Alfa Romeo Forums banner

Alright y'all, I'm tackling A/C for real this time

14K views 124 replies 15 participants last post by  chairmankaga 
#1 ·
I have all of the parts, many installed. I'm also switching over to R-134, since everything is essentially new.

New rotary compressor on a Milano bracket with clean, fresh PAG oil. Check.
New belt. Check.
New parallel flow condenser. Check.
New barrier hoses and fittings. Check.
Variety pack of BUNA O-rings. Check.
Dryer (from a SAAB, but whatever) and switch. Check.

I still have to replace the expansion valve, but apparently that can be a generic off the shelf part. I'm also sticking with the stock evaporator and blower, although if anyone has a suggestion for a alternative, beefed up blower I'm all ears. Plenty of salvage yards around. I'd love to get a VintageAir system but at the moment it's simply out of budget.

My neighbor has a manifold set and vacuum pump. I've watched a million videos on checking for leaks and said neighbor also has some experience with recharging AC systems.

If I get stuck or stymied I do have a pro place I can take it, but I really want to try tackling this totally DIY before I pay someone.

Any final advice or suggestions? I think I might want to try hooking up the eyeballs as the primary vents and maybe block the stock vents, mostly because I find even if the system is underpowered getting cold air on your head has a psychological effect (I've lived in the South my entire life, so I know this is a thing). Pros/cons?

FYI I attempted this a couple of years ago and encountered a leak I couldn't plug, so I threw in the towel, but vowing to return to the job. Turns out the high pressure hose to manifold gauges had a cut in it, as I learned last week. New hose procured and I'm now jazzed to face my nemesis.
 
See less See more
#2 ·
I'll be very interested to see how this goes.
 
#3 · (Edited)
Must change the evaporator! The stuff is all American. Surprised you didn't change it when you converted to R134?.
If you had the the system charged by a shop they would of done a leak test before the put in the R134 and changed your evaporator.
It's a must.
CHANGE IT!! It's not a OEM part and won't hurt the value!
Rockauto any parts or AC store. Got mine on Amazon and it looked like the original, but shiner.

If the blower motor is rattling, got an easy fix for that. Just PM me or post it.

Happy Monday!
 
#5 ·
Well, I haven't changed it because I've yet to get into there. The system has been no-functional since I bought the car a decade ago. I've bought some bits over the years but have never actually charged it, even with the new compressor installed. But I'll definitely look into replacing the evap unit. I was just under the impression that the evaporator was not a generic component, and replacing it basically meant replacing the entire in-car system, including controls, housing, etc (like a VintageAir rig).
 
#4 ·
If your GTV6 is pre-1985, you probably don't have the Tropic-Aire upgrade version that came on the later models. Mostly add-on goodies vs swapping out components. It involves replacing the package shelf under the glove box with a second A/C evaporator with it's own fan. A plastic plenum gets fastened under the central A/C/heater console. This directs cold air from the second A/C box to BOTH eyeball vents at the ends of the dash. So, you end up with cold air from 6 vents (if you include the 2 for defrost). Gives you a double shot without eliminating your original unit.

If you aren't satisfied with your end results, I have an extra set of the add-on bits to offer. And can explain the process with pix, if needed.

Cheers,
Peter
 
#6 ·
The evaporator is contained in the box under the middle of the dash. When you split it, you'll find the evaporator coil (In my GTV6 thread I've got it all laid out). Just replace the coil unit. My bet is that you'll need to find a universal of the same size, and may need to solder in the correct ends. At the very least, you could take it to a radiator shop and have them test and repair it if it has any leaks.

Peter! That explains the plenum on the bottom of the box. Mine was not connected to anything and I wondered about it.
 
#12 ·
Peter! That explains the plenum on the bottom of the box. Mine was not connected to anything and I wondered about it.
That suggests that your GTV6 is an '85 or '86 model, unless a conversion was done later. As the Tropic-Aire units had a couple of minor modifications involved, you may already have the two black plastic block off plates on the interior side of the firewall at both sides. Earlier models got their fresh outside air from those firewall ports directly to the two eye ball vents via snorkels that slid over the back of the eye balls. If you still have the accordion flex hoses attached to your plenum, the hose on the driver's side connects the eye ball vent to the plenum. The hose on the P-side goes from the center plenum to the secondary A/C box. A third short flex hose goes straight up from the box to the P-side eye ball vent.

The rubber Freon hoses under the hood should have a union spliced in to feed the (missing) A/C box under the glove box. So you may have most of the components needed to became a T-A system. Including the switch and detail bits to get the 2nd box to turn on with the main fan in the center console. If you want to e-mail me, I can send pix to show what the secondary T-A box looks like. You may have that hanging around if you knew what to look for.

Cheers, Peter
uncleskeeter2@netscape.net
 
#7 ·
Blower motor replacement

There is a better replacement for the blower motor. Internal resistors, so no flame starter resistor board, and it is bigger and turns faster.
Mine is a NLA Frigette 209-101, BUT it cross references to several others so it must be a common motor. The OEM motor is undersized so Alfa made thick rubber spacers to make it fit. I replaced them with some rubber sheet and the new motor fits perfectly. Been running 10 years so far. A little creativity with the motor wiring from the 3 position switch is required.

Evaporator and coils: So now somebody tells me!! 10 years ago I had mine exposed to replace the blower motor!! Maybe this summer . . . .
 
#11 ·
Thanks for that reference, I ordered it.
 
#14 ·
Chairman - I'm going down a similar route as you. I had the Tropic-Aire add on, but pulled it as I didn't get much benefit (read airflow) from it. Others get okay performance from their's so maybe I had some other issue.

One thing not on your list that you really should add is a fan for the condenser. The radiator fans don't really get much air moving through the condenser, so if you aren't moving, the condenser isn't working very well.

I'm replacing the hoses on my AC and found that the gasket in the firewall had hardened too much to allow me to attach the hoses to the fittings. If things go well this weekend, I'll post some pics of what I did to address this.

I didn't replace the stock fan or evaporator, as I am planning to replace the unit with an aftermarket unit in the next year or so. I did give the evaporator and heater coils a thorough cleaning with some AC coil cleaner from Lowe's. I was amazed at how much gunk came out. Not to mention the amount of leaves and other stuff that was in the AC housing - both the central unit and the TA one.
 
#15 ·
I have an 84 GTV6 with 'weak' A/C. I purchased from another BB member many years ago all the extra parts needed for the Tropic Air upgrade. Never implemented that solution, and in the intervening years have thought about 'blowing it all up' and going with aftermarket AC - either Vintage Air (most mentioned) or Restomod (more unique control/vent solutions along with main unit). I'm leaning towards Restomod...

That said I have all this Tropic Air h/w that would certainly benefit someone in this community... PM me if interested...
 
#19 ·
I picked up an anthology of R&T articles for the years that cover the Alfettta and GTV6. Per that book, the testers complained, among other things, about the inability of the AC to cool the cabin in 85* weather. Well, with our weeks of 100* plus weather in California's central valley, an aftermarket revamp is certainly my choice.
 
#20 ·
Charlie York is a local (Austin, TX) expert who has a lot of experience retrofitting Alfas with VintageAir (or similar) systems. I was in his personal GTV6 and it was blowing about 40 degrees on a 90+ degree day - SITTING STILL. I've been meaning to drive my car up to his place for ages now but just can't seem to find a day. Maybe once I get the basics of my system hammered into place he can help me fine tune it. It does seem you can do most of what a VA system includes for less, if not as high quality. New PF condenser, new rotary compressor, new blower motor, new evaporator. I just want my car to not be painful to drive on hot days.

On a side note, I'm going to try installing some thermal barrier as well. A friend of mine with a Supra mkII had a novel solution. They had a baby recently and had been getting lots of groceries delivered. He amassed a fair sized collection of insulated bags (sort of bubblewrap and mylar), about 18x20" each. He used some 3M adhesive spray and tiled them on the floor and even the interior firewall. He stuffed those with some flame-resistant synthetic insulation, cut to fit, to add some further insulation. Bottom line, instead of spending $200+ on rolls of thermal insulation specifically for cars, he did it for the cost of a couple of cans of adhesive and reported a net decrease of about 12 degrees ambient in the cabin.
The Supra mkII has a pretty similar shape, layout and greenhouse to the GTV6, so I think this might be worth a try. He has a stack of the bags left over, plenty for my car, so I just need to swing by and pick them up.
 
#21 ·
Interesting. I can say that the double-foil-faced-jute that I installed did a great job of knocking down the heat...plus plugging all the holes.

I can't remember, does your car have the heat shield installed over the cat? One of the recent BAT GTV6 cars had it's covered by undercoating...good lord!!!
 
#22 ·
No heat shield. I need one. I had the underside of my hood painted with Lizard Skin, and it works great. Much better insulation than the nappy fiberglass crud from the factory. Paintable, too. It's been almost 5 years and is holding up to flex and stress, so that might be a cheaper and easier solution for the cat shield than installing a metal piece that'll just rattle annoyingly (I've removed them from my old Integra track car and my FOcus SVT daily driver for that very reason, although my new GTI mkVII is as quiet as a Merc W123).
 
#23 ·
I did go to larger self tapping screws on mine. So far no rattle, but, I've only driven it about 600 miles. The stock one is double-walled, so I just shined it up.
 
#24 ·
I used some inexpensive double foil faced - closed cell foam insulation from Amazon. Cost less than $100 to cover the floor pan with enough left for the hatch area and the roof, if I ever pull the headliner. Don't have the link handy right now, but it should be in my thread. Two layers of that (held down with spray adhesive) and I get ZERO heat from the firewall or tunnel. Only from the handbrake. I'm going to put a layer of self adhesive insulation on that, staying clear of the working parts, just to see if it helps any.
 
#25 ·
That's a good point, I haven't whipped the handbrake problem. Still gets very hot. I put self adhesive duct insulation under the handle on the tunnel. I wonder if I need to use some kind of insulated washer under the mounting bolts.
 
#32 ·
Sorry for the lack of updates on the project. I've been collecting parts and waiting out this insane heat wave here in Central Texas. It's honestly too hot to work in the garage for at least another week or two. Ambient temp out there is around 110 actual. Ugh.
I did manage to get in some thermal insulation, though. Took a few weekends of cleaning up the factory mess, prepping the metal, then cutting and installing the new stuff. The good news is I had the car out last weekend during the heat of the day and I can no longer feel egg-cooking temperatures along the transmission tunnel. So it works! I need to do some additional work at the firewall as I'm getting hot air blowing in through gaps.
I have two more original hoses to swap with new barrier hose and a couple of fittings to get the hoses attached to the condenser without kinking. Condenser pusher fan, new blower motor and evaporator, thermal expansion valve and heater core valve. Then we'll see what's what, hopefully before winter hits.
 
#33 ·
Mr. Chairman, you ought to have a pretty darn good A/C system, given the upgrades you've done, even for Texas heat. Especially the floor and firewall insulation, which is a key component. My son Mike and I didn't do a lot in that department on his Tropic-Air equipped '86, we just pasted a few pieces up high on the firewall inside, nothing additional on the floor, and he has to turn the fan down once the cabin cools it gets so cold. We did install a new Vintage Air PF condenser, but other than that the system was all stock (resurrected) Alfa. I predict a great cooling system! I assume you are using the Tropic Air components, or did you decide not to go that way? I mean the double fans and evaporators.
 
#34 ·
No, I'm not planning to mess with the TropicAire system. I'm just planning to replace the condenser, compressor, evaporator and blower motor with upgraded, modern parts.

Today was a good day. I pulled all of the interior stuff with only a couple of minor incidents. I managed to break an ear off the heater valve, which I was expecting, frankly, given the age of the part. Everyone seems to break the thing. I'll replace it with an all metal piece, maybe the Jaguar version.

The evaporator/blower came out without too much protest, once I figured out the nut on the driver's side only needed to be loosened and not totally removed. It all came apart pretty easily. The case was filled with all sorts of biological horrors, so it's disassembled and soaking.

Managed to only spill a little coolant on the floor of the car, didn't break anything, and very little blood. So yeah, that was a good day.

Running by the local AC shop tomorrow to see about a replacement for the evap coil and TXV. I have a lead on a motor for the blower. Also need two more barrier hoses and a dryer. All of the other components are already installed. Then it's just hook everything up and cross my fingers!
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top