Another AC thread...

[MakeMineaMonte]

So it's time to tackle the AC system in my 86 Monte Carlo LS. The other day the selector switch got stuck when I moved it to defrost. I hear that that's a vacuum line situation that I'll have to fix and so I went down the rabbit hole of thinking about whether or not to keep the AC in the car altogether. I live in the NE and summer's get hot, so it would be nice, but definitely a luxury for me. I have no clue when the last time the AC ran was. As far as I know, everything is in working order and it just needs a charge, BUT (and this is a huge but) I don't know if anything else will need fixing/replacing until I start working on it. I'm honestly dreading working on the vacuum lines...

SO now I face the debate of pulling out the AC and just keeping the heat so I can bypass all of the AC headaches that are possible. I saw the AC only delete heater box at Mike's Montes which looks like a nice option. Has anyone used this? Was it pretty straight forward? Should I just try to get the AC running with Red Tek Pro Seal or something? Is fixing the heater selector vacuum situation easy? Ugh...

 

[fleming442]

The vacuum selector is pretty easy. There's a little plastic pushpin/rivet that holds it all together- right up until it breaks. The head of mine got stuck and locked up the selector. Disassemble, clean it up, replace the plastic piece with a screw, and done. As far as your willingness to keep AC, that's entirely up to you, but I hate seeing a car with a heater delete plate or just the AC lines sticking out of the box. Keep in mind that the minimum needed would be an R134 conversion kit, unless you're sitting on a stash of R12.

 

[MakeMineaMonte]

Thank you! That helped as far as the vacuum selector fix! For anyone else with this problem, I replaced the plastic "pin" piece with a #10 screw that had a wide head on it. I ground it down to an appropriate length based on the plastic piece. Otherwise you'd need a washer which might cause interference problems (height of the screw head) as the selector moves right to left.

Still not sure about my AC yet! Haha

 

[airboatgreg]

Keep the AC. It is great for defog, keeping wife happy and keeping integrity of your ride

 

[motorheadmike]

Keep the AC. It is great for defog, keeping wife happy and keeping integrity of your ride

And when you get older and develop manopause you'll want it too. Personally, I have an early onset case of it, and just got my crotch cooler vent operational with icy cold ball-hair and swamp-*ss reducing dehumidifying air conditioning.

 

[Bonnewagon]

I used to rip out any AC that did not work. Then I got edumacated about AC and I fix it. The compressor is the only moving part and the most expensive. After that, it's just finding leaks, which is usually the compressor too. To really work on AC you need to get a vacuum pump to suck it down and remove moisture. Gauge set too. Charge by weight, not by feel.