cabin filter isn't too old but I just ordered a bunch of TYC filters to have on standby.

Because of the smell I'm apprehensive to ever run it on recirc because the moment I turn that off it'll start to smell. I'm tired of having to "air out" my evap by turning off my AC when I'm 3 minutes from my house and its 100* out when I've never had to do that on any of my previous vehicles.

I've read pros and cons to the Lysol, some report the smell takes weeks to go away, not sure if I want to risk it. I'm definitely considering installing dual pusher fans, there are some good write ups here

 

I read the articles and the SDS, and reviewed the 'H' gasses for definitions. The stuff is shown to consist of about half R134A and the other half being a "special enhancer" not revealed and hiding in the official documents as being "proprietary". I suspect this the same as something that first appeared about 20 years ago. Maybe I will dig further and see if there are any reviews from reputable end users to determine if it makes a difference and any downside reported.

 

Seems like the patented QwikBoost was available as it's own product in the early 2000s but that is no longer the case. There was some kind of comparison done on the ackits forum but it appears the forum died or changed from then to the now and I can't find the original thread.

I read some things about ICE32 being an alternative as well, when I have time to do more reading I'll post anything I find here

 

I've done the lysol. Ill never do it again. For one, it didnt solve the issue and two it smelt like lysol for weeks.

 

Finally found the comparison report by ackits, this took a while to find, hidden in the depths of the internet

https://web.archive.org/web/20121009002138/http://www.ackits.com/testresults/alttest.pdf

 

If you still prefer the Toyota brand, I have a few left in stock.

 

Are you talking about the 2 step AC cleaning kit? I've been buying a Subaru branded one from Amazon which is the same thing, Kia rebrands it as well

 

OP - you might try either removing the rubber weather strip at the "back bottom" of the hood (where it would meet the windshield), or consider getting spacers to increase the gap at the back of the hood in the same area. Some guys in SoCal did this and they said it improved AC function in the summer.

 

Without that strip the fresh air intake is pulling hot air from the engine bay, and the radiator fan is helping to get that hot air there. Look at where the fresh air intake is, just under the back lip of the hood. I can't think it would 'help'.

 

This was my thought as well, but it seems from the people who have done it, it "helped". Maybe the heat in the engine bay is warming up the ac lines, I'm not sure really what the deal is. I plan on trying it in a couple months when it's really hot out.