There were plastic chairs in the middle of the road and i hit them head on. I dont see any visual damage. All the belts are still spinning. The radiator fan isnt spinning when the car is running or when the A/C is on. I dont know if that matters. What could i have damaged or what should i look for ? When i turn on the A/C it blows air, it just never gets cool. Whatever the metal grill that is right in front of the radiator is dented and appears to be leaking freon possibly. Any help would be appreciated.

Nick

 

theres a possibility that you have a hole in your AC condenser

 

turn the a/c on and look under the hood at the a/c compressor. It has a pulley on it. Check to see that the compressor clutch is engaged. You will see the whole pulley spin, including the side where some flat stud-looking pieces stick out. If the compressor clutch isn't engaging then that is the problem. The belt will always be spinning when the engine is on no matter if it's working or not. The compressor clutch will only engage though when the a/c is turned on.

It sounds to me like an a/c line got damaged though.

 

As Greddy says, you likely poked a hole in the condenser (sits next to the radiator) and the refrigerant has leaked out of the system. You could verify by connecting a manifold gauge set to see whether any pressure is left in the system. You need to replace the leaking component, evacuate the system, and then have it recharged.

 

ok thanks for the info. Ron, I dont know what the condenser looks like, but ill look it up online and try to find it. If i can find a hole in it, i should be able to just replace the part and evacuate and recharge the ac system. Does it matter that my Radiator has 2 dents in it as long as it is still working?

 

also i already hooked up a guage to it and there is no pressure in the system..

 

yea there is a leak somewhere then. are you sure you're looking at the radiator? The condenser looks very similar to the radiator.

 

The condenser is the radiator-like part either in front of or beside the radiator dependign on model year. If you follow the lines from the condenser you will find that one goes to the compressor and one goes to the receiver-drier (cylinder about the size of a tall soda can). The receiver-drier should always be replaced whenever there has been a hole in the system and total leak out like you have. It contains a compound that absorbs moisture; the compound only works once.

 

What year Civic?

 

its a 2003 ex