finally got some stuff done!

[bigbird944]

hey all,

just rejoicing after having to do my wheel bearings. The car is so much quieter, rolls better, and feels more sturdy. I duno if any of you remember me asking but the wheel bearing that was bad was poorly put together. The nut with the pin on the wheels (haha yea too tired to remember what its sposed to be called...) was wayyy loose. After taking the pin out i took the nut off with one easy swing of a wrench without even holding the hub down. Yea ridiculous i know. But i replaced both sides in the back and its terrific. Had a stroke of bad luck however with the driver side. Damn metal o ring came off and caused my breaks to squeak with every rotation of the tire. Went ahead n got a new seal at carquest n put it in today. Carquest rules by the way, they get me anything i asked for in the past 2 years, never let me down. Wiper relay coming in tomorrow so i can finally have normal wiper movement...hehe no more stopping the blades when they hit the bottom...I am nasty at timing stuff now tho haha.

Air conditioning now works after successfully recharging. Didnt have to take anything off to do it either. Bought a 90 degree fitting from carquest and put it on in about 30 minutes (it is really tough getting in there but with the headlights flipped up its not too bad, a lot of patience is required as the process does go slow). Also fixed the front ground effect thingy...yea too tired again hehe...looks 10 times better now.

These cars can def. be a PITA but once u get stuff up and running its unbelievable how good of a car it is.

[Slam]

Congrats! Bearings are fun but pretty messy - did you do a CV repack? Reminds me of playing with mud pies as a kid.

First time I did my rear bearings a buddy of mine helped and managed to put a big scratch in the fender with the monster wrench he was wielding. Car sure quitenend down, though, and it's almost time to do them again. Alone.

[bigbird944]

yup sure did, hehe yea they def are messy, kinda fun tho! Had gloves on for a majority of the time tho, hehe def came in handy. The car is totally different now, seems like somethin else! I can actually have a conversation with whoever's in my car lol. Got a wiper relay today too so those are finally working. Gave her a nice wash n wax and a vacuum to get her all dolled up for the evening trip to the turnpike hehe. Time to turn some heads

I still haveta do a reseal on the hatch glass, i noticed it today lol it just never ends! o well i did it before so it wont take long at all. One question tho, is there like a cover or some type of weatherstripping that goes on the top of the hatch? cuz i see glass rubber then metal. I thought there was sposed to be like a plastic thing on top of that???

[Slam]

I don't think there's weatherstripping there. There is the metal trim strip, and while the hatch glue is curing you can repaint the trim. It should cover the join between the glass and the frame so you won't see glass, rubber then metal. One thing - make sure to scrape the adhesive you use from the top of the glass where the trim fits otherwise it won't sit flush with the glass. I know this 'cause I just did my wife's 924 hatch and didn't get this quite right. HTH.

You're right - it never ends. Today I finished up putting a master cylinder in the 924, next I've gotta R&R the dash in that, then I've got brake lines in the 944 to do. And on and on... Thank God I don't have to work outside!

[bigbird944]

yup yup, i did the seal last year but i was fiddling with the hatch latch mechanism, i cant adjust either of them, they're seized and i cant get them loose at all. Thats when the adhesive i used must've gave out.

Yea i dont have to work outside either. However i did do my bearings outside. I could've pulled it into my dads machine shop but some stuff was in the way and the temp outside wasnt too bad so i did it out there in the shade. When winter time comes tho an indoor work area is precious. Me n my father had to do my moms fuel pump outside in the snow before...was NOT fun! lol

Thanks for the pointers on the hatch. Last time i just filled in the crack n didnt get any of the adhesive on the window. This time i guess do a lil bit on the glass. Hopefully i'll have some time to do that real quick tomorrow.

I forgot i had to replace the shocks on the hood. hehe i used an adjustable car wash scrubber to keep her open while i was doing the ac. Will have to order those sometime soon.

One question Slam...with your brake and clutch pedals...do they seem to get stiffer as u drive? Mine did but since i did the wheel bearings i havent noticed it as much...

[Panzer909]

Bigbird944, did you do the AC conversion from R12? Either way, what was themost challenging steps in the process? I'm gonna buy a cheap 134 conversion kit and give it a whirl soon. I'm wondering what hidden fun is involved.

[Slam]

One thing I should have added was to remove the hatch to work on it. It comes off easily enough, just be careful - it's heavyish and hard to control by yourself! Get a bud to help.

My clutch and brakes don't stiffen up. Maybe your hydraulic fluid needs a change. I seem to recall others having the stiffening up you describe. Maybe the fluid heats up enough to expand. I really don't know. I do know that changing the fluid every two years makes a difference. When I drained my wife's 924, what came out was almost black! Dunno what was stopping that car...

[bigbird944]

panzer909, yes it was r12 to r 134a.

I didnt have to drain my system of r12. My system had no r12 left in it so that was one of the steps i was glad to skip over. It isnt tricky, u just need equipment to take it out.

Next once u have the system empty its good to check for leaks. You gota create a vacuum to do that. Not really tricky just need some equipment to do that also. But if you're familiar with your system and u know it doesnt leak, well u got nothin to worry about.

Now comes the hardest part, the low side charging port is on the compressor itself, you will need a 90 degree r12 to r134a fitting for that and another low side r12 to r134a fitting, there are a few so just go with the cheapest one. I paid 15 bucks for my 90 degree fitting. I bought the conversion oil which helps your seals and any possible remaining r12 to become compatible with r134a. (I'm not sure if its just my system but i heard someone else say this also, the low side fitting was able to screw directly onto the high AND low side ports. The kit i bought at autozone gives you a low and high side conversion fitting however the high side was useless, and the low side was too big to screw onto the compressor so i used it for the high side.)

Once you have your parts you wana screw them on. The low side on the compressor is very difficult to reach. Flip up ur headlights and turn off your car, remove the keys also just in case. Some people also go as far as disconnecting the battery. With the headlights flipped up reach down and unscrew the cap on the low side. Then ull need two wrenches. One to hold and one to screw down. Be very patient and take breaks every few minutes so your arms n hands dont cramp up. Gloves might be a good idea also, i cut up my hands and arms reaching down there and wrenching. Be sure your 90 degree fitting is seated properly points in the right direction so it doesnt get in the way of anything when the engine is on for the recharge and also so u have some room to reach down and clip on the r134a quick connect cap. Lastly u dont wana strip anything, it would be a PITA to do anything with ur system after that. After its on there tight and snug connect a gauge to the low side to see if there is any pressure. It would be a good idea to make a vacuum and check it so make sure ur low side fitting is on there correctly. Once thats done ur ready to recharge. I got the UV stuff to look around for leaks and luckily i dont have any. Get ur r134a equipment together and prepare for the recharge. Connect the can to the lowside via the r134a quick connect cap and a gauge to the high side with the r134a quick connect cap to keep an eye on it to make sure u dont put too much in there. Go to clarks garage and go to air conditioning to find out how much pressure should be on the high side during the recharge. Next turn on ur engine and turn the ac to max speed and cool. (be sure ur clutch is grabbing as mine wasnt at first). Then get the r134a refrigerant in there quick n easy and close up the bottle. Then turn off ur engine and disconnect everything. Put on the caps on the fittings and last but not least the sticker that shows the system was put into r134a.

I know its long but its a good description on what to do. Info on this is never enough, better safe than sorry. You might wana keep a fire extinguisher nearby also just in case. You never know.

Hope it helps! if u have any further questions just let me know im on here often.

Best of luck,

Marian

[Panzer909]

Thanks, Marian. I'm off to the auto parts store tonight. Will see how it goes.........

BTW, did you remove & replace the reciever/dryer during this process or skip that altogether?

[bigbird944]

nope did not remove nor replace it.