C376FL

I just can't buy the fact that a car that I have had for about five years and the a/c has been empty of freon shows no sign of a leak. I pulled a vacuum on it about two hours ago and the gauges have not moved. The po did not know the history of the a/c, it did not work when he bought the car. Oh but the way it is a 76 c3. I just can't believe the o- rings have not dried out or the condenser, evaporator or hose has no holes. I don't know if there was a leak and they fixed it and never charged it up. Any thoughts.

Team Evil

If the system does hold a vacuum and the compressor kicks in, what sort of refrigerant would you use on a system that old or will you have to go through everything and replace the old with new pieces that are compatible with the new non-freon based stuff. Wondering !

C376FL

I was checking to see if it would hold a vacuum. Then it would let me know what needed to be replaced, that would determined which way I would go. I would like to stay with r-12 if i could.

'75

Just because it holds vacuum for 2 hrs doesn't necessarily mean there is no leak, just means there is no big leak. It may have taken years to leak out all the pressure. While it's empty would be a good time to replace all the o-rings you can get to. I have also seen compressor seals that would only leak under pressure and not vacuum or only when running. Put dye in it when you charge it so if there is a leak you might be able to locate it.

TimAT

If the system had no pressure, it had air in it. The dessicant (sp?) will have soaked up all the moisture it could. On the flip side, I'd hunt a bottle of nitrogen and throw 250-300 PSI in the system and see if that holds.

C376FL

'75 I kind of thought the same thing about holding under vacuum but not pressure . I have no idea if the compressor works. or vir valve is worth a darn. I wanted to know if there was a possibility of getting the system up. The next thing would be to find r-12 that would not require a lot of money.
Thanks for the reply '75

The13Bats

My dads avanti went through a can of r 12 a year for over 25 years,

The Hot Rod Grille

If you are ready for "sticker shock", check the price for R12 (if you can find any).

C376FL

Tim I might try that, I have used nitrogen all the time when running medical gas at the hospital. We purged the copper when we brazed it to keep it clean. It was the same for a/c lines. Then we tested all the joints with nitrogen. I will try to get a hold of a friend at the company to see if I can use the bottle and gauges. I have retired from there in 14. I thought about that also.

doorgunner

Cover all the bases first

(You could probably trade a can of R12 for a gram of platinum )