Air Conditioning Question

[Mike621]

So, I've had the compressor off of my SVX for a few weeks now because of other work being done on the car. What would be the best approach for me to fix the a/c so that it works again?

In other words:

I dont want to take it to a shop thats going to charge me several hundred dollars and then have it leak out two weeks later.

What should I check before having the system recharged and how could I diagnose a problem?


Thanks!

[Earthworm]

Best bet is to change all the o-rings you can find. Every connection will have an o-ring.

Getting the system vacuumed & dryer replaced before charging will keep moisture out.

[alia176]

Drain the compressor of esther oil assuming that's what you have due to R12. Fill with the appropriate amount of PAG oil and new receiver/drier should be in order. Then do the usual vacuum and refilling with R134 as usual.

edit: I'm not sure of the PAG oil as I'm hearing Esther will work too...confused!

[longassname]

was your ac broken? If you really want to be cheap about it as long as you replace the oil and dryer as already described you could skip the vacuum and just buy a couple cans of r134a along with the pag and an adaptor to hook up the r134a charge hose (going to need one of those too). With fresh oil the dryer should be able to remove the rest of the water from the system. Having the compressor out so you can drain it puts you ahead of the game.

[Brian]

If your A/C system was using the R-12 refrigerant as 92's were set up for, you would normally have to have it converted to handle R-134A. But there is a better alternative than the conversion or paying an arm and leg for R-12. It's called ES-12a or HC-12a. R-134A is a less efficient coolant than R-12, but ES-22 is not! It's safe for the ozone layer and isn't a carcinogen. I learned about it last year, when I had a recurring/migrating leak, and already blew money on R-12. See this thread:

http://www.subaru-svx.net/forum/show...t=15612&page=2

If you change all the o-rings, and the compressor is good, the receiver/dryer can still be bad. If that is good, the condensor may be bad, or the pipe that goes from the condensor to the accumulator (which includes a pressure switch) may be bad. I replaced all of those in succession last year.