C3 Tech/Performance V8 Technical Info, Internal Engine, External Engine, Basic Tech and Maintenance for the C3 Corvette
Sponsored by:
Sponsored by:

AC Problem

Thread Tools
 
Search this Thread
 
Old Jul 3, 2017 | 09:00 PM
  #1  
pats67copo's Avatar
pats67copo
Thread Starter
Pro
10 Year Member
Photogenic
Liked
Loved
 
Joined: Jul 2013
Posts: 729
Likes: 64
From: Florida
Default AC Problem

Trying to get the ac up and running on my 73 changed the VIR piece that was leaking vacuumed the system and charged it up but when I turn it on it starts to blow cold then one of the lines at the ac box freezes and it blows warm.
Can anyone help
Pat
Reply
Old Jul 3, 2017 | 09:23 PM
  #2  
Willcox Corvette's Avatar
0Willcox Corvette
Former Vendor
 
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 76,656
Likes: 1,851
From: Jeffersonville Indiana 812-288-7103
St. Jude Donor '08-'09-'10-'11-'12-'13-'14-'15
Default

Originally Posted by pats67copo
Trying to get the ac up and running on my 73 changed the VIR piece that was leaking vacuumed the system and charged it up but when I turn it on it starts to blow cold then one of the lines at the ac box freezes and it blows warm.
Can anyone help
Pat
What freon did you use? If using 134, one issue is that the VIR internal valves are not receptive to 134A.

In most cases with R12, when you freeze up you have too much freon in the system... But the valves in the VIR can't handle 134A (If you are running 134), you should contact Old Air Products about a replacement for the VIR. I talked to them a year ago and there are not valves available for the VIR's that will handle 134, but there is a solution.

Willcox
Reply
Old Jul 3, 2017 | 10:25 PM
  #3  
chevymans 77's Avatar
chevymans 77
Melting Slicks
Supporting Gold
20 Year Member
Liked
Loved
Community Favorite
 
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 2,716
Likes: 121
From: Sulphur LA
St. Jude Donor '05-'06,'11,'13-'14,'16,'18,'19,'24, '25
Default

Did you check for leaks (pull vacuum and then let is sit for a while to make sure it will hold)?
Freezing up can be caused by a few issues; low air flow across the evap coil, low charge, dirty coil to list a few.

Do you know how much freon was put in the system and what the pressures where when the line started freezing?

Neal
Reply
Old Jul 4, 2017 | 07:50 AM
  #4  
pats67copo's Avatar
pats67copo
Thread Starter
Pro
10 Year Member
Photogenic
Liked
Loved
 
Joined: Jul 2013
Posts: 729
Likes: 64
From: Florida
Default

Originally Posted by Willcox Corvette
What freon did you use? If using 134, one issue is that the VIR internal valves are not receptive to 134A.

In most cases with R12, when you freeze up you have too much freon in the system... But the valves in the VIR can't handle 134A (If you are running 134), you should contact Old Air Products about a replacement for the VIR. I talked to them a year ago and there are not valves available for the VIR's that will handle 134, but there is a solution.

Willcox
Hi,
Thanks for your reply I know they put 134 in the system would that cause the line to freeze and if so if I found and used R12 would that correct the issue?
Also in your reply you stated that there are no valves available for the VIR for 134 but that there was a solution so what would the solution be
Pat
Reply
Old Jul 4, 2017 | 07:59 AM
  #5  
pats67copo's Avatar
pats67copo
Thread Starter
Pro
10 Year Member
Photogenic
Liked
Loved
 
Joined: Jul 2013
Posts: 729
Likes: 64
From: Florida
Default

Originally Posted by chevymans 77
Did you check for leaks (pull vacuum and then let is sit for a while to make sure it will hold)?
Freezing up can be caused by a few issues; low air flow across the evap coil, low charge, dirty coil to list a few.

Do you know how much freon was put in the system and what the pressures where when the line started freezing?

Neal
Hi,
Thanks for your reply
Originally the system was vacuumed down and the VIR valve was found to be leaking out the top. Replaced the VIR valve and the system was checked again and seemed to be fine charged it with Freon ( not sure how much ) and ran into this problem of the line freezing up. Not sure if it's because the VIR valve isn't compatible with 134 or if there is a clog or some other issue. Trying to use the original compressor so don't know if that's also an issue
Pat
Reply
Old Jul 4, 2017 | 09:12 AM
  #6  
68blvert's Avatar
68blvert
Racer
All Eyes On Me
Liked
Loved
Community Favorite
 
Joined: Jan 2016
Posts: 290
Likes: 78
Default

Did you replace the dryer? How long did you vacuum it for? Excess moisture in the system will cause the low side line out of the evaporator to freeze and freeze the valve. At a minimum it should have been vacuumed for 1/2 hour. But in reality that's not long enough to try and get as much moisture out as possible. I usually try and vac a system for at least an hour with the vac pump continuously running. As far as the dryer goes once the desiccant is saturated it's done. No amount of vacuuming will remove moisture from it. Rule of thumb to go by is if dryer is open to the atmosphere for more than an hour it needs to be replaced. Less time if humidity is high.
Reply
Old Jul 4, 2017 | 10:20 AM
  #7  
chevymans 77's Avatar
chevymans 77
Melting Slicks
Supporting Gold
20 Year Member
Liked
Loved
Community Favorite
 
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 2,716
Likes: 121
From: Sulphur LA
St. Jude Donor '05-'06,'11,'13-'14,'16,'18,'19,'24, '25
Default

The VIR should be OK with 134,

134 will deteriorate regular O-rings and rubber parts, if rebuilt with the correct material the VIR will be fine, mechanically the VIR will work with 137.

Does the VIR have a silver top and bottom housing or is it gold?
Reply
Old Jul 4, 2017 | 08:33 PM
  #8  
Willcox Corvette's Avatar
0Willcox Corvette
Former Vendor
 
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 76,656
Likes: 1,851
From: Jeffersonville Indiana 812-288-7103
St. Jude Donor '08-'09-'10-'11-'12-'13-'14-'15
Default

Originally Posted by chevymans 77
The VIR should be OK with 134,

134 will deteriorate regular O-rings and rubber parts, if rebuilt with the correct material the VIR will be fine, mechanically the VIR will work with 137.

Does the VIR have a silver top and bottom housing or is it gold?
I hate to disagree, but we ran into this tree a year ago... Installed a rebuilt VIR only to have it fail. This is why I suggested he contact Old Air.

The valves in the VIR are not designed for the 134A Freon, and there are no new up-style replacements to make the change work properly. You can do a replacement that will work just fine and they sell it.

IMHO,

Willcox
Reply
Corvette Stories

The Best of Corvette for Corvette Enthusiasts

story-0

Top 10 Most Explosive Corvettes Ever Made: Power-to-Weight Ratio Ranked!

 Joe Kucinski
story-1

150 hp to 1,250 hp: Every Corvette Generation Compared by the Specs That Matter

 Joe Kucinski
story-2

8 Coolest Corvette Pace Cars (and Replicas) of All Time

 Verdad Gallardo
story-3

Top 10 Corvette Engines RANKED by Peak Torque (70+ Years of Muscle!)

 Joe Kucinski
story-4

Corvette ZR1X Will Be Pacing the Indy 500, And Could Probably Race, Too!

 Verdad Gallardo
story-5

Top 10 Corvettes Coming to Mecum Indy 2026!

 Brett Foote
story-6

Top 10 C9 Corvette MUST-HAVES to Fix These C8 Generation Flaws!

 Michael S. Palmer
story-7

10 Revolutionary 'Corvette Firsts' Most People Don't Know

 Joe Kucinski
story-8

5 Reasons to Upgrade to an LS6-Powered Corvette; 5 Reasons to Stay LT2

 Michael S. Palmer
story-9

2027 Corvette vs The World: Every C8 vs Its Closest Competitor

 Joe Kucinski
Old Jul 4, 2017 | 09:41 PM
  #9  
chevymans 77's Avatar
chevymans 77
Melting Slicks
Supporting Gold
20 Year Member
Liked
Loved
Community Favorite
 
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 2,716
Likes: 121
From: Sulphur LA
St. Jude Donor '05-'06,'11,'13-'14,'16,'18,'19,'24, '25
Default

I understand your experience was not good with the rebuilt VIR but when you say they are not designed for 134 what exactly does that mean?

r12 and 134a are very similar when it comes to how they perform within the AC system, with 134 being a little more efficient then 12.

134 did cause the old o-rings and rubber components to deteriorate but the new oils have all but stopped this issue.

So I'm very curious to learn what exactly your issues were, is it possible that the VIR that gave you issues was incorrectly rebuilt?

I'm not trying to argue just wanting to understand,

Neal
Reply
Old Jul 4, 2017 | 11:17 PM
  #10  
Willcox Corvette's Avatar
0Willcox Corvette
Former Vendor
 
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 76,656
Likes: 1,851
From: Jeffersonville Indiana 812-288-7103
St. Jude Donor '08-'09-'10-'11-'12-'13-'14-'15
Default

Originally Posted by chevymans 77
I understand your experience was not good with the rebuilt VIR but when you say they are not designed for 134 what exactly does that mean?

r12 and 134a are very similar when it comes to how they perform within the AC system, with 134 being a little more efficient then 12.

134 did cause the old o-rings and rubber components to deteriorate but the new oils have all but stopped this issue.

So I'm very curious to learn what exactly your issues were, is it possible that the VIR that gave you issues was incorrectly rebuilt?

I'm not trying to argue just wanting to understand,

Neal
Neal, I understand.. This forum is about learning and has no room for arguments.. I just hate to disagree on any subject. I don't mean it as a "You are wrong" and only speak from my personal experience.

There is an issue with the valves in the VIR when 134 is applied.

The biggest issue is that I'm on vacation for three weeks in Maine but I have the paper work saved in my office. This is why I told the OP to contact Old Air. I don't have access to this from where I'm at until I return home.

But our issue with the 134 was the valves inside the VIR were sticking from the 134. If you need an answer faster give them a call, the fella that helped me out was more than knowledgeable on the issue.

When I get back I'll pull the info and PM it to you.

Ernie
Reply

Get notified of new replies

To AC Problem





All times are GMT -4. The time now is 05:21 PM.

story-0
Top 10 Most Explosive Corvettes Ever Made: Power-to-Weight Ratio Ranked!

Slideshow: The 10 most explosive Corvettes ever built based on power-to-weight ratio.

By Joe Kucinski | 2026-05-20 07:23:03


VIEW MORE
story-1
150 hp to 1,250 hp: Every Corvette Generation Compared by the Specs That Matter

Slideshow: From C1 to C8 we compare every Corvette generation by the numbers.

By Joe Kucinski | 2026-05-12 16:54:12


VIEW MORE
story-2
8 Coolest Corvette Pace Cars (and Replicas) of All Time

Slideshow: Some Corvette pace cars became collectible legends, while others perfectly captured the look and attitude of their era.

By Verdad Gallardo | 2026-05-11 09:50:51


VIEW MORE
story-3
Top 10 Corvette Engines RANKED by Peak Torque (70+ Years of Muscle!)

Slideshow: Ranking the top 10 Corvette engines by torque output.

By Joe Kucinski | 2026-05-05 11:58:09


VIEW MORE
story-4
Corvette ZR1X Will Be Pacing the Indy 500, And Could Probably Race, Too!

Slideshow: A Corvette pace car nearly matching IndyCar speeds sounds exaggerated, until you look at the numbers.

By Verdad Gallardo | 2026-05-04 20:03:36


VIEW MORE
story-5
Top 10 Corvettes Coming to Mecum Indy 2026!

Among a rather large group of them.

By Brett Foote | 2026-05-04 13:56:44


VIEW MORE
story-6
Top 10 C9 Corvette MUST-HAVES to Fix These C8 Generation Flaws!

Slideshow: the top 10 things Corvette owners want in the C9 Corvette

By Michael S. Palmer | 2026-04-30 12:41:15


VIEW MORE
story-7
10 Revolutionary 'Corvette Firsts' Most People Don't Know

Slideshow: 10 Important Corvette 'firsts' that every fan should know.

By Joe Kucinski | 2026-04-29 17:02:16


VIEW MORE
story-8
5 Reasons to Upgrade to an LS6-Powered Corvette; 5 Reasons to Stay LT2

Slideshow: Should you buy a 2020-2026 Corvette or wait for 2027?

By Michael S. Palmer | 2026-04-22 10:08:58


VIEW MORE
story-9
2027 Corvette vs The World: Every C8 vs Its Closest Competitor

Slideshow: 2027 Corvette lineup vs the world.

By Joe Kucinski | 2026-04-24 16:12:42


VIEW MORE