I am trying to install my R134 A/C this afternoon and I am stuck at the beginning. The instructions say put 8 oz. into the system. 4 in the compressor (already in the new one, came that way), and 4 oz. in the accumulator. Is the picture below the accumulator?

Also, I was told to lube the new O rings with the oil that came with the kit. Is this correct?


Thanks, I know nothing about A/C.

 

Yes, thats your accumulator. And yes, use the oil in the kit on your o-rings. NOT any other type.
Jeff

 

Neither my old compressor nor old accumulator had any fluid in them. Not sure how I determine if 8 oz. is the correct amount.

How about this thingamabobber?




[Modified by Rhys, 5:59 PM 9/23/2001]

 

I don't think your picture is downloading all the way, so I can't tell you what it is.If it was empty, It should be fine with one can of oil. They say with 134a to put in about 75-85% of its r12 capacity (depending on what you read). People on the forum use any where from 2-3 cans of R134a. Personaly, I used 2 and my gauge pressures were perfect and my A/C nice and cold.
Jeff

 

It is some kind of filter according to the bag it came in. It seems like none of the connections have enough room to put it inline.


[Modified by Rhys, 10:20 PM 9/23/2001]

 

That is the expansion valve. It fits in one of the lines. I believe it is the line that is going into the heatercore box/firewall.


[Modified by Torcher, 8:19 PM 9/23/2001]

 

Actually it's the orifice tube. It regulates the refrigerant. Since you are going with R134a, I highly recommend you return that orifice tube and get a "smart VOV" (do a search on the net and you'll find info on getting one). It will cool much better with R134a & is not expensive.

BTW, O-rings should always be lubed with 500 vis mineral oil, not the oil that came with the R134a. You can find the mineral oil at any autoparts store.

There's no need to put some oil in the compressor, and some in the accumulator, etc. Just put all the oil in the compressor. Be absolutely sure you put in the correct amount. Have you flushed the condenser and evaporator? If not, there will be 1-2 oz in each of these components. You need to subtract that from what you put into the compressor. I recommend you flush everything to get the old mineral oil out.

Also, are you going to charge it yourself? If so you will need access to an automotive AC vacuum pump.

 

The instructions that came with it say to use the oil that came with it Zwede. I have to assume that is correct.

There is no evaporator on my system. It seems that there was no fluid in the old compressor, accumulator or condenser. I guess it had not been working in a while?

Should I just use compressed air to blow out the condensor? Everything else is new.

Where exactly does the smart VOV go?

 

Rhys,
I am not sure about the mineral oil for lubing the o-rings, but as I said, EVERY A/C Tech I have ever spoken with uses the lube that came with it. It is also stated that way in most directions.
Jeff

 

Man, its always soemthing. The bolt that mounts the compressor to the bracket does not seem like it is the right threads. The original bolt is fine thread and the new compressor seems like bigger threads.

 

Rhys- there has to be an evaporator... this is the part that looks like a heater core, but is not. This is located in the plenum up against the firewall. All you will be able to see are the two tubes sticking out of the plenum. The VOV goes in place of the orifice tube.... in that general area. It operates in such a way as to minimize the affects of converting from R12 to R134. In a nutshell, the A/C system has different requirements based on engine speed and ambient temperature & humidity... the VOV adjusts for this. Also... you cannot just "add R134"... you must evacuate (vacuum) the system to install any refrigerant, R12 or R134. You do need a vacuum source. Finally, although I must say I've done it myself, you are not supposed to blow out the system with compressed air. The reason is, that compressed air contains moisture. When you blow the system out this way, you are introducing moisture which is a no-no for A/C systems. My shop compressor has 3 water separators in the line, but I still am nervous about blowing out an A/C system with compressed air.

 

i'm also trying to convert to R134. my old neighbor and i were at K-mart the other day and he shows me a R134 conversion kit made by Interdynamics. he says he has converted about 6 cars with this kit,no problems and it works great,and it's not hard to do. So i'm convinced, and it's cheaper than the $300 i was quoted for staying with R12($200 R12 &$100 labor) vs $35.00. the instructions say to evacuate the system,and have someone suck out the remaining R12.well when i bought the car 5 yrs ago,i pushed down on the valve and got nothing. the instructions say the small line is the "high" side and the larger hose is the "low" side.the instructions says to connect the new fitting on the low side and charge from that point,but i can't find any valves on the larger low side hose,so do i hook up the new fitting on the Schrader valve on the accumulator and load the system from there??? i already placed a new fitting on the high side hose.(that was easy). the accumulator is under the expansion tank,so to remove the expansion tank you have to "float" the ac compressor. then pull out the tank,put the compressor back in,then ( i assume) place the new fitting on shrader valve on the accumulator and follow the charge instructions???? does this sound correct???? i also purchased a can of sealer/leak detector to add to the system.when done charging,"float the compressor,install the tank,put the compressor back in and i'm done!!! well,i hope i'm done,i know nothing about ac. anybody with any experience with these kits??? my old neighbor made is sound so easy and as usual it just a little harder with a vette,and i called my old neighbor to ask him and he's never called me back!! Help!!!

 

My systems was already open to the atmoshpere when I bought the car. I am planning on reassembling the system then taking it to a pro to vacuum it down and fill.

Where can I buy a VOV?

 

If you still need help with your AC system you might want to try posting your questions to this site:
http://www.aircondition.com/wwwboard/
There seems to be a lot of good advice there about 134A conversions, I wish I had found it when I was doing the AC on my vette.