Ford Escape: Climate Control System - General Information / General Procedures

Materials

Name	Specification
Motorcraft® Air Conditioning System Flush Solvent YN-23	-

Flushing

NOTICE: Use refrigerant identification equipment before recovering any refrigerant from the vehicle. Failure to do so risks contaminating shop refrigerant. If the vehicle A/C refrigerant is contaminated, contact the service center that performed the last A/C service. If the customer wishes to pay the additional cost, use A/C recovery equipment designed to recover contaminated A/C refrigerant. All contaminated A/C refrigerant must be disposed of as hazardous waste in accordance with all federal, state and local regulations. For all equipment, follow the equipment manufacturer's procedures and instructions.

NOTICE: Before flushing the A/C system, remove the receiver-drier or receiver-drier element, the front Thermostatic Expansion Valve (TXV), the rear TXV (if equipped), and the hoses with mufflers. The internal plumbing of these components makes it impossible to completely remove the flushing agent. These components are usually discarded after A/C system contamination. Hoses without mufflers can be reused if they are clogged with foreign material. 3.8 L Motorcraft® A/C engine. The A/C System Flush Solvent (YN-23) and filter FL1-A used for flushing A/C systems and the Purge Service Unit are intended for use on one vehicle only. They may be used to flush either the A/C condenser core or the A/C evaporator core on a single vehicle, but under no circumstances should they be used on more than one vehicle.

NOTICE: Only the A/C Flush and Purge Service Unit and Motorcraft® A/C System Flush Solvent (YN-23) are approved for use on Ford vehicles. No other flushing device or solvent is approved for flushing heat exchangers (A/C condenser, A/C evaporator). Use of any other flusher or solvent may damage the A/C system and the service unit.

NOTE

Before using the A/C Flush and Purge Service Unit for the first time, read the operating instructions.

Never pass shop air directly through the A/C system. Shop air is full of contaminants and must be passed through the service unit to clean and dry the air.

Ford Motor Company has approved a procedure for technicians to flush a contaminated A/C system without using chlorofluorocarbon refrigerant. The procedure allows certain components to be cleaned and flushed. Types of contamination that can be flushed include particulates resulting from an A/C compressor or receiver-drier failure and sticky residue that may form when A/C compressor lubricant overheats due to a seized A/C compressor. The flushing process consists of 2 stages. The procedure involves using the A/C Flush and Purge Service Unit to:

Vehicles equipped with a split condenser, meaning two separate condenser coils in one condenser unit such as on F150 with Max Trailer Tow, only the serviceable refrigerant system must be flushed.

circulate flushing solvent through the A/C condenser and A/C evaporator heat exchangers in the reverse direction of normal refrigerant flow (reverse flush). Particulates collected during flushing are filtered from the returning solvent before the solvent is returned to the reservoir for continuous circulation.

remove flushing solvent from the A/C condenser and A/C evaporator heat exchangers. In this step of the procedure, compressed air at 621-862 kPa (90-125 psi) connected to the service unit is used to evaporate all remaining flushing solvent from the A/C condenser and A/C evaporator heat exchangers.

General Procedures - Air Conditioning (A/C) System Flushing

Materials

Flushing

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