Your car or truck's AC system is under extreme pressure and the thermal expansion valve or orifice tube monitors the amount of pressure and the temperature of your A/C system. It calculates the precise amount of refrigerant that can safely go into the evaporator. A failing expansion valve or orifice tube often causes a vehicle's air conditioner to blow hot air.
Replace or Repair
- Expansion Valves: Too much refrigerant causes your evaporator to get too cold whereas too little refrigerant would result in inadequate cooling. The expansion valve is a complex valve that regulates refrigerant flow. This process of metering the refrigerant adjusts the flow according to the temperature of the refrigerant in the evaporator coil. Talk to one of the pro mechanics at In and Out Auto Care, as this part can be replaced on its own and does not require the entire replacement of the AC assembly.
- Orifice Tubes: Unlike the expansion valve, the orifice tube is a simple fixed device with no moving parts. It therefore cannot vary the flow of refrigerant into the evaporator, but rather causes a permanent restriction in the system. However, like the expansion valve the orifice tube regulates refrigerant flow through the system and filters debris which may come through in its screen. Often fixing a "bad orifice tube" requires replacing the entire evaporator assembly.
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If you want to give your car into honest and trustful hands, look no further! We recently moved from Europe and had bad luck buying a rusty car, which they found out during a thorough inspection and kept us updated about every step of the process. In the end, instead of talking us into (very) costly repairs, they suggested to sell it and gave us invaluable tips and recommendations. This will be my go-to shop in Portland now. Big shout-out to Brian and the entire team!
I’ve been here twice. Both times I was dealing with Brian. And they are truly an amazing and compassionate auto shop. The first time I brought my car in was to get my alternator replaced, and it was the cheapest out of all the other auto shops in my area. So they aren’t out trying to charge outrageous prices. That was a pretty cut and dry experience, they fixed my car at a great price, and my alternator is still going strong. What really blew me away with this auto shop was the experience I had with them today. I brought my car in thinking that I had a leaking coolant hose which is usually a cheap fix but Brian ended up telling me that it was actually the entire coolant reservoir that needed to be replaced, making it $200 more expensive than what I thought I was going to be paying. The shop understood my situation and showed me complete compassion today that I couldn’t even believe. Totally saving my livelihood. Will recommend to others. 5/5