titleistaddict87

super jealous of your vacuum setup. care to share what you have there? would love for this to be a DIY rather than calling a mobile a/c guy to evacuate the pump and fill the R134a

r-mm

Feel no jealousy... https://www.harborfreight.com/25-cfm...ump-61245.html

The downside is I have no way of recovering the refrigerant. This has yet to be an issue as all the cars I've been working on "recover" refrigerant to the exterior, relatively fast.

edit - they have a better one now: https://www.harborfreight.com/3-cfm-...ump-61176.html

r-mm

Saw approx 42f at the center vent today with approx 60f exterior. This is in line with Porsche's graph for R134a. Encouraging but the real test is how bad it leaks, and seeing what its like on heat soaked hot days.

titleistaddict87

that's money, thanks for the tips and the lead on the pump. Look forward to going through what you're doing soon!

RicardoD

I am pretty sure in the last 13 years all of the R12 in my 1990 C4 has been "recovered" by the environment. I eventually will just break the compressor lines when I remove the hoses from my engine bay.

mootsvamootsrsl

Would love to see your AC overhaul

Deserion

Looks like you're getting along well with the project.

For reference to others, the compressor is a Denso 10PA15C. I got my "rebuild" kit from Century Auto Air - it gave me a chance to reseal the entire compressor and replace the shaft seal. During that process I cleaned every bit of mineral and ester oil leftover to change completely to PAG. Was it really required? No, but I tend to go overboard when I dig into a project far enough.

Took my 964 out for some errands today and the A/C felt good, though the ambient was around 80.

cobalt

Funny I found the R12 system to work better than the R134. All my cars are 93 or newer so they all came with R134. It is great when driving but not so much in traffic. I found the R12 wasn't as good when driving but better in traffic. Although these cars don't like super hot days and sitting in traffic. The R134 needs the engine revs to get the pressure up to work. Ironically I have 60 pounds of R12 and no cars to use it in. I would stay with R12 If they were. Also the condensers are very different on the R12 vs R134 cars.

r-mm

If I had 60lbs of R12 I would be recharging and plugging leaks when I found them. Because R134a is $3/lb and available down the street, and ultimately seems more responsible I'm going that route. I found the same w/r/t revs and traffic.

-nick

I've replaced every component except for the lines. Also using the Kuehl evap. Works great in every condition except traffic. I raised the idle to 1050-1100rpm and no noticeable improvement. These cars just weren't made to sit in traffic

Keeping engine heat out is another battle. Rear of the cabin suffers from intense heat soak.

LPMM

Sweet thread and hoping it is not a hijack but since I need a new evap to put the AC back in working mode, is the Kuehl evap that much more efficient than the Behr to warrant twice the price?

r-mm

I've read what I can find and doubt you'll find a quantitative comparison. If the options were lousy aftermarket made somewhere 'else' vs Kuehl I'd probably go with the later but since the Behr is reasonably priced, OEM, made in Germany, I'm personally leaning that way. I imagine you'd make the decision on how badly you need every last 'ton' of cooling. I've done work in DFW and I'm guessing you want your cooling.

LPMM

Thanks and I am leaning the same as you, I was just wondering given some folks have gone the Kuehl route. Not that I am trying to be cheap, but I can certainly put the extra funds toward another part if the improvement is only marginal.

r-mm

I didn't mean to suggest the difference would be marginal. I like the company and what they say about the durability and performance of the product. I was trying to say I don't think you'll find a hard figure for what % better the Kuehl is especially since there are so many variables with A/C. Maybe I'm wrong - why don't you write or call the mfgr to see and let us know what they say?

LPMM

I know you didn't, it was just an assumption on my part I pulled out of my derrière. Sorry for the sidetrack.
I sent Griffiths an email a while back and I totally forgot about it until I read your thread. I will PM them since they are a sponsor, perhaps they can chime in.