I have watched numerous videos over quite a many years and I have finally found one that a home mechanic like myself can do without all the fancy tools. Absolutely the best. Thank you much David
Great video! I learned a few things by your disassembly of the filter/dryer and compressor. As a "shade tree mechanic", I have rebuilt several systems but fortunately for me, none with the compressor damage and system contamination that I see on this Olds you've restored! I have a 1994 Buick Century (28k miles), which is a sister-car to this Olds... and have determined after testing that I need to replace the evaporator to cure a slow leak... I've been fortunate to obtain a NOS GM evaporator for it... do you know if I need to remove the mounting bolts UNDER the dash inside to remove the airbox to get at the evaporator, or can I get by with just removing the bolts and cover from under the hood/engine bay firewall to remove/replace the evaporator? This looks like a pain in the butt job that nobody does on these cars and there are no RUclips videos or other internet postings on it so I thought I'd ask! Thanks!!!! J
Sorry it took so long to see this comment. As for the evaporator replacement, that will have to be removed from under the hood, in the engine compartment. The cover will have to come off, behind the engine, to get the evaporator out of the car. That car with 28k miles should have a lot of life left in it!
Great training. Thanks. Can you tell me if there is a AC drain below the case coming through the firewall? I have a 1993 and it looks nearly identical.
Great video. Very clear and informative. You explained the details I needed to work on my '88 Suburban. Did you also spray the Zep cleaner on the inside of the rubber part of the hose assembly? I was wondering if the cleaner was safe for rubber hoses. Thanks again for a great video.
This is an amazing video! Going to try and refurbish a 1987 BMW E30 A/C system. Your 2 videos provided an amazing amount of information on how to properly do the job. Thank you for making this video!
BTW, the 2 10oz cans method holds true for my Mercedes as well... sticker says 1150g of R12, which works out to 553g of R152a, or 19.5oz on your formula. When you charge with that formula and R152 what does the liquid line sight glass look like?
davida1hiwaaynet The Merc has a fixed displacement compressor and expansion valve. The sight glass looks somewhat foamy and the cooling is less than I would expect. I think I have too much oil in the system though - quite annoying since I just replaced the parallel flow condenser and don't want to do that job again. The TX valve is also in a very hard to access spot inside the dashboard.
***** I remember working on the 80's Mercedes. I worked at a Mercedes and BMW independent shop for about 5 years. The TXV was under the cowl panel and took a ground-down allen wrench and an extreme amount of flexibility to get to it! And it would leak often and infuriatingly... because it was hard to get the lines in there at the right position... :)
Hello! I am really wanting to dive in and rebuild my AC system in my 1987 Mera, but it is really intimidating. I mean, I am a regular everyday mortal, not a professional mechanic. Don't get me wrong, I love working on my cars and can do plenty, but work on the AC! everyone knows you MUST take that mess in!! So your video is the first , well only that really puts the facts down! The Mega is 29 years old and had needs an AC job top to bottom and only now do I feel confident I can do it. I do not like taking any of my vehicles to some else , I enjoy doing it and I know it gets done correctly. I am now excited to do this now, not scared or in the dark!! Thanks so much for helping me get my Classic cooled down!
+ Buck Gill Hi there, thanks for the positive comment! It was a long video series, but the process of re-doing an A/C takes a while. Hope your A/C turns out nice and cold!
Thanks for all of these video uploads! I have an '88 Lesabre and the airflow from the vents is weak. I took the blower motor off and used my phone to record a video of the inside and I noticed that my evaporator core is caked with debris/old dirt/mold. Is a product like Klima Air Conditioner cleaner safe to use to break down that debris and get my vent airflow back? It says that it is a foam and that there is no rinse necessary. Thank you!
Hey Dave, thanks for these videos, and for your research. I'm researching parts required to repair my neighbor's 2002 Olds Silhouette A/C, and use 152a refrigerant for the charge. His van has had no A/C for several years, so we are gonna replace the compressor, condensor, receiver/dryer and expansion valve for certain, inspect and flush the lines and evaporator, replace those if they don't look good, replace any seals we can get at, vacuum the system, and put a charge on it. Is that a reasonable plan of attack, in your opinion? If I should be thinking of more than that, I'd be happy to hear your thoughts. You think there's any hope for the condensor or compressor still being functional?
Your plan sounds like a very complete repair! There is hope for the compressor its self, if it has not seized up or stated to leak. You can see ho smoothly it turns and how it sounds. Jumper it to battery and force it to engage for just a few seconds. If it sounds good, you may be able to order a re-seal kit and get it usable again. If it never did fail and send shavings into the condenser, then there's no reason to replace that either.
Great series David, a lot of valuable information here. Thanks as always for sharing your knowledge! Nice Olds too! Looks to be in excellent condition!
***** It actually does not. I am just really quick when exchanging the cans.... maybe 1.5 seconds. With the system working and low side pressure at 25 to 30 PSI not much is lost.
***** Yep. They started putting those check valves in the can taps fairly late in the game. It is a good thing because it will keep you from popping the can if you accidentally open the high side valve. I usually never have the high side hose connected unless troubleshooting, so I feel safe using this one.
where do i get the duster cans that dont have the added bitterant in them like the 10 oz cans at office depot/officemax have in them? or does the bittering agent not matter?
You can often find CRC brand duster cans without bitter additive. However, the bitter additive is included in incredibly small amounts and doesn't affect the operation of the system.
@@davida1hiwaaynet ok, thank u. i see that brand is sold at home depot without bitterant. is the pressure in the can enough to push itself into my lines or does the system suck it in?
I've been looking in to 152a as a cheaper alternative to R134a. My biggest hesitation with trying it is the fact they put that anti huffing stuff in it so people wont try to get high on it. (Why they would be stupid enough to inhale that stuff in the first place is beyond me, but anyways)... What my concern is, that bitterant stuff they add, my guess is an alkaline of some kind, and how it would affect o-rings, seals and stuff in the system and whether it would eat through them over time? What are your thoughts on the effect of the anti huffing stuff they put in the canned air dusters and how it would affect orings and seals, especially on a newer vehicle?
Hello Dave...I watched both of your videos in this series and you did a very nice job of explaining the A/C system and how to repair it. I'm with you on the person who dumped that much oil in the system. What a shame and killed a good compressor! And you're right that to really do a thorough job on a system, it takes a lot of time. Take care Dave and have a good evening...
Thanks for the comment! I appreciate it and happy that you liked the video. Yeah, there were some really uninformed people who worked on this system in the past.
Great video. Sadly my truck is a 98 and has the manifold style condenser and evaporator, so I have decided to change out everything for new except the evaporator (not in the mood to tear my dash out just yet). Your video answered many of the questions I had and several I didn't have. Thanks a bunch!
+Jackell Thanks for the positive feedback! You are wise to replace the manifold-type condenser coil. It'll constantly release small particles into the system. The evaporators have larger passages and it seems that they don't have this problem. Hope you get your cold A/C back soon.
Changing the pulley ratio to increase the compressor overdrive (putting a smaller compressor pulley) will HELP the idle / stop and go cooling. You will need to have an auxiliary fan to cool the extra heat rejection from the system with the increased compressor volume, though.
Great Video's ! Subscribed a few months ago, found your earlier R152 retro-fit. You taught me much from that first video, but boy did I learn alot on this series. Thank You ! Will be doing an AC rebuild on my 93 Honda civic soon, I had previously did an Envrosafe conversion(propane and iso-butane mix), but developed a leak. Want to go a safer route with this R152A. Any thoughts on what oil to use? Car was originally R12 (Mineral Oil), but can't decide on PAG46 or Ester100. Thanks again, I'll look forward to your excellent, well researched and informative videos. Some of the best on RUclips !
DIYdake I'm glad you found this useful. As for your Civic, I would look up the viscosity of the original oil, and try to find a PAG oil of the same viscosity. How did the Envirosafe work? Was it as cold as they claim it is?
Good suggestion... I know that I had to flush out my mineral oil since it isn't miscable with R134A or R152, but assumed I'd just use the oil requirement for a 94 honda(factory R134A - PAG46) or Ester 100(found on RX7 forum). Oppps I had a Trig teacher school me in the ways of assuming =) . Thanks for making me stop and think about this... my factory oil change in the R12 (93 civic) is SUNISO-5GS which is ISO 100 Viscosity. So to your point I should stick with the same viscosity when going to PAG. Any thoughts on the ester oil ? I guess won't mater since I'm going to do a flush of the system anyways..... Also forgot to mention that its a TXV setup, no fixed orifice. The previous R134A retrofit worked poorly so thats why I went with the Envirosafe, plus no license needed. Two big downsides to the Envirosafe aside from the flammability was 1) Poor idle/traffic performance... going down the road it was really ice cold. 2) they add a PINE Scent which you can't get out of your gauge set, tools, etc. Again thanks for the motivation to do a complete/full/proper conversion !
DIYdake LOL about the ways of Ass-U-Me'ing. :) One reason that the very light refrigerants such as hydrocarbons sometimes don't work all that well at idle is, the compressor may not move enough volume of gas per shaft rotation. Therefore at low engine speeds, the lightweight gas doesn't pump from low to high side as fast as needed. Therefore the low side pressure goes up and the system is not as cold. On the GM cars, it's usually possible to install a smaller compressor pulley to get the pumping capacity up while at idle. This is what GM did when they made the factory change to R134A (on certain cars). You have to be careful changing the pulley ratios, however. If not careful, the condenser will overheat due to the extra heat loading while the car is sitting still.
you do great work, ive learned a ton already. you make me feel comfortable trying this type of work. i have a 1985 pontiac parisienne that i just got, just got it running too. all original, clean car. the a/c would be icing on the cake
Thanks for your videos on this subject. I'm currently reading and watching before I tackle the A/C on my 1990 Mustang. It currently blows COOL not COLD. Did you need to adjust the low pressure switch when you replaced the old one? Second question, you had several cans of brake clean but I don't recall seeing you use them. Did you change your mind and use the ZEP cleaner instead? Thanks again, Don
Ho Don. Sorry it took so long to get to this comment! I didn't flush with brake cleaner because (as you noticed) the system was horribly trashed. If you only need to remove oil (not Black Death sludge) then the brake cleaner is better. It contains no water so it is easier to remove with the vacuum pump. This one was so bad, there was no alternative but the Zep caustic cleaner. The pressure switch came pre-adjusted. It doesn't freeze up on me so I didn't see any point in trying to tweak it further.
Hey David. I have a problem. My ac in my truck is done. I took it to get it diagnose and they pulled out the orifice and its full of black metal flaking. I have a 2007 Ford F-150. how can I fix it. I know I gotta get a new compressor and a condenser. What can I do to fix it
Hi Mark. Sorry it took me so long to get to this comment! If your orifice tube is full of shavings; you will need to flush out the system and replace the compressor and condenser. On your 07 Ford, the condenser will be a type which can not be flushed out successfully. Flush the evaporator coil with a solvent designed for the purpose, or with Wearever non-chlorinated (highly flammable) brake cleaner. Then change the dryer, compressor, condenser, compressor, and orifice tube. That will get you to the point of having a good system. Evacuate and charge it and you should be golden! For the refrigerant and oil amounts, check your service manual. I'm not a Ford expert so be sure to look up the correct amount of refrigerant and oil for your system.
Thank you very much! I have an older car and the a/c blows cool, not cold. I may try this. Do you know a safe way to evacuate the a/c system myself or do I need to take it to a shop to have it done. Thanks again. I loved the videos.
+ Mark Slusz Thanks for the comment! The only way to evacuate the air and moisture from the system is to use a vacuum pump. There's always moisture in the air, and when you open the lines, that moisture goes in the system. After the system is re-assembled, you have to connect a vacuum pump to the service port, and the pump removes the air and moisture from the system.
Thanks! This is the best AC video on RUclips. I bought a new compressor (Sanden, 1993 Volvo 240) which came with oil in it. Should I empty the oil from the compressor and put it in the accumulator?
No do it yourselfer should attempt working on their own a/c system until they have watched both of these videos in there entirety. It cleared up a lot of the myths that are floating around the internet. I feel confident that I can fix my own a/c after watching these videos.
I can't tell you how much I enjoyed your presentation. Caring Professional doesn't fully describe your work! And, I agree with your comments on politics. I live in San Francisco, CA and am an expert on bullshit politics. Especially when it comes to things like automobiles and air conditioning. Keep up the outstanding work.
Rommel Bryce-Thurton I am pretty sure they do sell it in larger canisters. I'm short on time to search in detail, but a brief search brought up several bulk sellers in China. One had a one tonne tote for sale. LOL
Can you please do a video on that turbo 3.8? I have seen only pictures of that set up before and when I saw your video of it I was couldn't believe I saw one. By the way, love your 89 Olds Cutlass Ciera! You don't see cars like that anymore. Loved the video and honesty there isn't much to an AC system on a car but you are right for sure its a restoration not a band aid! Thanks for the videos, I enjoyed them!
cw2lido Glad you liked the videos, also thanks for the compliment on the Ciera. It is a unique car, and it handles great being FE3. I have done a good write-up on the turbo 3.8. It is on the GM A-Body car forum. There are also videos on my You Tube channel, of the car on the dyno and some acceleration videos. It put down 326 wheel HP and 380 Lb-Ft torque (as-measured, uncorrected road wheel power). Since that point I have improved the tune and it is noticeably more powerful but haven't been on the dyno again. Here is one of the threads on the forum for this car's build: www.a-body.net/forums/showthread.php?1225
My compliments on an excellent two part video. In particular I like the fact that you give the rationalization behind why you are doing certain things while doing the repair. For I love to learn why things are done and not just how to do it. Hope to see more of your quality videos. I do have one followup question if you have the time. On one of my old cars which I am having a hard time just finally parting with has R12 in the system. And finally it is in need of some boost to the freon since it is not cooling as quickly and cycling more frequently. In such a situation, can one simply top off with some HFC152A using my manifold gauge set? Or, would the old R12 have to be first reclaimed, then vacuum pump the system, and refill the refill with HFC152A, and also adding 2 oz of Pag or 2oz of Ester oil. For I assume some oil was lost with the old freon leak. But considering the Sable is 23 years old and never had any A/C work, it must be a very slow R12 leak.
RonGJX Hi there. Thanks for the positive comment! I do like to explain the reason for the steps in a process. There are too many so-called experts here giving duff advice. they often say do something "because I say to do it this way" without giving a reason, because they don't know what they are doing. I feel compelled to give the reason for each step. I completely understand your desire to keep your old car! I would not hesitate to fix the system into top notch condition if I were you.As for mixing R12 and HFC152A, I would not recommend this because I don't know what would happen. The oil compatibilities are different, as well as the two refrigerants would not likely blend togethter in liquid form. Since you still have a functional R12 system, that has run for years before needing refrigerant, it is probably OK to simply top up the charge with more R12. Search eBay and there are guys who are selling the small cans of R12. They come up from time to time by private sellers who stockpiled them.
Mixing R152a into the R-12 would end up making homebrew R-500, which is a different refridgerant with different properties, though it might work.. and be good enough, it's not very proper. At least it's not as bad as people topping up R-22 systems with propane which is a real unholy mix.
I have 1990 olds cutlas ciera 6 cylinder. I just had the AC fixed not to long ago. The other day after a 1 1/2 trip I stopped to get gas and the AC started blowing warm. After some research I found and seen the my fan was not working. My drive to work is less than a mile from my home so I wasn't in a rush to fix it because sometimes I don't stop the car at all on the short trip. Today I did an hour trip, took the highway to keep the AC running running cold. When I came to a stop I heard a bubbling sound. I popped the hood and my antifreeze reserve tank was bubbling like crazy. I have a small coolant leak and have mixed in a lot of water so I thought it may have started to boil. So I flushed all the water out of the reserve and put antifreeze and took off with my hopes that the problem was fixed. 20 minutes of driving and went into a drive through and I heard the bubbling again. I thought maybe still to much water in the system so I opened both caps while the car was hot
Let all the water come out and fill it again... That's where I'm at with this. Could it be the broken fan that's causing this? I checked the oil and it looks good so I don't think it's a gasket. Plz help your the only youtuber I have seen that I would trust with my year and make.
+MARK SCRIMA Yeah - I've contemplated getting a Go Pro style camera. This one has such good macro zoon capability and detail focus, though... might need two cameras. :)
joshg678 I live in Alabama. A friend of mine lives near VA, and I bought it on a visit up there. Price was right, and I felt sorry for the car because the PO was ruining it.
Going by refrigerant mass (weight) you should take the recommended R134A charge amount and multiply it by 0.54 to get approximate HFC-152A equivalent charge. This is a starting point and will work pretty well on the GM cars from the 90's. I haven't experimented with any newer cars. Hope this helps you!
+Carlos Torres LOL it had 3 copies of each of your messages in the "possibly SPAM" tab. There was a troll attack on this and a few of my other videos a while back. They have been changed to "comments require approval" to keep the trolls from being able to comment. Feel free to PM me. I'll be online a while tonight.
David, I repaired the AC in my 85 Regal T-Type thanks to these videos and some spray duster. The car hadn't blown cold air in over decade. Thank you!
I have watched numerous videos over quite a many years and I have finally found one that a home mechanic like myself can do without all the fancy tools. Absolutely the best. Thank you much David
+Sloan Pilgrim
Thank You Sir I'm glad you found it helpful!
Great video! I learned a few things by your disassembly of the filter/dryer and compressor. As a "shade tree mechanic", I have rebuilt several systems but fortunately for me, none with the compressor damage and system contamination that I see on this Olds you've restored! I have a 1994 Buick Century (28k miles), which is a sister-car to this Olds... and have determined after testing that I need to replace the evaporator to cure a slow leak... I've been fortunate to obtain a NOS GM evaporator for it... do you know if I need to remove the mounting bolts UNDER the dash inside to remove the airbox to get at the evaporator, or can I get by with just removing the bolts and cover from under the hood/engine bay firewall to remove/replace the evaporator? This looks like a pain in the butt job that nobody does on these cars and there are no RUclips videos or other internet postings on it so I thought I'd ask!
Thanks!!!! J
Sorry it took so long to see this comment. As for the evaporator replacement, that will have to be removed from under the hood, in the engine compartment. The cover will have to come off, behind the engine, to get the evaporator out of the car.
That car with 28k miles should have a lot of life left in it!
Great training. Thanks. Can you tell me if there is a AC drain below the case coming through the firewall? I have a 1993 and it looks nearly identical.
Great video. Very clear and informative. You explained the details I needed to work on my '88 Suburban.
Did you also spray the Zep cleaner on the inside of the rubber part of the hose assembly?
I was wondering if the cleaner was safe for rubber hoses.
Thanks again for a great video.
This is an amazing video! Going to try and refurbish a 1987 BMW E30 A/C system. Your 2 videos provided an amazing amount of information on how to properly do the job. Thank you for making this video!
Very glad it helped you!
BTW, the 2 10oz cans method holds true for my Mercedes as well... sticker says 1150g of R12, which works out to 553g of R152a, or 19.5oz on your formula.
When you charge with that formula and R152 what does the liquid line sight glass look like?
***** My experience is pretty well only on the CCOT systems. They don't have a sight glass in the system. What does it look like on the Merc?
davida1hiwaaynet The Merc has a fixed displacement compressor and expansion valve. The sight glass looks somewhat foamy and the cooling is less than I would expect.
I think I have too much oil in the system though - quite annoying since I just replaced the parallel flow condenser and don't want to do that job again. The TX valve is also in a very hard to access spot inside the dashboard.
***** I remember working on the 80's Mercedes. I worked at a Mercedes and BMW independent shop for about 5 years. The TXV was under the cowl panel and took a ground-down allen wrench and an extreme amount of flexibility to get to it! And it would leak often and infuriatingly... because it was hard to get the lines in there at the right position... :)
Hello! I am really wanting to dive in and rebuild my AC system in my 1987 Mera, but it is really intimidating. I mean, I am a regular everyday mortal, not a professional mechanic. Don't get me wrong, I love working on my cars and can do plenty, but work on the AC! everyone knows you MUST take that mess in!! So your video is the first , well only that really puts the facts down! The Mega is 29 years old and had needs an AC job top to bottom and only now do I feel confident I can do it. I do not like taking any of my vehicles to some else , I enjoy doing it and I know it gets done correctly. I am now excited to do this now, not scared or in the dark!! Thanks so much for helping me get my Classic cooled down!
+ Buck Gill
Hi there, thanks for the positive comment! It was a long video series, but the process of re-doing an A/C takes a while.
Hope your A/C turns out nice and cold!
Just searched about the Pontiac Mera. Very interesting and extremely rare car! I am sure that will be a head-turner!
thanks so much . Occam's razor would be proud !
Very impressive. Your diagnostic abilities are matched by your skill at repairing.
Thanks for all of these video uploads! I have an '88 Lesabre and the airflow from the vents is weak. I took the blower motor off and used my phone to record a video of the inside and I noticed that my evaporator core is caked with debris/old dirt/mold.
Is a product like Klima Air Conditioner cleaner safe to use to break down that debris and get my vent airflow back? It says that it is a foam and that there is no rinse necessary.
Thank you!
Hey Dave, thanks for these videos, and for your research. I'm researching parts required to repair my neighbor's 2002 Olds Silhouette A/C, and use 152a refrigerant for the charge. His van has had no A/C for several years, so we are gonna replace the compressor, condensor, receiver/dryer and expansion valve for certain, inspect and flush the lines and evaporator, replace those if they don't look good, replace any seals we can get at, vacuum the system, and put a charge on it. Is that a reasonable plan of attack, in your opinion? If I should be thinking of more than that, I'd be happy to hear your thoughts. You think there's any hope for the condensor or compressor still being functional?
Your plan sounds like a very complete repair! There is hope for the compressor its self, if it has not seized up or stated to leak. You can see ho smoothly it turns and how it sounds. Jumper it to battery and force it to engage for just a few seconds. If it sounds good, you may be able to order a re-seal kit and get it usable again. If it never did fail and send shavings into the condenser, then there's no reason to replace that either.
Great series David, a lot of valuable information here. Thanks as always for sharing your knowledge!
Nice Olds too! Looks to be in excellent condition!
Does your can tap have a one way valve on it? Or does it somehow close when the can is removed?
***** It actually does not. I am just really quick when exchanging the cans.... maybe 1.5 seconds. With the system working and low side pressure at 25 to 30 PSI not much is lost.
I thought that might be what it was but figured I should ask :)
***** Yep. They started putting those check valves in the can taps fairly late in the game. It is a good thing because it will keep you from popping the can if you accidentally open the high side valve. I usually never have the high side hose connected unless troubleshooting, so I feel safe using this one.
where do i get the duster cans that dont have the added bitterant in them like the 10 oz cans at office depot/officemax have in them? or does the bittering agent not matter?
You can often find CRC brand duster cans without bitter additive. However, the bitter additive is included in incredibly small amounts and doesn't affect the operation of the system.
@@davida1hiwaaynet ok, thank u. i see that brand is sold at home depot without bitterant. is the pressure in the can enough to push itself into my lines or does the system suck it in?
I've been looking in to 152a as a cheaper alternative to R134a. My biggest hesitation with trying it is the fact they put that anti huffing stuff in it so people wont try to get high on it. (Why they would be stupid enough to inhale that stuff in the first place is beyond me, but anyways)... What my concern is, that bitterant stuff they add, my guess is an alkaline of some kind, and how it would affect o-rings, seals and stuff in the system and whether it would eat through them over time? What are your thoughts on the effect of the anti huffing stuff they put in the canned air dusters and how it would affect orings and seals, especially on a newer vehicle?
Hello Dave...I watched both of your videos in this series and you did a very nice job of explaining the A/C system and how to repair it. I'm with you on the person who dumped that much oil in the system. What a shame and killed a good compressor! And you're right that to really do a thorough job on a system, it takes a lot of time. Take care Dave and have a good evening...
Thanks for the comment! I appreciate it and happy that you liked the video. Yeah, there were some really uninformed people who worked on this system in the past.
Great video. Sadly my truck is a 98 and has the manifold style condenser and evaporator, so I have decided to change out everything for new except the evaporator (not in the mood to tear my dash out just yet). Your video answered many of the questions I had and several I didn't have. Thanks a bunch!
+Jackell
Thanks for the positive feedback! You are wise to replace the manifold-type condenser coil. It'll constantly release small particles into the system. The evaporators have larger passages and it seems that they don't have this problem. Hope you get your cold A/C back soon.
Wonderful video by the way! I am usually in stop and go traffic. Will changing my ac pulley ratio help or hurt the system.
Changing the pulley ratio to increase the compressor overdrive (putting a smaller compressor pulley) will HELP the idle / stop and go cooling. You will need to have an auxiliary fan to cool the extra heat rejection from the system with the increased compressor volume, though.
Great Video's ! Subscribed a few months ago, found your earlier R152 retro-fit. You taught me much from that first video, but boy did I learn alot on this series. Thank You ! Will be doing an AC rebuild on my 93 Honda civic soon, I had previously did an Envrosafe conversion(propane and iso-butane mix), but developed a leak. Want to go a safer route with this R152A. Any thoughts on what oil to use? Car was originally R12 (Mineral Oil), but can't decide on PAG46 or Ester100. Thanks again, I'll look forward to your excellent, well researched and informative videos. Some of the best on RUclips !
DIYdake I'm glad you found this useful. As for your Civic, I would look up the viscosity of the original oil, and try to find a PAG oil of the same viscosity.
How did the Envirosafe work? Was it as cold as they claim it is?
Good suggestion... I know that I had to flush out my mineral oil since it isn't miscable with R134A or R152, but assumed I'd just use the oil requirement for a 94 honda(factory R134A - PAG46) or Ester 100(found on RX7 forum). Oppps I had a Trig teacher school me in the ways of assuming =) . Thanks for making me stop and think about this... my factory oil change in the R12 (93 civic) is SUNISO-5GS which is ISO 100 Viscosity. So to your point I should stick with the same viscosity when going to PAG. Any thoughts on the ester oil ? I guess won't mater since I'm going to do a flush of the system anyways..... Also forgot to mention that its a TXV setup, no fixed orifice.
The previous R134A retrofit worked poorly so thats why I went with the Envirosafe, plus no license needed. Two big downsides to the Envirosafe aside from the flammability was 1) Poor idle/traffic performance... going down the road it was really ice cold. 2) they add a PINE Scent which you can't get out of your gauge set, tools, etc.
Again thanks for the motivation to do a complete/full/proper conversion !
DIYdake LOL about the ways of Ass-U-Me'ing. :) One reason that the very light refrigerants such as hydrocarbons sometimes don't work all that well at idle is, the compressor may not move enough volume of gas per shaft rotation. Therefore at low engine speeds, the lightweight gas doesn't pump from low to high side as fast as needed. Therefore the low side pressure goes up and the system is not as cold.
On the GM cars, it's usually possible to install a smaller compressor pulley to get the pumping capacity up while at idle. This is what GM did when they made the factory change to R134A (on certain cars).
You have to be careful changing the pulley ratios, however. If not careful, the condenser will overheat due to the extra heat loading while the car is sitting still.
you do great work, ive learned a ton already. you make me feel comfortable trying this type of work. i have a 1985 pontiac parisienne that i just got, just got it running too. all original, clean car. the a/c would be icing on the cake
Thanks for your videos on this subject. I'm currently reading and watching before I tackle the A/C on my 1990 Mustang. It currently blows COOL not COLD.
Did you need to adjust the low pressure switch when you replaced the old one?
Second question, you had several cans of brake clean but I don't recall seeing you use them. Did you change your mind and use the ZEP cleaner instead?
Thanks again, Don
Ho Don. Sorry it took so long to get to this comment!
I didn't flush with brake cleaner because (as you noticed) the system was horribly trashed. If you only need to remove oil (not Black Death sludge) then the brake cleaner is better. It contains no water so it is easier to remove with the vacuum pump. This one was so bad, there was no alternative but the Zep caustic cleaner.
The pressure switch came pre-adjusted. It doesn't freeze up on me so I didn't see any point in trying to tweak it further.
Thanks man, this is a wealth of info.
Hey David. I have a problem. My ac in my truck is done. I took it to get it diagnose and they pulled out the orifice and its full of black metal flaking. I have a 2007 Ford F-150. how can I fix it. I know I gotta get a new compressor and a condenser. What can I do to fix it
Hi Mark. Sorry it took me so long to get to this comment!
If your orifice tube is full of shavings; you will need to flush out the system and replace the compressor and condenser. On your 07 Ford, the condenser will be a type which can not be flushed out successfully.
Flush the evaporator coil with a solvent designed for the purpose, or with Wearever non-chlorinated (highly flammable) brake cleaner. Then change the dryer, compressor, condenser, compressor, and orifice tube.
That will get you to the point of having a good system. Evacuate and charge it and you should be golden! For the refrigerant and oil amounts, check your service manual. I'm not a Ford expert so be sure to look up the correct amount of refrigerant and oil for your system.
Thank you very much! I have an older car and the a/c blows cool, not cold. I may try this. Do you know a safe way to evacuate the a/c system myself or do I need to take it to a shop to have it done. Thanks again. I loved the videos.
+ Mark Slusz
Thanks for the comment! The only way to evacuate the air and moisture from the system is to use a vacuum pump. There's always moisture in the air, and when you open the lines, that moisture goes in the system. After the system is re-assembled, you have to connect a vacuum pump to the service port, and the pump removes the air and moisture from the system.
Do you have a link to that GM document showing the different refrigerant tests?
***** Unfortunately, no. It is not a public document.
Thanks for these informative videos. I will be working on my '91 Ciera soon, and your videos are a great guide. I've watched them several times.
Thanks! This is the best AC video on RUclips. I bought a new compressor (Sanden, 1993 Volvo 240) which came with oil in it. Should I empty the oil from the compressor and put it in the accumulator?
No do it yourselfer should attempt working on their own a/c system until they have watched both of these videos in there entirety. It cleared up a lot of the myths that are floating around the internet. I feel confident that I can fix my own a/c after watching these videos.
TheKimmer64 Thanks. I'm sure you'll have it up and running before long!
davida1hiwaaynet I now have good cold a/c in my 1992 Dakota, and my 1993 suburban thanks to your videos.
TheKimmer64 Great! Very happy you got your A/C going!
I can't tell you how much I enjoyed your presentation. Caring Professional doesn't fully describe your work! And, I agree with your comments on politics. I live in San Francisco, CA and am an expert on bullshit politics. Especially when it comes to things like automobiles and air conditioning. Keep up the outstanding work.
Thanks so much Larry. I really appreciate it and hate that you have to endure the CA politics. It's not one country anymore.
You the man I also repair AC systems Albany NY do you If they sell 152a in 30 "lb" cylinders
Rommel Bryce-Thurton I am pretty sure they do sell it in larger canisters. I'm short on time to search in detail, but a brief search brought up several bulk sellers in China. One had a one tonne tote for sale. LOL
Nicely done & very good information. Thanks for sharing!
Can you please do a video on that turbo 3.8? I have seen only pictures of that set up before and when I saw your video of it I was couldn't believe I saw one. By the way, love your 89 Olds Cutlass Ciera! You don't see cars like that anymore. Loved the video and honesty there isn't much to an AC system on a car but you are right for sure its a restoration not a band aid! Thanks for the videos, I enjoyed them!
cw2lido Glad you liked the videos, also thanks for the compliment on the Ciera. It is a unique car, and it handles great being FE3.
I have done a good write-up on the turbo 3.8. It is on the GM A-Body car forum. There are also videos on my You Tube channel, of the car on the dyno and some acceleration videos.
It put down 326 wheel HP and 380 Lb-Ft torque (as-measured, uncorrected road wheel power). Since that point I have improved the tune and it is noticeably more powerful but haven't been on the dyno again.
Here is one of the threads on the forum for this car's build: www.a-body.net/forums/showthread.php?1225
Dave excellent videos you put out. I have learned a ton from you videos thx.
Thanks Darrell! I ma happy this helped you!
My compliments on an excellent two part video. In particular I like the fact that you give the rationalization behind why you are doing certain things while doing the repair. For I love to learn why things are done and not just how to do it. Hope to see more of your quality videos.
I do have one followup question if you have the time. On one of my old cars which I am having a hard time just finally parting with has R12 in the system. And finally it is in need of some boost to the freon since it is not cooling as quickly and cycling more frequently. In such a situation, can one simply top off with some HFC152A using my manifold gauge set? Or, would the old R12 have to be first reclaimed, then vacuum pump the system, and refill the refill with HFC152A, and also adding 2 oz of Pag or 2oz of Ester oil. For I assume some oil was lost with the old freon leak. But considering the Sable is 23 years old and never had any A/C work, it must be a very slow R12 leak.
RonGJX Hi there. Thanks for the positive comment! I do like to explain the reason for the steps in a process. There are too many so-called experts here giving duff advice. they often say do something "because I say to do it this way" without giving a reason, because they don't know what they are doing. I feel compelled to give the reason for each step. I completely understand your desire to keep your old car! I would not hesitate to fix the system into top notch condition if I were you.As for mixing R12 and HFC152A, I would not recommend this because I don't know what would happen. The oil compatibilities are different, as well as the two refrigerants would not likely blend togethter in liquid form. Since you still have a functional R12 system, that has run for years before needing refrigerant, it is probably OK to simply top up the charge with more R12. Search eBay and there are guys who are selling the small cans of R12. They come up from time to time by private sellers who stockpiled them.
Mixing R152a into the R-12 would end up making homebrew R-500, which is a different refridgerant with different properties, though it might work.. and be good enough, it's not very proper. At least it's not as bad as people topping up R-22 systems with propane which is a real unholy mix.
I have 1990 olds cutlas ciera 6 cylinder. I just had the AC fixed not to long ago. The other day after a 1 1/2 trip I stopped to get gas and the AC started blowing warm. After some research I found and seen the my fan was not working. My drive to work is less than a mile from my home so I wasn't in a rush to fix it because sometimes I don't stop the car at all on the short trip. Today I did an hour trip, took the highway to keep the AC running running cold. When I came to a stop I heard a bubbling sound. I popped the hood and my antifreeze reserve tank was bubbling like crazy. I have a small coolant leak and have mixed in a lot of water so I thought it may have started to boil. So I flushed all the water out of the reserve and put antifreeze and took off with my hopes that the problem was fixed. 20 minutes of driving and went into a drive through and I heard the bubbling again. I thought maybe still to much water in the system so I opened both caps while the car was hot
+Carlos Torres Hi Carlos. I sent a PM to you with some details on what to check.
Let all the water come out and fill it again... That's where I'm at with this. Could it be the broken fan that's causing this? I checked the oil and it looks good so I don't think it's a gasket. Plz help your the only youtuber I have seen that I would trust with my year and make.
you could get a headband mount for your camera to make it easier on you to use both hands while filming if you want to...
+MARK SCRIMA
Yeah - I've contemplated getting a Go Pro style camera. This one has such good macro zoon capability and detail focus, though... might need two cameras. :)
Nice VA inspection sticker. You live in VA or is that were car from?
joshg678 I live in Alabama. A friend of mine lives near VA, and I bought it on a visit up there. Price was right, and I felt sorry for the car because the PO was ruining it.
Would happen to have the formula R-134A to HFC-152A
Going by refrigerant mass (weight) you should take the recommended R134A charge amount and multiply it by 0.54 to get approximate HFC-152A equivalent charge. This is a starting point and will work pretty well on the GM cars from the 90's. I haven't experimented with any newer cars. Hope this helps you!
Wow I most post hit ur vid a bunch of times. Plz delete the extras, no clue why it did that sorry. Gonna look at ur reply now. Thank you
+Carlos Torres LOL it had 3 copies of each of your messages in the "possibly SPAM" tab. There was a troll attack on this and a few of my other videos a while back. They have been changed to "comments require approval" to keep the trolls from being able to comment. Feel free to PM me. I'll be online a while tonight.
politically motivated comment ;)