A/C - Need COLD system for ~$1000. Possible?

[DonMo]

I feel your pain, I am going through the upgrade now. I pulled the old hoses out this weekend. Next I am going to our local hose guy, he will recycle my fittings and make me new barrier hoses for small dollars, less than $200. ACKTs will do yours for reasonable dollars if you send them the old ones.

For your leak, you may want to do a look at your your hoses. I could easily tell where my leaks were, the black hose was oily from the mineral oil in places where Pcar's don't leak oil. Fittings are a logical starting point. You can easily check by putting the car on jack stands and feel where the vertical hose runs go horizontal. The first place to check are the fittings that get the most work, you stress them everytime you lift the engine compartment lid.

For the classic undercondensing of Pcar's, I found a 3 pass 12x12 condenser for $20, added a 1000 scfm fan and will put it where the washer bottle was in the front drivers wheel well, perfect fit and can use the existing mounting from the bottle. Minimum cost for new hose. I also found a new Seltec compresser on eBay to take the Nippondenso's place for $99. Not a perfect match on mounting but workable. The Seltec is the same as a Sanden but not as much noise at 1500 rpm plus less HP loss and over all smoother, plus it reaches max efficency at 3000 rpm vs 6000. I flushed the condensers with 100% mineral spirits per ACKIT's web page instructions. My next struggle is to pressure test the condenser and evaporator, I don't want to pay the local ac shop the $30 they want per condenser (I have 3 now remember) so I am looking for a solution. Any thoughts from others appreciated.

[Jim Sims]

Since mineral oil is not miscible with R-134a it tended to stay in place on the old non-barrier hoses after conversions were done to R-134a. This effect significantly slowed down the permeation of R-134a through the older type hoses and allows them to be used in conversions. The mineral oil is not a solution to old, cracked hose nor will it help leaks at fittings or joints.

If an A/C shop injects dye and finds the leak then what? Some leaks may be fixed by tightening a fitting but not all are solved this way. To effect repairs the refrigerant will likely have to be removed from the system; is the shop willing and able to handle an R-12, R-134a and R-142b mix and dispose of it? They can't just vent it (big fine if caught) - you and your car could be a plant from the EPA or CARB. You need to check with the shop and see what they can do. Your buddy didn't do you a favor putting Freeze-12 in your system.

Examples like the above will likely result in the eventual ban of sales of refigerant to DIY's. There is now apparently too much R-134a being released and it is being attributed to DIY's venting systems and partially used cans of R-134a. Sigh. Jim

[Emission]

Originally posted by DonMo
"ACKTs will do yours for reasonable dollars if you send them the old ones."

ACKT = ?

[Emission]

Originally posted by Jim Sims
"...If an A/C shop injects dye and finds the leak then what? Some leaks may be fixed by tightening a fitting but not all are solved this way."

My plan of attack...

I'm going to get the dye done so I can check for leaks.

If there are one or two small leaks, then I will repair myself (hoses, o-rings, fittings, etc..) and have more Freeze-12 put in for a temporary fix for the next couple years (at a shop that deals with the stuff).

If I have too many leaks or really old lines (the PO replaced many lines over the years), I will remove the old hoses and replace with new hoses. Then, I will have the entire system flushed and filled with R-134. I'll add a fan to a new condenser in the LF fender and make sure the compressor works.

Oh, in both cases I will replace the drier.