A/C conversion to Sanden/R134

Wed Apr 16 18:05:04 EDT 2003

I went to the boneyard and looked at compressors.
Judging by looks at length of service, units in Isuzu
Troopers made by "Diesel KiKi".  It's the school bus
one.  I figured if it can cool that gymnasium even
haft decent.  I noticed that they weren't removed
(that means they don't fail), the clutches appeared to
all be original and worked fine. When locked up, the
unit turned over very smoothly.  Almost no fluid
leakage.  Caltec (Zexel) also seemed very reliable for
exactly the same reasons.  I also saw some HCC
(Hitachi) and Sandens.  There's a common attachment
pattern on many of these units, but haven't measured
centers or spacing.  I wonder if this is the
Sanden/Seltec mounting standard?

Jim Accordino
i want my AC!
--- auditude at cox.net wrote:
> Hi a/c enthusiasts,
>
> Today it turns out the electricity went out at work
> (and it is our problem not the power
> companies!) so we were sent home for the day.  I
> took the opportunity to drive over to
> Phoenix and pay AZ Mobile Air (http://www.ackits) a
> visit.  I'd been wondering how I'd be
> able to get there during business hours.
>
> I got an estimate of $439.55 for the parts,
> excluding the condensor, refrigerant, and labor.
> Here is the breakdown.  You may notice the prices
> for walk-in are higher than the website
> prices.  But if you "know about" the website, then
> you get those prices!
>
> 5033 York to Sanden Adapter $31.45
> 488-45021 New Zexel W/2GR CL R134A  $200.10
> 48624MD Filter/Drier  $23.17
> 57399MD Expansion Valve  $28.29
> Hoses (estimated)  $100.00
> 35016363S Retrofit Fitting LO-7/16STR  $2.15
> 57807MD High Pressure 3/16 Switch Kit  $21.45
>
> Even though one of the guys there said the pressures
> were about the same for both of the
> refrigerant types, it seem the high pressure switch
> is still needed for whatever reason.
>
> I remembered I have a new receiver/drier "in stock",
> so I'll try to put that to use.  I was going
> to suggest one of the usual subjects like
> Performance Motorcars or TPC for the expansion
> valve, but the one from the a/c vendor might be more
> appropriate for R134a use.
>
> It hadn't occurred to me until he mentioned it that
> the hoses would be made from using the
> existing hoses "off the car" as patterns.  Prior to
> hearing that, I was imagining the hoses
> would be fabricated with the car there.  This means
> I can have the stock hoses loose and
> shop around for the best hose vendor.
>
> I heard the same story there as I hear at the a/c
> place I've been going, that no credit is given
> for any of the R12 they evacuate.  I didn't even ask
> how much it would be for that part of the
> service.  I'll probably go somewhere local for that
> since this place isn't near my work or home
> at all.
>
> They had a cutaway of a "parallel flow" condensor
> that they explained is needed to convert to
> R134a from R12.  It is clearly more efficient than
> the tube-and-fin style that the stock one is.
> The only problem is they don't have a vertical model
> that fits the 5 cylinder type 85 well.  One
> guy there said the hot rod guys will turn the
> horizontal parallel flow ones on their sides and
> they work okay.
>
> I'm going to try to find one that fits well.  I
> searched online and it looks like the best one has
> already been alluded to by fellow lister Paul, model
> CD-1801 from http://www.air-
> tique.com/condensers.html .  I sent them an email
> asking for confirmation that that is a
> parallel flow design for use with R134a.  It looks
> like it is, but they describe it as a "Aluminum
> 6mm Multi Flo".  I'm sure it's appropriate.
>
> I'm leaning towards piecing my own a/c setup
> together, leaving only flushing of the
> evaporator and charging with R134a for the shop to
> do.
>
> If you'd rather click a link than measure your
> radiator, you can go to
>
http://www.performanceradiator.com/EStore/Radiators/5selectradiator1.asp?selYear=1986&
>
selMake=AUDI&selModel=4000+SERIES&selLiters=2.3&Submit2222=Next+%3E%3E
> to
> see what the dimensions for the 5 cylinder type 85
> radiator is.  Well, the "coresize" is
> described as 18 7/8 X 15 X 1 3/4.
>
> So, I think I'm going to buy that vertical parallel
> flow condensor, a cheap York-to-
> Sanden(/Seltec) adapter bracket, pull the hoses for
> having barrier versions made, probably
> buy the Seltec locally, bolt it together and have
> either ackits.com or some other local a/c
> vendor flush the evaporator and put it together.
>
> Actually, I asked a question like James' before.
> What cars came with a/c compressors that
> might be able to bolt onto this Sanden/Seltec
> standard mounting pattern?
>
> Ken
>
> On 15 Apr 2003 at 14:52, Ti Kan wrote:
>
> > james accordino writes:
> > > Yeah, thanks Ti.  I was aware of Sanden.  Yes a
> very
> > > nice looking clean alloy cylinder.  Mounting and
> > > connections require a trip to the hose shop and
> some
> > > fab.  I just seemed to remember something at a
> > > junkyard that there was a newer, simpler and
> more
> > > effiecent alternative that was in a mass
> marketed
> > > vehicle.  I wonder what Nissan, Yokto and Mazda
> are
> > > running for compressors in their current
> vehicles?
> > > Anyone know?
> >
> > In fact Audi now uses a new, high-tech compressor
> in some of the latest
> > models.  It has an externally-controlled "variable
> displacement" design
> > whereby the climate control ECU dynamically
> changes the wobble plate
> > angle inside the compressor to vary its effective
> displacement, in turn
> > changing the amount of refrigerant that is being
> pumped.  On these cars
> > there is no compressor clutch, making the A/C
> operation very smooth.
> > The compressor runs all the time, yet can
> dynamically go from full-tilt
> > to almost a "turned off" state (virtually no load
> on the engine) based on
> > the cooling demand.
> >
> > -Ti
> > 2003 A4 1.8T multitronic
> > 2001 S4 biturbo 6-sp
> > 1984 5000S turbo
> > 1980 4000 2.0 5-sp
> > --
> >     ///  Ti Kan                Vorsprung durch
> Technik
> >    ///   AMB Laboratories, Sunnyvale, CA. USA
> >   ///    ti at amb.org
> >  //////  http://www.amb.org/ti/
> > ///
> >
>
>

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