[Vwdiesel] AC woes

[LBaird119 at aol.com]

> Manifold gages do not give an accurate
>  indication of charge level.

  Huh???  Guess I've learned and been doing it wrong all these years.  ;-)
There are many things you can ONLY tell with gauges.
  If the system is over full then the low side line will be freezing up all
the
way, or nearly all the way to the compressor.  High side pressures will
be on the order of 300 + PSI as well.  Too low and the low side drops
below about 20psi and the compressor kicks out until it hits about
50 again.  When the high side hits 250 or 270 (can't remember which)
the high speed of the rad. fan will come on.
  If the expansion valve/screen is plugged or icing up then the high side
will really climb but the low side will drop and take a long time to
equalize.
  I'd go with the advice of checking bearings, alignment and so forth.  If
pressure's are causing it then I'd mostly expect moisture in the system
so a new receiver/drier might be in order.  I don't think these use a
screen/valve and the regular expansion valves are fairly bullet proof
if they stay dry.
     Loren