trying to get old ac working

Discussion in 'The Big Chill' started by electraboat, Apr 18, 2012.

  1. electraboat

    electraboat Well-Known Member

    last year i put in a new blower and just got a new drier from classic. big surprise compressor actually works. Schraeder valve is shot and definitely decided to use r12 Actually found an old r12 tube of dye as im expecting to find a leak somewhere. The system has been sealed since i got the car 3 years ago but would have been opened to do the motor back then,QUESTION is what would you change or do at a minimum to ensure a proper riunning system .it appears the condensor works too.
     
  2. DeeVeeEight

    DeeVeeEight Well-Known Member

    The system needs to be vacuum tested for leaks before you do anything. After that I would say fill her up with R-12 and some compressor lubricant and you should be good to go.
     
  3. electraboat

    electraboat Well-Known Member

    well i got lucky. leak was from low pressure hose and schraeder valve.both are now repllaced. drier is replaced all else was still good. only hold up. is the malfunctioning ac switch which i have 2 spares to try . should blow cold soon,but theres that issue with the switch,marty
     
  4. electraboat

    electraboat Well-Known Member

    Well had good fortune, A/C now works well but i wanted some opinions. The A/C blows cold but i wonderd how much better it migt be with a new condensor and evaporator. I have no complaints about where im at but the condensor is a littlr beat up and old maybe 20 to original years.The evaporator has a tendency to bubble out water thru the fierwall. I dont have the money for the jobs now but given the description would i see improvement replacing those old parts.Would it blow harder or colder. Marty
     
  5. bhambulldog

    bhambulldog 1955 76-RoadmasterRiviera

    The water bubbling out of the fire wall should drain into a tube and onto the ground.
     
  6. electraboat

    electraboat Well-Known Member


    could this be an indication that there is a blockeage or it needs to be cleaned.about half the water comes out the bottom tube and half through the firewall a/c on.
     
  7. DeeVeeEight

    DeeVeeEight Well-Known Member



    Yes and Yes.
     
  8. Lark custom 70

    Lark custom 70 Well-Known Member

    Sounds like the drain is clogged up. If you have low airflow coming out the vents the evaporator may be clogged or a blend door issue. As far as the condenser goes you can buy a comb tool that will straighten out bent fins. I wouldn't replace parts yet just try to revive what you got.
     
  9. electraboat

    electraboat Well-Known Member

    actually flow is good though i have nothing to compare to. it will cool the car with top up. i was just concerned as to my firewall blowing bubbles and leakin kinda like an old man peeing. how do you check evaporator/and or condensor efficiency especially if there older than the hills. does blow cold though just wondering if this is 100 %. also wondering when the car was new what was vent temp,marty:Do No:

    ---------- Post added at 04:51 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:42 PM ----------

    also since it sounds like the drain is clogged and its a little bit of a production to get the cover off and clean it , is it wiser at that point to replace the evaporator or send it to classic air for the treatment
     
    Last edited: Apr 29, 2012
  10. Lark custom 70

    Lark custom 70 Well-Known Member

    Before taking the box apart,I would try blowing some compressed air with a blow gun up the tube that usually will un-clog it. You can also use a piece of wire to remove the gunk in the hose.
    Napa sells some disinfectant foam spray that smells like oranges you can spray down the fresh air intake in the cowel, it will clean the box of any mold etc and you wll not have to open the box.
    Also BG makes a product called frigi fresh that works well too.
     
  11. electraboat

    electraboat Well-Known Member


    Thanx for all the info,marty
     
  12. DeeVeeEight

    DeeVeeEight Well-Known Member


    Get a meat thermometer and put it in your A/C vent and measure the cold air temperature. That is how the shops do it. I am not sure exactly what the cold air temps are supposed to be but I think somewhere around the upper 40* mark should be right.
     
  13. electraboat

    electraboat Well-Known Member

    You know i just did that and got 62 degrees. I called clssic auto aiir and they think i might have a bad water shutoff valve.So my next step is to byopass the heater core and see if the temp goes down. The guy said it sounded like my evaporator was working fine as a lot of water dribbles down but he thinks the heater core is overpowering the a/c. Well soon see plus it doesnt cost anything,marty
     
  14. DeeVeeEight

    DeeVeeEight Well-Known Member

    I had a similar problem on my Corvette. I asked around and found that there is a Ford heater control valve that shuts off both the supply and return side of the heater hoses, it works the same as the GM style valve. Now all I need to do is find you a part number - that may take a while.


    [​IMG]

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  15. electraboat

    electraboat Well-Known Member

    this is from the best a/c shop in the area. much of what you buy on the internet is not r12,its r22 or something else repackaged hence he used his analyzer to test what came out of my mechanics r12 30 lb container. it was a mixture of r12 and 134. now im paying a fortune for the real thing but my readings are where they are supposed to be and my vent temp dropped from 62 to 55. THAT is real close to what the good book says it shoulld be. moral of the story,make sure you really have r12,marty.
     
  16. DeeVeeEight

    DeeVeeEight Well-Known Member

    Marty,

    Congrats on getting it to work right and figuring out what the problem was, ENJOY! :TU:
     
  17. Danny68GS

    Danny68GS Well-Known Member

    Have you checked the system pressures to make sure your POA valve is working?
     
  18. electraboat

    electraboat Well-Known Member

    well it pays to go to an expert. after fixing my vacuum lines and a few other things including changing the compressor belt to a top quality thick one ,recharging with real r 12, the r vent temp is now 50 degrees!!!! and blows so hard and cold i actually had to turn the blower down because you could make icycles in there in the hot A sun at 85 degrees in a convertible boat. Its truly an amazing thing to see original quality a/c come alive decades later.Of other note the compressor, evaporator , condensor and poa valve are all functioning 100%....hows that for good luck! now maybe by xmas i can tint the windows and be ultra cool:grin::grin::grin::bglasses: ps dont switch r12 works great even though it costs an arm and an Asole
     
  19. 69GS400s

    69GS400s ...my own amusement ride!

    Couldn't agree more - last year I took the sportwagon on its first trip since its 26 year nap - 900 miles out to the BPGNats in the heat. Once out there we replaced the siezed compressor and filled it with R12.

    90* heat outside for the 12 hour ride home yet even with the blower on low I had to keep turning the a/c off every half hour or so to stop Shivvering and let the icicles thaw off my chest hair

    ----------------

    THANKS AGAIN NICK AND AL !! YOU'SE GUYZ ROCK !!
     
    Last edited: May 3, 2012
  20. electraboat

    electraboat Well-Known Member

    got the vent temp down to 51 degrees. turns out my main problem was that the mechanic who originally charged my system did so with an r12 container that was actually 49 percent r12 and 51 percent 134. when that garbage was removed the temp plummeted to 51 with real r12. Question..that temp was achieved while the heater was bypassed. when i put the heater hoses back where they belong my vent temp rose slightly to 55 degrees. is this normal even though its still very cold and blows hard to be slightly colder when bypassing the heater,marty
     

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