creature comforts

I'm in the reassemble stage, but yeah it seems like every time I put something else together another part comes off.

my car is original a/c, but its missing a compressor and some of the linings. its nice to drive with windows down but they are so big that you cant have anything on the rear shelf unfortunately,it all gets blown away

Mine's got factory HVAC and it all works very well.

Took both the heater and ac out of mine too. Though I do plan on replacing all of it with a vintage air system down the road. Far down the road $ .

I've been spoiled by AC for a long time, and intend to keep it working if possible, even if R134 is required to do it. And I have a 30 LB can of the 134 plus a bunch of small cans, oil etc.
I just purged/cleaned the evap core and condenser for my Elco project. I used nitrogen to blow them out after using the cleaner. Hopefully I can get that system working too.
Advance Auto has the adapter set-up to replace the old filter-dryer assembly, for just under 80 bucks, which seems like one way to go for a R134 conversion.

I have a custom 2/75 AC system in mine at the moment....2 windows down, 75 MPH. HA

Compressor is shot and i have wiring trouble to the blower

Just as they were about to ban the sale of R12, I went out and bought a 20lb tank of it at the local Sam's Club. Probably still have about 15 lbs of it. The stuff is like liquid gold, so until I do decide to have the A/C system checked out on the Monte, I'll probably just sit on it. No sense in dumping it in the car each Spring only to watch it leak out during the next winter.

There's a die that you can use in the system, to spot leaks in the system. I used it some years ago, and it does show up leaks.

I remember growing up and my dad having to recharge the A/C on our cars each Spring. He would say the front seal on the compressor would usually contract just enough in the cold weather to allow refrigerant to leak out. Or, around the hose fittings. But back then, you just grabbed a small can of R12 and threw it in...no big deal...just considered routine maintenance. Guess I still cling to that philosophy that up here where it's cold, it's inevitable that you'll need to recharge each Spring.

A/C? What's that? LOL On a hot summer day, I have constant HEAT blowing right at me. Somebody went through the dash and screwed all of that up. Not only dd they take the A/C out, but they messed up the heater control, the cables, who knows what else. I can't even close the door to the vent. It all has to be fixed before the dash goes back in. So, when it's 80+ degrees out, I get into my car, with it's black interior, leave the windows down to get some not-as-hot air, and turn up the stereo so I can't hear the whine of the timing gear.

Mine has R-12 in it still. I had to replace the compressor last summer thanks to the previous owner not bothering to put oil in it when it was replaced a number of years ago. I managed to capture almost all the R12 and put it back in, and I still have a couple cans left in the freezer. I put in a new compressor and accumulator and orifice tube, flushed it and cleaned both coils.

If I have to convert it 134, it should be easy, but will probably need a more efficient condenser to make it work as well as the R12 setup.

On my '76 I ran 4/55 air for years before I finally decided to fix the a/c and it lasted a year before it would leak out again. Never did find the leak.

Can a defective orifice tube not allow refrigerant to be added to the system? About the second summer after the A/C had been serviced but now had no cold air, I tried adding freon and couldn't get the system to pull it in. And yes, the compressor was operating at the time. Someone had suggested maybe the tube was blocked. Isn't there a special tool to remove it? Are the orifice tubes even available?

Mcarlo77 wrote:Can a defective orifice tube not allow refrigerant to be added to the system? About the second summer after the A/C had been serviced but now had no cold air, I tried adding freon and couldn't get the system to pull it in. And yes, the compressor was operating at the time. Someone had suggested maybe the tube was blocked. Isn't there a special tool to remove it? Are the orifice tubes even available?

It's possible, have to put gauges on it to see the pressures to make sure. A quick check to see if it is plugged up is to run it on a hot humid day and see if you see ice forming right after the orifice tube, Its where the small line makes a right angle and then runs to the bottom of the evaporator.

Mine came out in two pieces, 99% of the time a pair of needle nose pliers work well. If it breaks off too far down in there, then you get basically a long woodscrew or the tool to extract it.