What Do Most List Members do when their Old R12 Air Conditioning Dies?

[Jason]

Sounds like you need an A/C clutch assembly.  If the shaft on the
compressor is OK you could take everything from a used one and not have to
drain the system.

Jason


On Sat, Jul 5, 2014 at 1:38 PM, mboucher70 hotmail.com <
mboucher70 at hotmail.com> wrote:

> I’m looking for some help to diagnose if the problem is the compressor or
> just the clutch.
>
> The very front part of the unit, which I think is called the “driven
> plate” spins in an “off balance” way when the A/C is turned on.  Its like
> its way off-center on the driveshaft and so the resulting off-center causes
> a lot of vibrating.  When the A/C is turned off, the front part stops
> spinning, but occasionally it will do one or two revolutions with a
> grinding noise and then stop.
>
> I filmed it while the A/C was both off and on...going to try to put it up
> somewhere (youtube?) and post the link on here, though I thought this site
> used to block hyperlinks.
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Kneale Brownson
> Sent: Tuesday, July 01, 2014 8:49 PM
> To: mboucher70 hotmail.com
> Cc: <quattro at audifans.com>
> Subject: Re: What Do Most List Members do when their Old R12 Air
> Conditioning Dies?
>
> Grinding sounds like a compressor clutch issue. You can replace the clutch
> without opening the system. Google R12 substitutes.
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
> > On Jul 1, 2014, at 5:57 PM, "mboucher70 hotmail.com" <
> mboucher70 at hotmail.com> wrote:
> >
> > Today was on a nice long run Toronto to Montreal, and the outdoor
> temperature was peaking at 34C (93F).  The AC was doing its job under
> difficult circumstances.  An hour from my destination it stopped cooling.
>  Looking briefly at the AC, it appears that something at the very front is
> spinning intermittently, and making a grinding noise when it does.  If I
> had to guess, the compressor, or compressor bearings are gone.  Its parked
> at the local Audi/VW independent garage and we’ll talk tomorrow.
> >
> > However, previously I’d had a chat with the mechanic years ago, and he’d
> mentioned that if I had a problem with the AC, legally he’s not allowed to
> “touch” it unless he first does an R12 to R134A conversion.  He outlined
> what the costs of that is, how many parts need to be swapped out at
> significant expense, and that its not a very good option because the result
> has less cooling than the original R12 system which didn’t have great
> cooling capacity to begin with.
> >
> > This list is filled with members who have managed to keep their Audi’s
> in near showroom condition, or at least running condition for far longer
> than the average Audi.  Mine is a 1990, which is old, but we’ve had many
> list members with cars from the 90’s or 80’s.  Thus I’m guessing many must
> have already faced this issue.  I know some have done the R134A conversion,
> to mixed results.  What about the rest?  Are there any good options for
> getting an R12 system running again?
> >
> > Thanks for any thoughts
> >
> > MC
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