billatlanta

Well I decided to bite the bullet and get the A/C fixed on my 1985 944. I thought I could tough it out, but why suffer. No idea what is wrong with it, but the prior owner suspected a compressor and then some. He provided a spare compressor with the car. My questions;

1. What other significant parts could this system need? I am trying to size how much $$$ it will cost - worse case.

2. Are all auto A/C systems conceptually the same? If so would it make sense to take the car to some of the other non Porsche wrenches I know that have lower labor rates??

I need to get this fixed it is rather toasy.

Stan944

2. The AC system on 944 is not different than on most cars. I don't see anyhing wrong with having it fixed by a knowledgable non-Porsche mechanic.

Porsche-O-Phile

Compressor is easy to replace - do it yourself. Then get the system leak-tested and vaccumed out and cross your fingers. If it holds vaccum, they can charge it (r-12 gets expensive though) and you should be okay. Just make sure they add oil for the new compressor if there isn't oil in it already.

If it fails the leak-test, it could get rather expensive, depending on what it is. Good luck.

83na944

Hot 'lanta.

YOu'll definitely want a new drier. They are about $20 from paragon.

Other things that could be wrong are the low pressure switch, expansion valve, hoses, condensor, and evaporator. I think that's about all there is in the car.

You could have the R12 removed from the system, replace the compressor and drier yourself, flush the condensor, rent a pump, pull a vacumm on the system for an hour, and charge with R134a. That should cost about $80.

Kevin Baker

Steve hit it on the nose. Make sure when you put the oil in that you get oil that is compatable with r134. If you are unsure about charging the system yourself, do the work, and take it to a shop to have the system evacuated (pulling vacuum to check for leaks) and then charged.

Porsche-O-Phile

Anyone know who rents pumps that'll pull enough vaccum for this? I've always just taken it to a shop for mostly that reason only.

KLR

It's pretty cheap to have a shop do this. Unless you're a die hard about DIY, you might want to farm this part out. Ideally, if you take it by a shop late in the day, you can get them to leave it on vacuum overnight.

billatlanta

Well I have received two different estimates on this. Apparently putting the new compressor in and a recharge is not too expensive. What costs $$$ is the pulling the dash apart to do the evaporator? It is all labor, about $1k worth. They said to do it right that is what has to be done, otherwise I risk seizing the compressor if any metal gets in. Does any of this make sense??

billatlanta

Excuse me I noted above evaporator - it is the expansion valve.

a.n.other

Can you 'expand' on changing the expansion valve by removing the fresh air fan in the early 944s please tx944? I removed the fan (the big one just infront of the centre of the windscreen) and couldn't see anything good underneath it, so i just put it back together and decided the expansion valve and any o-rings down there were just fine as they were!

billatlanta

My car in a 1985.5, so I believe the dash will need to be removed. - . Any feel for the risk associated by not doing the expansion valve? If I understood the guy correctly he said it could damage my compressor (seize it) if it is clogged.

83na944

83 TX 944, Bill wrote that he planned to replace the compressor. If you open the system, you let lots of moisture in. The moisture not only replaces some of the refrigerant, but also will freeze in the expansion valve and evaporator stopping flow. The drier has a dessicant and also acts as a filter, so it will have accumlated junk in there and a good amount of the mineral oil.

The reason they want to change the expansion valve is that they want to flush the system and you can't do that with the expansion valve in place. Flushing will remove the junk that may be in the components that might damage the compressor. Expansion valves do fail.

I've read that you can access the expansion valve after removing the blower motor on late model cars, not on early model cars. Do a search. Do you have the early or late style dash? If you have the late style, it might save you some money.

BTW, the A/C on the early cars is under the dash on the right side in a separate box. It may not be easier than removing the dash, but I'm reasonably sure that is where the expansion valve is located on early models.

P-O-P, my local Rent-X rented me a pump for $23.

snakepliskin

Yo, Bill,

I am in the same boat as you. Went to have my AC charged this week, and apparently, the system wouldn't hold the freon (or whatever they used...). The shop told me at the minimum, the hoses were rotten and should be replaced.

Nothing like rush hour in the Atl. with out the ac.

Anyone have any advice or tips on replacing the hoses.

-Mike
Atlanta

billatlanta

I have the later stlye dash board.

Well it was worth a call to the prior owner to put things in perspective for me. The reason he did not replace the compressor is that he seized the prior one (that is currently in the car) with metal particles. The car also needs an evaporator. That is why the dash has to come apart and the expansion valve replaced and system flushed.

Can you get to the expansion valve on the later style dash cars another way besides pulling apart the dash. I thought that was only an option on the earlier cars.

Yeah Atlanta rush hour is a treat without ice.

83na944

Bill,

Check this thread : https://rennlist.com/forums/showthre...xpansion+valve