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OK, I found my a/c leak. When struggling with the new Vararam intake design, I must have pushed the z51 oil cooler bracket into the condenser hard enough to punch through it.
Many choices including GM. Any recommendations? Prices range from $80 to $130 new, with the GM part at the high end.
When charging, should I use R134 with oil added to replace any oil that was lost? There was a patch of green on the condenser where the r134 leaked out.
OK, I found my a/c leak. When struggling with the new Vararam intake design, I must have pushed the z51 oil cooler bracket into the condenser hard enough to punch through it.
Many choices including GM. Any recommendations? Prices range from $80 to $130 new, with the GM part at the high end.
When charging, should I use R134 with oil added to replace any oil that was lost? There was a patch of green on the condenser where the r134 leaked out.
if your factory one only lasted 9 years because you poked a hole in it why would you even consider others to save a few dollars.quite often you get what you pay for.have seen GM C6 condensors at online dealers for $113.
You just can't charge it yourself. It needs to be evacuated and charged to the exact amount after you replace the parts. There's a guy I use called Coolman that will come to your house and has the equipment in a van and will do it properly. The other option is to take to the shop or the dealership.
I am so glad that I am not the only one to have done this when installing my Vararam
I ordered a condenser from AutoZone and rented all the supporting tools to evacuate and recharge the entire system. I had it done in one day, believe me evacuating and recharging the system is EASY it looked intimidating with all the gauges and hoses but, I read a lot of posts on this forum and it didn’t hurt a bit. Make sure that you get you some AC refrigerant that already has the compressor lubrication liquid built in or you buy the extra lubricant like I did and use it once and never have to use it again unless you recharge another system.
I am so glad that I am not the only one to have done this when installing my Vararam
I ordered a condenser from AutoZone and rented all the supporting tools to evacuate and recharge the entire system. I had it done in one day, believe me evacuating and recharging the system is EASY it looked intimidating with all the gauges and hoses but, I read a lot of posts on this forum and it didn’t hurt a bit. Make sure that you get you some AC refrigerant that already has the compressor lubrication liquid built in or you buy the extra lubricant like I did and use it once and never have to use it again unless you recharge another system.
Yes, I avoided damaging the condenser when I cut the shroud to fit the Vararam intake. The new design that they sent me to replace the old one I had uses a different support of the lower half. Struggling with those two connections is where I damaged the condenser. It is a tight fit with the z51 cooler in there, even with the modified cooler bracket that Vararam provides.
I have done many a/c repairs and charging. I have all the tools needed - vacuum pump, gage kit, charging line, adaptor for the new cans, etc. It really is easy. You need a accurate scale to do it 100% correct, but you can just go by the can label. Many times you are within one or two ounces of the charge using x number of full cans. Trick is getting all the charge out of the can. A heater wrap is the best, but a pan of hot water works too.
The difficulties of a/c work are finding leaks, replacing compressors (they are usually a pita to get too), and anything associated with the electronic controls or the parts inside the dash. I have even replaced an entire system due to a compressor failure and that was time consuming but not that hard.
Still need an answer on the question regarding the receiver/dryer being a part of the condenser.
Need New Condenser - Several Options
