commando1
Old Man with a Hat
:sSig_greetingsthor:
I've decided to do a post with updates as they happen on my quest to turn the interior of my 1976 New Yorker into a meat locker under the worst of possible conditions here in brutal Florida. Typically: In slow traffic, sunny mid-day, in August. Hopefully, It will help someone down the road from wasting money. Also, I would prefer it not to turn into a battleground by people telling me what I "have to do" or people telling me I don't know anything about A/C system and that they do. You'll be right. I know NOTHING, comparatively, about A/C systems. Read about the journey, not the destination. OK?
The backgound.
1976 Chrysler New Yorker, 440 engine, AutoTemp II, and original R12 unconverted system blowing warm.
Summer was coming and i needed a quick fix.
So I did the standard AutoZone "conversion.
First, I read everything I could on the net, including the advice from Vintage Air.
Initially, at the minimum, this should get me going:
I had a professional shop using an electronic leak dectory and dye look for leaks. My hoses were in excellent condition and the test showed no leaks so I was good to start.
I evacuated the system (ask me no questions I will tell you no lies - again, please: this is not going to be about debating what's right and wrong).
I installed a new expansion valve because I had one, not because i needed one. I then:
- Drained the compressor oil and added 134a compatible oil.
- Replaced seals with 134a compatible ones.
- Cleaned the system by blowing it out with an air-conditioning flushing agent)
- Removed the EPR valve from compressor’s suction port.
- Installed a thermostat.
- Charged the system with an off the shelf 134a "synthetic" refrigerant.
The Module is mounted on the firewall and the thermocouple is inserted through a hole on the firewall so the thermocouple is resting against the evaporator. The module is spliced inline into the the AC cutout line.
When it detects icing it cuts out the AC.
As it stands now, it reads 48° at idle at the vents. Sounds cold but it only cools down the interior adequately, not great.
In the process of converting the entire HVAC system to the best I can get, I rounded up a manual HVAC manual box and controls to finally get away from the AutoTemp II.
While I start to accumulate all the items for a totally brand new and efficient system, my next purchase will be to replace the series flow condenser with a parallel flow. Why?
http://www.ackits.com/c/Parallel/Parallel+Flow+Condensers+-+Aluminum.html
There will also be a pusher fan in front of it.
I'm not doing this until at least November because I don't want to put the AC out of action yet.
To be continued.
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