[Racso]

For those of you who have done AC work on a GTV6, how did you go about getting to the refrigerant lines on the evaporators? I've replaced my York compressor with a Sanden, but really dislike how the hoses run. Actually, I can't get the low pressure line to stay more then a half inch away from the exhaust manifold. I need to remove this line, but am not sure whether I need to pull the dash or drop the evaporators to remove this line.

The plan is to have nice new lines routed away from the exhaust manifold with easy access to the fittings, so I don't have to have my hands right next to the moving bits when I'm trying to charge the system.

 

[frogeye]

I too will be doing this - What I thought may be a good idea would be to have a mixture of solid lines and neoprene ones. I have also seen a bulkhead adapted that means I can split the pipes at the bulkhead and have separate lines inside the car etc.

Matt

 

[Little Italian]

Love to see some pictures of your installation. Did you change to R134A?
Why the change in Compressors?

 

[frogeye]

Love to see some pictures of your installation. Did you change to R134A?
Why the change in Compressors?

I'm in the process of planning a change. See the link in my signature and that will take you to some shorts of the engine bay showing the compressor etc. Will probably strat another thread showing mine as a 'before' installation. Let me know if you would like more information.

I'm not necessarily changing compressor - just putting some hard lines in and making it a neater installation.

Matt

 

[gigem75]

for what it's worth I just finished installing air in my GTV using the trunk mounted evaporator and bought a beadlock crimper I only used 8 times. Listed it on ebay today, it could make the rounds and everyone would win. Sure beats having to take lines in and out and the time to go to an ac shop to have them crimped if you are using beadlock fittings. I'd never done any ac work and had no leaks with the tool so it's pretty much idiot proof

 

[Racso]

I've thought about making my own hoses, or modifying the existing ones in situ, but have never done AC work and didn't really want to buy a tool. If it's fairly idiot resistant, I'm up for the challenge.

Gigem - where in East Texas are you? I'm just north of Dallas.

 

[gigem75]

Just south of Longview on Lake Cheorkee bout 120 miles, heck I need some highway miles for the breakin, could drive over or meet now that I have cold air. I got the unit, not the tool, from Classic Air in Grapevine. Have a thread on trunk unit aircon in this section. I should tell you that the tool mounts in a vise and you crimp the hoses there, in other words they have to be off the car unless you park the car really close to the bench. I thought that would be a hassle but it really wasn't. I also have a bunch of fittings and 0 rings left over I'll throw in.

 

[frogeye]

... and bought a beadlock crimper ...

Could you tell me what beadlock refers to? Is that the style of connector - ie like a flare or alternative to it?

Thanks, Matt

 

[gigem75]

I'm not an expert but I'll try beadlocks have a cover over the ridged hose fitting, slide the hose over the ridges inside the cover and mark the position of the cover and hose "clocking" then mash

 

[frogeye]

Thanks, Could I trouble you for a photo of the connector before being crimped and with no hose on it?

the hoses coming/going to the compressor are different sizes - why is this? Is it merely to stop you connecting them up incorrectly?

Thanks, Matt

 

[gigem75]

not really, they are different size because the suction side of the compressore gets a gas and compresses it into a smaller volume something about volumetric effeiency. The condernsor has gas goiing in the top and cools it down to a liquid which comes out the bottom as a liquid, or it shoud anyway.
this place calls them barier but it's the same thing
AC Fittings

 

[Racso]

Love to see some pictures of your installation. Did you change to R134A?
Why the change in Compressors?

No, I did not change to R134, I went to ES-12. The system was empty when I got the car, so I just charged it up and went on my merry way. The purpose of this attempt was to see if the original compressor even worked. A another charge followed, which included a can of stop leak. The AC has worked since then, with no additional charge needed.

Now for the obvious question - why mess with a working system? The original system worked fine until the temps got above 95F, which in Dallas means that I'm suffering from late May until October. The Sanden compressor is a much more efficient design, and should provide much better cooling. Also, I was able to get one free off of a Milano, including the mounting bracket. I needed to change the waterpump anyway, and having all of the parts off the front of the engine makes this a convenient time to get this swap done.

Gigem - PM sent on the crimper.

 

[frogeye]

not really, they are different size because the suction side of the compressore gets a gas and compresses it into a smaller volume something about volumetric effeiency. The condernsor has gas goiing in the top and cools it down to a liquid which comes out the bottom as a liquid, or it shoud anyway.
this place calls them barier but it's the same thing
AC Fittings

I thought it was something like that. I will eventually get to grips with this in time for the re-install.
I presume that the fittings use a flare / nut to connect to the compressor etc or did you use ones with 'o' rings?
Matt

 

[chairmankaga]

This is probably a massive request, but is there a step-by-step for this? I have an '82 GTV6 in Austin (106 degrees today!!!) with a dead York compressor. I imagine the whole system needs to be yanked and all the soft lines and fittings replaced, but I have zero AC experience nor enough money to pay someone to do it for me (quotes range from $1800 to $3200, which is more than I paid for the dang car). I'm in no hurry and would love to have the experience AND a working AC system.

 

[Racso]

I'll get as many pics as I can from here on.

I had to replace my waterpump, so pulling the radiator and timing belt were a necessity for me. I don't know if it's required for a "regular" AC swap, but it sure has made access easy.