HELP! Bentley anybody? Need evidence!

[David.Ullrich at ferguson.com]

My AC was down. Brought her to my local mechanic and told him to test it and get me an estimate to repair. He came back and said that I had multiple
bad o-rings and that the system was 100% empty, which was not a surprise.
He then recommended that since most of the o-rings HAD to be replaced, to
just convert it over to R134a. He came back with a price of about $500.  I
voiced SERIOUS concern with converting to R134a and mentioned that I
thought Audi didn't recommend converting cars with York compressors to
R134a. He said let me do some research on that and get back with you. The
next day he called and said it would be fine to convert and that his wife
who runs the office had called Audi. I said OK and to do the conversion. He
called later and said that the high end flex hose was bad, which once again
wasn't a surprise, they go bad frequently on the 4k & Coupe GT. So there's
another $170. We're now up to $700+ including tax and shop supplies. I
finally get the car back, and I am NOT HAPPY WITH THE RESULTS. Even on
cloudy day with temps in the mid to upper 60s, the vent temps on max cool
are only around 50 degrees, on warmer sunny days they are in the upper 50s
and lower 60s! :eek:  So, I've done some research and found the official
Audi TSB on converting to R134a. I was right, they do NOT recommend
converting cars with York compressors. And all other cars must have a
larger (updated) expansion valve installed, which he did not do. When I
called and confronted him with the TSB and the fact that he should have
installed a larger expansion vale, he let it slip that Audi had told Nancy
that converting this car was not recommended (I never mentioned I knew that
only that during conversion of Audis, you must install a larger expansion
valve). BUSTED! And I told him so.  But of course being a mechanic, he
insists that the system is cooling properly and that outside hot air must
be leaking in. So, I've now torn apart the whole venting system and
replaced every seal. There is NO leaking now, for sure. Yes, replacing the
seals dropped the temp by 3 degrees, but the temp above are AFTER the seal
replacement!  I asked some fellow 4k & CGT owners to test their R12 systems
and they came back with vent temps in the lower 40s even on the hottest
days (one was at 43 degrees when outside was 98 with 87% humidity!). So I
KNOW mine isn't working right.

So here's what I need. The Bentley book/CD has a section on AC that tells
what the vent temps should be when working right. I need that whole AC
section. All I have is the Haynes for this car and it's useless as ammo
against him. I'm going to send him a nasty legal sounding letter along with
copies of the TSB and the Bentley section on AC and give him 3 days to
respond with a formal Action Plan. If I get no satisfaction, it's off to
the BBB and possibly small claims court. This is basically a case of FRAUD
IMHO. Please help me out!!! I've spent over $700 to fix the AC and it can
barely keep up with sun and outside temps in the 70s, and the 90s aren't
far off for SE Virginia... Oh, BTW, the car is a 1987.5 Coupe GT.

Dave

1987.5 Audi Coupe GT "Special Build" 2.3 - Anthracite Black
1998 VW Passat GLS 1.8T - For Sale CHEAP