Figure 2: What is the typical vehicle mileage at service with missing caps? The data indicates that the older the vehicle, the more likely it is to be missing service port caps. Figure 4: Do you see bent valve core pin stems? Bent valve core pins were found by 50% of the respondents and should be considered a serious service problem. These are likely caused by poor coupler designs. Figure 3: What percentage of A/C system service ports are missing caps at the time of service for R-134a? R-134a vehicles with missing service port caps are reasonably common. This is to be expected, due to the age of most R-134a vehicles on the road. Figure 5: If the system arrives with a service cap, do you check the service port caps for leaks before removing the service cap? Checking service ports for leaks before removing the cap is a recommended practice that is only followed half of the time. This is definitely an area for improvement which will be discussed later in this issue. Figure 3a: Using a tether strap like this keeps the sealing cap close to the service port. December 2022 3 Figure 6: Do you leak check around the service port cap when checking after service to confirm the service port leak is resolved? While only 53% of the respondents checked the service port caps for leaks before servicing, 93% checked the service port caps for leaks after service. Checking before service is a diagnostic tool, while checking after is to confirm the service was performed correctly. MACS Service Reports Steve Schaeber