Jsdirt

Wish I had a floor to paint. Mine is dirt. Lots of fun working on things in there, especially small parts. They warp instantly to another dimension, never to be found again .... until you spend money on a replacement. Then, they suddenly appear. Got to concrete that floor some day. It's at the end of a long, LONG list of things that need fixing around here. It never ends ... The shipping crate parts I got from a local factory help. Wish I had 4 more of them - they fit perfect in here. Of course, parts find their way into the cracks ...

Friggin BEAUTIFUL, Daly!!

Some have a 90° plain rubber boot, and others have a (just guessing) 30° bend with a metal shield around the boot. Also, there was an "old style" coil I guess. I thought they were all the same. Haven't worked on many LS engines, so I couldn't tell ya.

The Fords would seize in the previously Helicoiled head on round 2, even WITH anti-seize. Now that's some engineering right there! My truck has become a workbench, due to a "few hour" A/C job in our '93 Volvo 940 that morphed into a 7-day cluster***k. Wrong condenser .... wrong accumulator ... wrong suction line ... unobtanium liquid line that twisted in half - 4 days, $50, & 90 miles of city driving to get one custom built. Even that got screwed up - would've had to wait 2 weeks for the correct fittings, so told them to use what they had NOW, which was a 90° when I needed STRAIGHT. Managed after 3 full hours to bend, tweak, and fight the suction line into submission, finally installing it into the compressor. Batting 1,000 with this one. What a friggin hacked mess! Who wants to place bets on if I have any leaks after tweaking and bending these hoses all afternoon? I did a complete 100% system replacement in our '86 Grand Marquis, and it didn't take half this long, even with the wrong condenser (Rock Auto ... again! At least their return system is easy).

Accel is another brand that went down the toilet. I used a set of their wires, & cap & rotor on my S10 Blazer carb / HEI conversion. The wires had thousands of ohms more resistance than the old ones I took out. The cap/rotor look no better than the no-name stuff made in china these days. Sad.

MSD used to be great stuff. Seems they've followed the path so many other great brands have gone ... I did my plugs around 75k or so, fearing they'd seize in the head if I waited to 100k. Was shocked GM actually used anti-seize compound on them. Miracles never cease! Used NGK Iridium, which is identical in every way to the OEM Delcos it came with. Kept the wires. The things are only 4" long - can't see them going bad this quick ... although lots of things automotive-related surprise me today ...

Ahh, now I know what you guys are talking about, lol.

I'm doing a backward conversion on our Volvo 134a to r12. Wish I had a 10-speed in that thing. Pretty anemic at 114HP at the crank. Using r12 with the new o-rings and barrier hoses designed for 134a, it just will not leak out (good thing, since they don't give the stuff away anymore). Lasts virtually forever. Plus, it cools many degrees colder, less wear and tear on the compressor & less load on the engine because the high side pressures are MUCH lower (especially in traffic). If it hits 150psi, it's HOT!

LOL! I wouldn't put it past automakers to do such a thing. I already suspect there's a timer in each ECM to start spiking components when they get "too old".

I agree. I think we're seeing the dawning of the age of the throwaway engine.

Nice - can't ask for much better than that. Nice work!

Yeah, I'd never buy one built after '08 personally.

Diesel is a different animal, especially when compared to the ethanol-diluted crap they force on us. Alot less BTU's in a gallon of gasoline vs. a gallon of diesel. I get between 15-16 running around town. Highway is the same. If I leave the state, it goes up around 18. Out in WY & NV I was getting 19 mpg with a motorcycle in back, all my camping gear, tools, and a passenger, doing 90 mph. Could've been due to the high elevation lean-out, but there's no question the fuel is better outside of New England.

Check the inlet and outlet of the evaporator with your hand (as long as the expansion device is located outside the firewall) after letting it run several minutes to stabilize - if the outlet of the evap is slightly colder, or the same temperature as the inlet, then your good. If it's slightly colder, then you have plenty of refrigerant in the system in reserve in case of small leaks. Monitor vent temps with a dial thermometer to gauge which direction your change made. I will add tiny bits at a time if the temp keeps dropping. When it stops dropping, I stop charging (if the expansion device is in the cabin side of the firewall - can't feel by hand).

Maybe the fuel pump is heating up and slowing down? Never know. I'd bet they designed it so that the smallest change in viscosity of the fuel will cause all kinds of issues, so people won't run home-brewed fuel like they used to. Definitely no motor oil / unleaded in these new ones anymore ... Good info there - thanks. I'm constantly learning all the quirks of modern vehicles. Always something!

I stare at that stupid yellow light all winter long too. Just like the damn key-in-ignition dingers - how about ONE alert ONE time to let us know, instead of a non-stop barrage of lights and annoyance that make me want to beat the truck with a friggin sledgehammer??!!!?? At least Ford toned down that dinger with the little music jingle they've got there. What do those balance rate #'s represent? A percentage ± ?

Are you using a manifold gauge set at all? If not, you are probably filling the vacuum with air before the charge even gets in. Can't disconnect the high or low side when in a vacuum without introducing air to the system. Those should remain connected and closed, and the yellow hose should go from the vacuum pump to the refrigerant tank or can - then open the tank or can, crack the fitting at the manifold to purge air out, tighten, then slowly open the low side valve. Normally around here I can get enough in to trip the LPCO, and get the compressor running. From there it charges pretty fast.

Is the condenser fan kicking on? What is the high side pressure doing? If the pressure spikes after a while, it could be due to lack of airflow across the condenser. Try hosing the condenser down with water - if the pressure drops like a rock, it's an airflow issue. You could be up against the HPCO. If all the lines feel hot there could be alot of air in the system. If the system was opened to air under a vacuum, that would do it. Air in the gauge lines can do it too - gotta purge them with refrigerant before charging.

Yeah, it's only going to charge to whatever pressure is in the can/keg - after that, you may need to jump the LPCO (low pressure cut off) switch to get the compressor to run, and draw the remaining charge in. If the clutch still doesn't engage, check for power at the clutch coil. If there's power, check for magnetism at the clutch (not running, of course) with a feeler gauge or screwdriver - it should pull it in pretty strong. That would verify the coil is good, and that you need to remove some shims in the clutch because the clearance is too wide. Should be .020", or less without making a scraping sound. If no power, check the LPCO first, and go backward from there.

If you have all new o-rings, and lubed them before install, it should be fine. I've had to tweak a few lines here in there on some jobs, just to avoid future damage. Sometimes I'll zip-tie a couple layers of inner tube around the line.

Nice. I just spent the last 2 days and 230 miles of driving trying to get the A/C in our '93 Volvo 940 back in action. First I had the wrong condenser, wrong accumulator, then, couldn't find a new liquid line (corroded - twisted right in half on removal) - dropped that off at a company in the city that specializes in high-pressure lines - should be done in a couple days. What a friggin nightmare! The '86 Grand Marquis was 10x easier.

I guess that's one good part of the militant "green" movement. The watered-down stuff we get today doesn't burn half as bad as it used to. A few seconds of stinging, and you're back in action. Don't even lose vision for a day like we used to.

Good find on that evaporator - just the cleaning alone will improve it's performance. If you mean flushing the interior of the condenser, if it's a parallel-flow (modern) design, it can only be flushed with specialized equipment that can generate the high volume and pressure required to get it clean. DO NOT use simple green inside it. The R-12 tube and fin condensers can easily be flushed. There are a few serpentine variations that are a bit more difficult to get clean without the equipment. Just FYI, whenever the term "flush" is used, it's understood to mean inside the hoses, condenser, and evaporator. Exterior is fine, to get grease and bugs off. Since it's aluminum, Simple Green is about as harsh a cleaner as I'd want to go. Zep Purple Degreaser (for example) will etch the aluminum if left on any length of time - stuff is super alkaline. With compressors, I flush them with the oil I plan to use in the system. I dump it in, rotate the compressor 10x in each direction, then dump. I do this until the oil comes out completely spotless on a white paper towel. If the system was operated low on charge for a length of time, you'll find a majority of the oil in the evaporator. That's usually what kills the compressor eventually. That oil needs to move through the compressor in order for it to live. Oil doesn't move without refrigerant, and the less refrigerant there is, the less it moves. When a system has been completely flushed of all residual oil, I find the system oil capacity spec., and divide it up between the components. I'll throw 4-5 oz. in the compressor, an ounce or 2 in the condenser, and accumulator, and a little in the suction line close to the accumulator, all depending on system capacity. On an economy car, I'd dial these numbers back a bit.

Very simple hookup. Red to high side, blue to low side, yellow to vacuum pump - if there's a 4th line on the manifold, that goes to the refrigerant. If only 3 lines, you'll have to disconnect the yellow from the pump when done vacuuming, and reconnect to the tank or can of refrigerant. ALWAYS purge the yellow hose with refrigerant before opening the valves to charge the system. I just crack the fitting up near the gauge and let it blow for a second or 2. Doesn't take long. Engine off, can charge both hi and low sides. Engine running ONLY the low side - especially with cans! High side pressure to a can could get very ugly. Just need to keep that in the back of your mind, and don't rush - NEVER open the high side when the engine is running. I usually let the vac run for a minimum of an hour - you guys in Cali and AZ can go a half hour without worry. Usually I get sidetracked with other stuff, and the pump runs for 8 hours. Longer the better anyway. You'll be amazed at how really simple it is once you've done it. Just have to be aware of the dangers, as with anything.

Guess you've never driven in MA, Jim. This can occur several times a day here. We have no idea what they do with all our tax money ... but we sure know where it's NOT spent! The roads!