Been in storage 25+ years need direction in reviving the AC

I have a 66 Riviera that is in excellent shape (no rust etc & runs beautifully) but has been in storage for a long time and many parts needed to be cleaned, repaired or replaced to get them working properly.
Now I am ready to tackle the AC but don't have a clue as to where to begin or what procedure I should follow in getting it operational anyone want to walk me through this?

 

Are you staying with r12?

 

yes, based on what I have read on posts here switching is not an improvement

 

I would put a set of gauges on it to see if it is just low but still has a charge. if so, then it may just need to be topped off. Compressor shaft seal may leak though. If so then just replace it with a double lip shaft seal, vacuum the system and charge. If the system has never been open and exposed to the elements for long periods of time then it should be in good shape internally. This is of course if you are fine with just reviving the system. anything beyond that like restoring the system, and it can get pretty involved.

 

Thanks Musclecarz, It sounds like Its ok to just try it and see if I get any cold air . I thought something might be gummed up and I would have to purge it first. How does r12 get added to the system since I don't see a port like the current systems do?

 

The charge ports are smaller. The low side service port is on the poa valve. The high side is on the high side hose on the back of the compressor

 

Thanks again, its interesting the owners manual said to run AC a few minutes every 2 weeks to lubricate the seal and prevent loss of refrigerant. Well that is a lot of weeks in 25 years that this has not been done. Will let you know how it goes.

 

Is there a belt on the AC compressor ? and the engine has been turning it runs ? If not, grab it and see if it turns freely.

.. my SportWagon was revived from a 26 year nap, no belt was on the compressor and it was frozen stuck. The system was still holding an R12 charge though which had to be evacuated when I changed the compressor .. changed the O-rings connecting the hoses to the compressor, charged the system and its been blowing cold for 5 years now

 

Thanks Alan, belt has been on compressor -no problem there. Just got the blower motor working and no cold air (heater works fine) so time to take somewhere and put the gauges on it as musclecarz suggested.

 

Since it doesn't produce cold air i am taking the Riviera to a garage to check with gauges and I am pretty sure it will need some R-12 which leads to this question.... I see that there is a product Red Tek 12a... should I be using it? It is supposed be superior to R-12. They also have a leak seal product.

 

I wouldn't use that stuff. And definitely nothing with a sealant. that's a good way to mess up your system. id stick to r12. its not hard to find. just look on craigslist or ebay

 

I have the R12 & the hose kit for it on order will be here Monday. In the meantime I have this concern, Is the AC CLUTCH working? With the switches on I get voltage at the clutch and with the motor running I hear no change in the motor.
Without the motor running I hear nothing, I see nothing move. When they refer to the movable part of the clutch plate, what are they referring to ? Figure 13-23 does not show any "movable" part of the clutch plate. If they mean the clutch drive plate moves can I try manually to get it to move?

 

You should hear a click sound as the clutch engages but there may be a safety measure to prevent it from engaging when the system is low/empty. You can put power directly to the clutch with the engine off just to make sure that it does engage.

 

Thats what I did (put power to it and heard nothing) I take it that's not good.

 

UPDATE: I finally figured out what the movable part of the clutch drive plate was and am surprised that the gap between the drive plate and the Compressor is only about .03 inches (no wonder I couldn't see anything move). I figured it was moving on pins so a little while after putting a little "liquid wrench" on those pins ----WALL-AAH I hear a LOUD click when I apply power to the unit.

Now, I have 2 black vacuum hoses in the engine compartment that need to be connected 1 to the water valve and 1 to the ac/htr diverter . The manual says that 1 should be white and 1 should be yellow (that would be too easy if mine were colored) so now i have to figure out which is which (they have been cut so length is not going to guide me).