[s-cars] AC recharge

[Calvin Craig]

Man, I wish I could remember exactly.  I have to tell you, that I am sure I
didn't do anything fancy.  My guess is that I just used the one port that is
available - I know it is not a low pressure port but I am almost sure that
is what I did.  I didn't make any special tools or do any special mods, it
was really a 45 minute project.  Its been so long now I just can't remember
exactly how I went about it.
--Calvin


-----Original Message-----
From: tedebearp at yahoo.com [mailto:tedebearp at yahoo.com]
Sent: Friday, May 08, 2009 11:33 PM
To: Calvin Craig
Cc: s.sikss at gmail.com; s-car-list at audifans.com
Subject: RE: RE: [s-cars] AC recharge



Great, you can tell us how you installed it.  Mine's already done and
blowing nice and cold, but it'd be nice if somebody could put down that info
for the record.


Calvin Craig wrote:
> I guess I have a different experience.  My '92 was low about 5 years ago
and
> I just put in a can of the hydrocarbon based R-12 compatible stuff and it
> has worked great for 5 years.  Total cost was about $35, if I recall
> correctly.
> --Calvin
> -----Original Message-----
> From: s-car-list-bounces at audifans.com
> [mailto:s-car-list-bounces at audifans.com]On Behalf Of Vincent Frégeac
> Sent: Wednesday, May 06, 2009 9:37 PM
> To: 'Theodore Chen'; s-car-list at audifans.com
> Subject: Re: [s-cars] AC recharge
> From what I've heard, no BTDT, cheap R134 conversion doesn't last long and
a
> real conversion costs a lot (R&R all seals which means put the entire A/
> system apart, replace the compressor & dryer, then refill, I would suspect
> much more than 140$ which seems to be oil and Freon only).
> Beside, recharging is never a solution. You need to find the leak that
leads
> you to a recharge first. The most efficient mech I've used to diagnose my
> slowly leaking (3-4 months between recharge) A/C on the departed S-Bitch
> used a simple, cheap, but very effective solution (more effective than the
3
> dealers and 2 A/C specialist I've visited before)
> 1- Vaccum the A/C
> 2- Fill with compressed air up to the max operating pressure (300 psi
IIRC)
> 3- Spray all A/C components with water/soap mix and let stand for 30
minutes
> (at 300psi, even a months slow leak will be right in your face)
> 4- Replace culprit
> 5- Vaccum as much as you can
> 6- Run the car for 2-3 weeks
> 7- If Vaccum pressure has not changed, refill with the Rwhatever the car
was
> designed for.
> 8- If Vaccum is gone, repeat.
> Note that this procedure can _create_ leaks but these leaks would have
> appear shortly anyhow so it's better to diagnose them all while you're at
> it.
> Worked great. The A/C hold for 4 years (then I sold it) although it has
been
> open (and full of grit as you can imagine) for 3 years until this mech
> finally had the proper way to properly diagnose a slow leak. It costed me
a
> dryer and two expansion valves but while the vibrating compressor told me
> there was still plenty of grit in the system, no leak reappeared.
> HTH,
> Vincnet.
> -----Message d'origine-----
> De : s-car-list-bounces at audifans.com
> [mailto:s-car-list-bounces at audifans.com] De la part de Theodore Chen
> Envoyé : 6 mai 2009 17:53
> À : s-car-list at audifans.com
> Objet : [s-cars] AC recharge
> the air conditioning system in my '92 works, but not very well.  it's been
> declining gradually over the past year, and has trouble keeping up in 80+
> degree temperatures now.  i think it needs a recharge.  it's an R-12
system,
> and i recall earlier discussions on the list saying that there's no
low-side
> port on the system.  i have a few cans of R-12 lying around, but if
there's
> no low-side port, i won't be able to charge the system using those cans.
> a shop said they'd recharge it with R-12 for $120, or convert to R134a for
> $140.  given the price, i think this just means they'll evacuate the
system,
> install fittings, add a compatible lubricant, and refill with R134a.  i
> don't know how well this type of conversion works, and am inclined to just
> recharge with R-12 for $120.  any thoughts?
> are there any gotchas for the shop?
> -teddy
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