****EDIT January 2016*****
For some reason, air conditioning videos bring idiots out of the woodwork. For that reason, all of my household, and automotive A/C videos now require my approval before any comments will be displayed. I am sorry for this, and I know it slows down the discussion. It has become necessary to keep the troll attacks to a minimum. I hope you understand.
*****End Edit*****
In this video, I do a complete flush and re-seal of a ‘virgin’ R12 air conditioner system. This car was parked 3 years ago and has not been on the road until this week. I show removal of the hoses, tubelines, orifice tube, and dryer. Show flushing of the coils, re-filling the oil and the refrigerant gas.
In this case I use the refrigerant gas HFC-152A. The procedure is the same for R134A.
Note that further system repairs are needed. The system was cold, but the airflow was small. The in-dash vacuum system has a problem and the air is not being directed to the proper areas.
I found some jerry-rigged vacuum hoses and have fixed them.
As you can see on the temperature gauge, the system will make about a 40°F temperature drop (blowing 55°F air on a 95°F day). This is within specification for this car when new. That’s a success in my book!
Time will tell how long the charge remains in the system considering the compressor and hoses are possibly 20+ years old.
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new to the Cutlass scene…. quick question. where is the fuel filter located on a 1982 Cutlass Supreme brougham
Nice video, very helpfull!!!
Question; shouldnt you have drained the remanent oil in the compressor?
My first car was an 84 Oldsmobile 98. Sat in a barn for 20 years. All I ever did to revive the ac in mine was recharge it with one of the cheap do it yourself kits at an auto store. Blew the coldest air I ever felt for almost 5 years before the engine locked up one day. Went for scrap after that.
hi I have a question my heat only works on the fan speed it doesn't work on high or low I change the blower motor resistor now I can hear the blower motor spinning I even took the blower motor out and made sure it was spinning but my heat or air only comes on when it's on the fan setting and it's really low like you almost don't feel it should I swap out the switch control inside the car next 86 cutlass
I see where the low pressure line goes, but where did you hook up the high pressure line. I have a 1980 c10 with a drier exactly like that and am trying to figure out where the high pressure hose attaches to.
Hey I got a 87 cutlass an I'm having a problem with my ac blowing out the floor vents it blows out the defrost but not the floor vents any advice
Hi Dave. Is that brake cleaner the alcohol based type? Does it make a difference what type I use for cleaning out the oil? Thanks. You have the best AC vids.
Would compressor oil work for the orings and seals?
You said around 12:00 that oil circulates. I am assuming that the oil goes thru the compressor too. I am now guessing that there is some clearance inside the compressor between the head and piston.
the place I went to was talking outrageous money to do this, I can do half off it myself.
sigh….. wish u lived near me. I'd pay you good money to do this to my 87 cutlass supreme
I'm running 152 in my '85 S15. Have had the charge in for over a year with no issues and you can hardly tell when the compressor engages. Nice and cold.
But, in a GM system that uses the R12 and climate control system, the system monitors the refrigerant temps before and after the evap. Problem with this is that 152 will drop in temp faster than R12. My 91 Riviera will occasionally throw a "Service A/C" code for the temp drop depending on outside temps.
I've not yet dealt with this as it doesn't happen too often, so I am not sure if I should go the route of manipulating the low or hi side temp sensor resistances, or, the resistance of the ambient temp sensor.
In any case, better stock up on the canned air now……
I guess you use the duster spray because its cheaper than 134a. If I had the can tap and adapter I'd do the same thing. Glad you get her cooled down. Now you can ride in comfort! 😉
Mercedes used those R4 compressors too… but they mounted them upside down compared to GM. There's an oiling oil at the top of the front bearing that ends up at the bottom if you put a GM compressor on the Mercedes, and starves the bearing of oil.
I love how easy it is to work on GM cars like this…. all the parts are in the engine bay and easy to get at. Nothing is buried up in the dashboard.
Thanks for another informative AC video. You have one of 3 1980 Olds Cutlass' with functioning air conditioning 🙂
I had one nearly identical, except mine had the 260 Olds V8 which was rated about 5hp more than the 231 Buick V6.
Wow, you brought that back to life quick!
I noticed a port on the muffler- what's that for?
A new set of brushes and a thorough cleaning of that blower motor with http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/p/crc-qd-electronic-cleaner-11-oz.-05103/7070074-P?searchTerm=crc+electronics+cleaner
would bring new life to it, also change that tired resistor on top.
Yes, those HVAC programmer vacuum lines can always be rotted out- also check the vacuum amplifier tank for moisture, as it will accumulate and rust over time. (I know it's plastic- but moisture will attract contaminants, causing rot.)
Brake or that CRC electronics cleaner is great for flushing that out, too.
I like that [non-chlorinated] brake cleaner method for the evaporator/condenser better than your other water hose with that caustic cleaner idea; but I guess that is the more drastic method for heavy contaminants. It's just better to not introduce water into the system if possible.
I noticed you don't use any dye- why?
Are those can taps readily available?
If I were to use a 134a type refrigerant- do I also then have to use a separate PAG oil or equivalent? I thought those already came with their own oil & leak dye included?
Like 1 of these: http://www.walmart.com/search/?query=ac%20charge%20kit&typeahead=ac%20charge
Thanks so much, David!
good old DuPont and the CFC debacle. I wish we had known back in the day about "canned air" as a refrigerant. I remember people used to complain about the R4 compressors a lot as well when the issue was not servicing the system properly.
So simple, and yet complex.
You were using a can of Computer Dust off to charge the system??? Thats crazy!