I'm quite positive that the low performance of the air conditioning system is directly related to the water coming out of the vents. The air ducting that houses the evaporator (equivalent to the "A" coil in a household A/C system) is not allowing the condensation to drain (clogged drain) so it is filling up with water, and hindering its ability to act as a cold air exchanger. All the water should drip outside of the car.... run the A/C at a stop for a few minutes and water can literally pour out onto the ground. I'm pretty willing to bet your R/T isn't doing that. To fix it should be purely labor, and I don't know how involved it is. What usually happens is the car is parked under a tree for much of its life, so pine needles, grass clippings, leaves, etc get sucked into the air ducting and clog drains. Mice and other rodents don't help things either.
Ideally, air conditioner systems never need to be simply re-charged. If they need a re-charge, there is a leak in the system and it will only get worse with time. Some people use the DIY method once a year and never fix the leak so they have air conditioning 3 months out of the year (the time that they need it the most). Cost is pretty inexpensive to do it that way. The hissing noise is normal. It is the sound of pressurized refrigerant flowing through a small orfice. Why does a brand new car not make any noise though? I really don't have the answer because I'm not an A/C expert, but my old 2000 Intrepid made a hell of a hiss, my '98 makes some of a hiss, and my old '99 Concorde was perfectly silent. All A/C's blew plenty of cold air. The hissing comes and goes with the cycling on/off of the A/C compressor. ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Great things are happening at Yahoo! Groups. See the new email design. http://us.click.yahoo.com/TISQkA/hOaOAA/yQLSAA/46t0lB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Web: <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dodge_intrepid> Subscribe: <mailto://[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Unsubscribe: <mailto://[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Moderator: <mailto://[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dodge_intrepid/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
