A/C: Remove or Keep Installed?

[565bbchevy]

We can agree to disagree all day regarding this "use as is" or leave well enough alone or if it ain't broke don't fix it. Well it is broke,and if I want it to perform correctly and safely and efficiently and reliably, then that is my choice. 🙂 I don't see it as wasted money,
it's money invested in to my peace of mind.

I agree, while some of my 34 year old parts on my Regal might still be in working order I consider my car not well maintained by any of the previous owners and I have no issue buying new and also some piece of mind along with it.

 

[azmusclecar]

Leave it on the car. The other thing to consider is if it needs everything it would be a good time to convert to a serpentine belt. I did that on my 82 El C and the donor was a 94 S body blazer with a 4.3l throttle body. Very nice clean swap

I am going to try to keep the original look to the car but thanks for the idea............

 

[azmusclecar]

Bought my Cutlass guy said he could never get the AC to work.


Disconnect a hose reconnected it and then pressure tested it with my air compressor.

Bad schrader valve as well.

Replaced it pressure tested it with air problem solved


Fixing a car "right" doesn't mean replacing everything for no reason

I don't believe I made the inference that I was replacing "everything" .....I believe my thread was stating the issue with
40 year old parts who's planned obsolescence time has come. We call them "consumable commodities" now.

Time may heal wounds but time doesn't fix worn out parts, unsafe hoses, deteriorated plastics, and non functioning items.

I have sat for hours in my garage summing up the energy to WILL my car to fix itself. And so far, it has been an exercise
in FUTILITY.

I'll fix what needs fixed, try to save what can be saved, buy new what cannot be reused, and feel that $3 I saved by reinstalling
that weakened 40 year old hose clamp will SURELY HOLD.........and what do my wandering eyes should appear?????????
No not Santa but an engine temp gauge going above normal and the smell of antifreeze permeating the interior through the vents.🤔

Yepper.........that $3 saved was to be used at the donut shop, well I guess we can forget that now. And oh how
difficult it is to get to that hose clamp.................and now the emoji goes:🙁🙁🙁

 

[Bonnewagon]

So what all is bad? The only moving part is the compressor and they usually leak. After that all you have is seals and maybe actual physical damage to components. Are your parts even available? I know Pontiac AC hoses dried up years ago and I would need to get a shop to make a replacement today. My Bonnewagon came with a 231 V-6 and radial compressor AC that leaked. I put a Pontiac 301 in and found the brackets from a Turbo 301 so I could use the same type smaller radial unit. I left it all in place while I did the engine, transmission, brakes, and body work. Then I sourced a used rebuilt 4-Seasons unit from this board and it worked great. Everything else was stock and intact, no leaks, so I used it all. I added some mineral oil, vacuumed it down, and filled it with an R-12 equivalent. That was 11 years ago and the 36 year old system still blows cold.

 

[Max Headroom]

I don't recommend this method. Sorry, but you're asking for trouble if you don't know if it's got R12 or 134 in the system or not.

If it's been sitting for 26 years, it's not likely going to matter. Hoses are probably dry rotted anyway. I wouldn't trust it for as far as you can throw the compressor. Peace of mind is worth more than trusting crusty old rubber and seals.

You won't just throw some PAG oil in it and 134 because you have to evacuate whatever's in there first. Without knowing, you're running a fool's errand while wasting time and money. You're restoring the car, then restore the system. You're going to have to break into it anyway if you change it over because you probably have no earthly idea what refrigerant was last in it. R12 I'm betting. Always gotta know what your starting with. You're just f'ing yourself AND your car if you don't have a plan first.

Read my whole post more carefully. If the car has been sitting for 26 years then it won't be 134a. I specifically say to pressure the system up to see if it leaks. Changing from 12 to 134a takes new o-rings, replacing Pag oil & accumulator/drier and a long vacuum session. I have done this same process on a 76 malibu that was sitting for 6 years and an 84 camino that I drove till the motor quit. It's easy to say "Do it right." when you have the cash-flow to go that route. Many people don't. The process I just outlined will usually cost less than$100 if he has a friend with a vacuum pump. If the system lasts for a year, that's less than $10/month to drive a cool (as in low temp air) car in a place that is hot as hell.

I rebuilt my first two sbc motors in my daily drivers and re-used all of the same parts except rings, gaskets and valve guide inserts. I did it because I had no money and both motors were fouling plugs so bad that even plug extenders didn't help. I put 50,000 miles on the first one and sold it, running, to a friend. I put over 36,000 on the second one and drove it till someone t-boned me. You do what you can do with what you have. If he does what I say and it doesn't work, he is out maybe $100. If it does and it lasts for a year or more, he is ahead of the game. He has nothing right now.

 

[Max Headroom]

Read my whole post more carefully. If the car has been sitting for 26 years then it won't be 134a. I specifically say to pressure the system up to see if it leaks. Changing from 12 to 134a takes new o-rings, replacing Pag oil & accumulator/drier and a long vacuum session. I have done this same process on a 76 malibu that was sitting for 6 years and an 84 camino that I drove till the motor quit. It's easy to say "Do it right." when you have the cash-flow to go that route. Many people don't. The process I just outlined will usually cost less than$100 if he has a friend with a vacuum pump. If the system lasts for a year, that's less than $10/month to drive a cool (as in low temp air) car in a place that is hot as hell.

I rebuilt my first two sbc motors in my daily drivers and re-used all of the same parts except rings, gaskets and valve guide inserts. I did it because I had no money and both motors were fouling plugs so bad that even plug extenders didn't help. I put 50,000 miles on the first one and sold it, running, to a friend. I put over 36,000 on the second one and drove it till someone t-boned me. You do what you can do with what you have. If he does what I say and it doesn't work, he is out maybe $100. If it does and it lasts for a year or more, he is ahead of the game. He has nothing right now.

Let me clarify my opinion about things like this.

I am 66 years old and since I turned 17, have owned a "hotrod" for all but a very few years of my life. They are my one enduring passion. I spent many of my younger hotrod years on my back under my car because I didn't have ANY money, not just a little bit. I learned, by trial and error, that there are a lot of things that can be done for little or no money that can keep a car on the road, safely. For some things, I learned that doesn't work. They need to be done "the right way" (money).

I have been lucky enough, over the years, to make a decent living. I'm not rich by any means but until I retired, I made more money than my bills were. During those years, I bought new instead of making do. I had a lot of the work "shop done", not because I couldn't do it myself but because I didn't have the time. Now that I am retired, I am back in the middle somewhere. I am back to doing some things myself because I have the knowledge, tools and space to do them and need to spend less money. The difference from my younger years is that, for the most part, I don't reuse a lot of parts. I buy new.

I posted the process above, not because I think it the best way to go but because the post started with a statement about money being very tight, it was a way to potentially end up with A/C in a car he plans to restore until he can afford to do it right. I have used the above process more than once and had positive results in all but one case. It is not THE way to go but for a low budget it is A way to go.

 

[Bonnewagon]

Now that I am retired, I am back in the middle somewhere.

Welcome to my world. But I sure am getting tired of working on my back doing grunt work. And please explain why I am more busy now than at any time in my life?

 

[Max Headroom]

Are you married???

 

[Bonnewagon]

Are you married???

44 years. As I like to say, if I had murdered her I would have gotten 25 years and been out 19 years ago. Instead I married her and got life without parole. She feeds me and I fix stuff, like AC.

 

[azmusclecar]

Wow is my thread anywhere near on topic anymore or do we need Judge Judy here?

I appreciate ALL the comments.............even the off topic ones. I totally agree OUR BUDGETS control a lot of our decisions on what to
do and not do when it comes to fix, repair, replace. Between my two wives I have 43 years of marriage in. I am happily married.
My wife is happy, I am JUST MARRIED.🤣

But back on topic.......no two budgets are alike. Some members use their checkbooks as their favorite tool. Hey, God bless them.
I am not there. I am in the middle. I have some skills, and some money and I try to use both to take me as far as I can go.
I haev never forgotten the days when I had to borrow a friends tires and rims to put on MY car to get it thru Pennsylvania
State Inspection and then put my worn out "maypops" back on my ride because I didn't have the money even for tires.

Humiliating, a bit yes, but humility is good. Pride is confused today with confidence. Arrogance rides next to it. But in all cases,
I believe we are here to help one another albeit in advice, or opinions, or even a hand loaned to a local neighbor. I may be "Old SKool",
but with that title comes knowledge that I have been blessed in many many ways and I don't mean what most think blessings are.

A good thing I heard is, most people think I'm an idiot. Why open my mouth, and prove them right?? I just smile and say thank you.👍😛😊