85 C4. I bought it with the AC not working. Had to remove the compressor and some of the oil ran out. I dunno if it is all?

I bought a dryer. Compressor turns and seems to work. Will get an orifice and some seals. Was going to try the 134 stuff because it is available and cheap.

1) General advice, things to check?

2) What kind of oil and how much? Where do I add it? Just dump it into the compressor? (That's where it came out!)

3) Should I flush the lines with solvent of any kind? Compressed air, maybe? Blow them out?

4) I have a really first rate vacuum pump and gauges. I know about the pump. What should I charge this thing to? Particular H/L pressures I am looking for? How much is too much? Etc..

ANY HELP would be appreciated.

 

did you buy a new accumulator/dryer? for a retrofit, you will need NEW.

before you start I suggest getting a copy of this book - has just about everything you need to know.



the system takes 8 oz of oil. use ester - compatible with both R12 and R134a. add two oz to the compressor, evaporator, condenser, and an ounce to each hose assembly. the system will only take 85% of the R12 amount - a little over 36 oz total.

as for the system flush, I bought a kit from FJC. everything you need. I went through my system twice, and only used about 1/2 gallon of the solvent. flushing a used R12 compressor is something i'm not sure of - that is, not sure you can do it. my compressor was on it's last leg, so I replaced it with a new service replacement. my understanding is you need to get out 95% of the old oil.

you need a low pressure R134a cycling switch, and a .067 orifice. everything is covered in the FJC book.

I converted and retrofitted my 85 to 134a. I did it by the book, and it seems to be working just fine. I have center duct temps around 40° at cruise with outside temps in the upper 80's. it works as good as what I remember my old R12 system.

 

You need a scale to weigh the amount of refrigerant to add, after you vacuum the system. To check for leaks keep the gauge set on overnight to see if pressure goes up (system is leaking it you lose vacuum). If not then add the required Freon. The amount of freon you need in your car is on a label under the hood.

 

What a great answer. You are a credit to the forum, sir.

I will run that book down before I do anything.

THANK YOU.

And thanks everyone who helped me.

 

Best to have a shop do conversion, illegal to release R12 into atmosphere. You will be happier with end results. They will tell you of any problems with the system. It will be done correctly.

 

Thanks Peter, but there's no R12 left. It was like that when I bought it.

Also, I found that book for 14 to 20 bucks at various places online. (Apparently can't buy directly from FJC)

But Amazon has book, oil and fitting for 22 bucks with Prime! W@@T!!!


And I think it is important. I HATE doing like, flowchart things, without understanding them. So, hopefully this book is comprehensive and it will help explain some of this.

Just saying: "Do this!" Is never as valuable as saying: "You should do this, BECAUSE of this, and this, and that.. "

Thanks all!

 

"Best to have a shop do conversion, illegal to release R12 into atmosphere. You will be happier with end results. They will tell you of any problems with the system. It will be done correctly"

I dread having other people I do work on my car. Then you leave the shop having little knowledge what they did or if it was done correctly.

I'll work on my own car. Even if I do it twice, I learned something, and know a lot more about it doing it myself. With the money I don't save, I bought the tools to do another repair.

Even mechanics did it a first time...

 

 

have u pressurized and checked for leaks at all yet?

my a/c compressor is shot as well and had the HVAC techs i work with pressurize the system and check it first before i get to replacing parts

they used nitrogen to pressurize for a test.

as for other stuff im not that experienced there, i will just be replacing with the r-12 as the hvac techs here have some laying around :P

 

Youre lucky... it will actually still blow cold air with R-12

 

That's great you can get the r-12. Replace all the "O" rings and flush out the system before you refill it.

Sorry if I come off offensively, but I really like to learn about cars, and fix them myself.

I have a couple of friends who are ASE mechanics, and you'd be surprised how much they use the internet to research all the problems in different makes and models, and struggle to figure things out.