Hi all, it's been a while since I've been here, but, I would appreciate some advice from you guy's, in regards to air con' upgrades. Can anyone inform me, as to what needs to be replaced, to suit this new gas they use. The car is an 89 j spec, that I've owned for the past 9 years, and I'm being told I can't just replace the receiver/dryer and get re gassed. Any info would be a big help, as I'm just about to take the engine and dash out, and want to replace all these little things, while I have the room to do so. Cheers, Andy.
Hi Andy. Some people you talk to suggest to replace the pump with a new one designed for the gas, receiver dryer and tx valve. However on certain systems, I've seen where they only replace the type of oil the original pump contains and renews the receiver dryer. Very basic stuff. Does your system use the old r12? We have a 92 model and I get the guys at work to charge and top it up. Ill have to check on Tuesday now, but i can't recall if they're using 134a or the r12 substitute. Superchill of what ever it's called. Best to while it's all empty to replace the orings in and around the system. A bag of 20 orings only cost around $10. The 134a suitable oil is around $25 a bottle and you don't use much in the system. And the charging gas is around the $25 mark also for the quantity used to charge the system. These are rough prices going by what we buy in for work. It really doesn't cost much for regassing yet these places charge a lot. Once thd system is empty it's best to just double check the condition of the components and replace is required. But essentially if you had a healthy system to start with. Simply orings, oil and receiver dryer. Oh they also put conversion ports onto the hoses for charging purposes. And label/sticker it saying it's been converted. And that's it.
Personally I would look into an r12 alternative such as Hychill rather than trying to convert the system to r134. Cheaper, easier and better.
There is no "conversion" to R134 as such. However, mixing of the oil types reults in some strange foaming of the oil. Also the rubber o-rings used in the system are not ideally compatible with the new gas. The compressor is a compressor and there is no such thing as a R134 "specific" compressor. however, the compressors do contain some housing seals from the older rubber. There are some significant system pressure changes due to R134 and so the system will draw more engine power and produce much higher condenser core temps compared to R12. These elevated discharge pressures/temps will exploit ANY weaknesses in the rubber hoses on the high pressure side of the system. Particularly the compressor discharge hose. Errrmm.... we'll assume the system has been drained on R12 and contained for correct disposal..... right! Of course we dont just dump the gas to atmosphere do we................? Moving along, Remove the reciever dryer and bin it. As mentioned above, simply changeout all your o-rings with the correct type at a couple of bob each. They are all located within the engine bay. The drain plug at the bottom of the compressor needs to be removed and the entire system flushed out of the old oil. Flushing gas is available for this. The compressor needs to be loaded with the new oil and the correct amount, Ovefilling of the oil in the system can result in compressor failure, then the system closed, vacced down and charged. Thats it. NOTHING too scientific and no great expense if you do the majority of the gronk work yourself. The key to doing this kind of work is CLEANLINESS and using lint free rag when cleaning up the tube ends. Thoroughly lubricate the new o-rings with compressor oil and under DO NOT tighten o-ring fittings much tighter than a couple of Ft-Lbs. In fact, little more than hand tight is sufficient. Enough so they firmly support the fitting halves and simply dont unwind by themselves over time!!! Unlike flare tye fittings which actually require a given tightening torque to seal, o-rings dont really require any at all. Subsequent tightening of the fittings after seating results in deformation and crushing of the o-ring seat and the o-ring itself and in really dumb-fark cases, destruction of the fitting itself. I can tell you that even experienced refridgeration mechanics are just as guilty of overtightening o-ring fittings as the novice backyarder. HOWEVER, if you do all the work and then just have it sucked down and gassed, and it subsequently fails, (usually crushed o-rings from overtightening or leaking due to dirt on them or a blown discharge hose) then the AC guy will simply grin at you and start adding 0's to the bill when you take it back to trace and repair any leaks due to your own heavy handedness or lack of attention so be warned! FWIW, HyChill is a direct drop in replacement for R12 and requires NO changeover. However, so many people are frightened of having 350 odd grams of propane gas in their AC system providing superior AC performance to both R12 and R134. Funny how those same people will happily cart around 60 litres of the stuff in a gas fuelled car and never give it a thought......Hmmm... remarkable that!!! L8r Oracle
Hahah quick spot Chris!!!! ur on to me!!! I was wondering if it would be noticed...... Umm afaik not many, best off to look up the HyChill website who have a list of dealers. E
I believe the answers are yes and yes - both need to be suitable for the new gas hence the need for replacement
Any dryer you can make fit will do. They dont care what gas is in them. O-rings are a common type to suit the particular lubricant and are as cheap as chips and common. Enzed is where i got all mine. Couple of bucks at most for all of them. l8r E
Many Thanks for the info. I can only assume it's the old type gas, as I've never touched it in the 9 years I've had it. cheers, Andy.
