[ghetto wagon]

Being that it is still summer here I have a tip

Take apart the AC box and CLEAN the evaporator coils. All sorts of junk gets caught in them and reduces air flow. You can pick out any loose stuff by hand, Maybe use a vacuum depending on how small it is. Low pressure water rinses out the junk good and it will drain out the AC drain as long as it is not plugged. I'm not saying its plugged on every car but its something to look at.

 

[Carlton]

+1 on that. This is what mine looked like, about 25% of the surface was no longer letting air through. I also don't like the idea of breathing in air that's been through that compost heap.

 

[ghetto wagon]

+1 on that. This is what mine looked like, about 25% of the surface was no longer letting air through. I also don't like the idea of breathing in air that's been through that compost heap.

Yes! They also make cleaner that sprays through the drip hose. I used it on some cars in the past. It is supposed to foam up and clean all the junk out of the evap.. But I dont think it would do much for hair/ leaves... I'm pretty sure once the blower motor and or lower pan is out, You will have some access to clean it w/o taking the WHOLE ac box out.

 

[PRdeVille]

+1 on that. This is what mine looked like, about 25% of the surface was no longer letting air through. I also don't like the idea of breathing in air that's been through that compost heap.

Is it possible to remove the evaporator without removing the dashboard?
What about the heater?

Just wondering, as I've done various vehicles in the past, and it varies.
My '05 Envoy, I had to take out the entire dashboard, then the HVAC box, in order to replace the evaporator.

Same thing with my '95 Dodge Ram.

My '75 deVille on the other hand, all was accessible from the engine compartment (Cadillac engineering FTW!).

Thanks... this thread is chock-full of great information!

 

[Gearhead65]

This thread has been a life saver! Thank you all for your valuable input! I finished my putting my AC system together today. I've never done any kind of AC work short of buying a can with the hose and filling the system. I replaced the compressor(it seized), accumulator, orifice, and o-rings. I also flushed the whole system and vacuumed it with a vacuum pump and manifold gauges from HF as per recommended in this thread. I'm glad I went the route of buying my own AC tools since now I can do this on any car and save hundreds by not taking it to a shop to do something that was so easy to do. Took the car out for a drive and the AC vent temp dropped to 36 degrees!! I'm good with that!

 

[harriSScutty]

evap I wasn't planning on pulling this out but, I'm glad I did it was nasty

canister, accumulator or whatever you want to call it

compressor

accumulator polished

AC lines polished


these are the infamous AC line that right on top on the control arm. They were quiet dirty but, looked fine until I did the water test. Two pin size holes the naked eye couldn't see. So went to Advance put and order in and they will be here tomorrow.

 

[loweredd]

Nice!

I saw this picture:

and thought, he's not going to try to polish that compressor is he? Then I saw the next picture. Looks great!

 

[EagleMark]

Seems to be the place to get correct amount of PAG oil in a completly cleaned system with new compressor, drier. How much total on a new dry system?

Whenever I installed a new compressor I usually flush it with oil, pump it in and out and then let drain. Add some oil to condensor, add some to evapoator, add some to drier, touch of oil on new O rings.

But how much oil in our systems? mine is sig.

Then run the vacuum pump with my gauges that do not leak for an hour. Let sit an hour to see if there is any leaks, leave pump on and shut gauges, leave pump on when disconnecting from gages. Then install Freon to center yellow hose, open tank slightly, purge air from yellow hose at bulkhead, then open tank vapour side, open blue low side valve to realease freon gas into cars system. This usually give enough charge to strat A/C system and have compresor turn on without jumping the low side switch.

Then watch gauges and get to specs at given ambiant tempreture then close high side. Open low side and rev engine, watch presure for Ambient teempreture May have to let it suck in a little more freon gas or may have to let out a little.

Or install exact amount of required freon but that is sometimes hard to do with purge of air and I usually have a 30 pound bottle and no scale...

Back to question... how much oil does our system require?

 

[Badass94Cad]

I had to swap out the compressor today, and after reading through this and several other threads, I have a couple points that I didn't see included previously:

You DO NOT have to remove the 3 10mm bolts from the back side of the compressor to remove it. You have to remove ONLY the 15mm nut on the stud retaining the A/C lines. The 10mm bolts hold on shields that you can swap over to the new compressor from the comfort of a nice chair or workbench. Don't struggle. It will come out and go in easily enough. (I found this out AFTER removing the crap from the back. Then I said hey, I wonder if the new one will go in with all the crap on the back. Yeah, it does.)

The compressor calls for a Delco number (I don't have it in front of me now) of PAG oil. After looking this up, it is PAG 150, which is readily available at a fraction the cost of the Delco.

Oh, and the job is EASY! Easier than I thought it would be anyway, thanks in part to the forum!

Another thing, I did my ignition wires while I was down there. WAY easier with the compressor off!

 

[ghetto wagon]

Does anyone know of any ghetto way of capturing R-134a when HOME servicing a system. I used to use fancy AC machines where I worked, But that's 1000s of miles away. And... How would someone reuse the R134a. New stuff us getting pricey! I have seen those units used for home AC that are thousands less than what the roll cart car AC recovery machines cost. Can those be used on cars with some adapter fittings?

Sometimes units like this are forsale second hand for $200. Which is less than what a shop will charge to install YOUR parts Sure.. You need a tank too, But Still, x the labor for a few cars and buying your own machine will pay for itself.

 

[jd87sep]

May replace the Fan Motor and Fan Blade. The Motor is buzzing at high speed.

(Assuming your talking about the blower motor and fan blade)Mine was doing the same thing. Got tired of the noise and purchased another fan motor only to find leaves and all kinds of other trash stuck in the wheel. Cleaned it up and it was quiet again. Just for ****s and giggles I plugged the other one in and noticed less air flow than the factory one in. Try to keep the factory fan blade if at all possible.

 

[Slayerdies]

I had to remove and clean blower blades too. Where can i get that foam stuff to seal that hole? The old one wouldnt seal again.

 

[Hotrodder]

a/c max cooling

I have found that when using the a/c, set the temp on 60 degrees, therefore making the system only recirculate interior cool air, and keeping the system fan high on until the car is completely cool. Setting the tem for a ore moderate level ( 70-72 degrees) allows the outdoor air/humidity to mix with the cool air, and at idle it really changes the cold air input. Try only 60 degrees until you are really comfortable ( COLD) then switch to auto temp controls.
Hotrodder... cool in FL

 

[AJW]

Depending on what you had in mind, I was considering doing this to my Caprice:
https://sites.google.com/site/darbyselky/home/electronic-hvac-controls

I like the idea of a digital HVAC instead of the three knobs I have in mine.

 

[EagleMark]

I've got a complete Climate Control HVAC system with all the parts as mentioned in that article for sale, $150 shipped!

You can also read codes from PCM and other systems in car if wired correctly, I have the instructions printed and used it before the Buick was totaled...

 

[AJW]

I may take that off you...how you take payment?

 

[gmfanatic]

yes there was an actual breeze in south florida today lol.

 

[M0U35Y's_SS]

When I did my interior, I applied "FrostKing" self adhesive foam backed aluminium "duct insulation" to the underside of the roof panel.

It made a big differance. Before, you could have fryed an egg on the metal (were it not for gravity). After it was warm, not HOT to the touch.

have you had any problems with it peeling/releasing over time?

 

[topmeat69]

AC made cooler than R134

I have the factory service manuel for the 91 and 96 caprice, R 12 gets 8 degrees cooler under certain outside temps and humidities, point is R12 gets colder, Ive been able to buy it on Ebay, WalMart used to see cans of R12 for .99 CENTS a can !!! now its an EPA nono.....

Are there any Air Conditioner Improvement Mods?

Just got my AC competely charged.
Works OK except in the Hot Sun.
Then takes a while to cool down.
and
Not very well at Idle.

My Dad's 94 Roadmaster seems to be cooler and quicker.

Was wondering if there were any tricks to improve AC performance?

 

[Lance]

AC Control System

AC Control System