a3holerman

Hi,

I just bought a 91 964 cab. I am so excited itsbeen 28 years since my last p-car a 912.

Anyway the car had sat in storage for about a year and the a/c doesn't work. The compressor won't run. I assume its low on gas. Now my question is do I have it serviced and charged....only to leak out in a while or do I change over to the new R134 and live with the pinhole hoses. The other thought is to replace the hoses. Has anybody replaced these hoses and what is the approx. cost. I know this has been hashed around before, but I am still unsure what to do.

Thanks

Tom

Cape Cod

Adrian

Dear Tom,
Aircon in a Cab. I would remove it and save weight.
When the system is like this you need a complete and total service. The hoses leak all over the place. No freon in the system will mean the low pressure switch is activated anyway and you cannot engage the compressor. Here in Europe you woul dhave no choice. You are required to convert to R134A but I believe in the USA this is not a requirement. Just for info, Cabs here in Europe were not normally fitted with airconditioning.
I reckon it will cost you around $1,000 for a complete repair and service. This would include all new parts except compressor, condenser and evaporator.
Personally I go back to my first statement. Pull it all out and leave it out, especially in a Cab. This is what the roof is for. Open air-conditioning "on", closed air-conditioning "off",
Ciao,
Adrian
911C4

Wachuko

Adrian, Adrian, Adrian, sometimes it rains, it is hot, and ... That is when air conditioning is a blessing. You are hard core to the roots of simple and less weight is better.

Tom, just take it to a shop and have them perform an inspection of the a/c system. They will be able to tell you what is wrong and give you an estimate. Then decide the route you want to take.

I have a '91 C4 Cabriolet and sometimes I do not feel like opening the top. I just crank the A/C and drive. From the 964 on the A/C works great. I had a problem with mine that ended up being just a relay. Between the system check and the relay it was less than US$150.00 (and this was at a Porsche site).

Hope this helps!

Adrian

Dear Jamie,
I am certainly hard core on this issue. My personal opinion of course but sports cars especially open top jobs like Cabs do not need creature comforts that suck life out of the engine.
However the original question was for the cost of replacing the hoses and converting to R134A. This based on data supplied to me for my book will set you back up to $1,000.
Tom did not ask for the cost of a service. You are correct though as standard recharge done properly with a R12 or 134A top up will set you back $150 to $200,
Ciao,
Adrian
911C4

PS: I know an American who works and half lives over here, who was offered a 1992 C2 Turbolook Cab for a very good price, for these are quite rare and he turned it down because it had no aircon installed. I couldn´t believe it.

a3holerman

Thanks all,
I will take it to a local (very knowledagle) a/c shop here. When did Porsche change over to R134 anyway, I am assuming my 91 is R12.

Thanks

Tom

Kevin

Tom;

I think that 93 was the first year for R134, Go in and have it checked out.

GeoC2cab

High,
Adrian, just as I clicked on this topic, I was thinking the same thing u mentioned,"why not pull it out", If u can please describe what would be involved in pulling the A/C and how much weight is saved, for the record;
I haven't used my a/c since I've owned the car- 10 years. Thanx for info.....

AdamKWeinstein

Tom,

I have a 93 RS America which has been changed over to R134. Although the change may initially cost a few dollars, refills are simple and inexpensive. Best of all, they can be done yourself. A guage and a refill hose run about $30 from WallMart and two cans of R134 @ $5 per can does the trick.

Best of luck, Adam.

a3holerman

All,

I called Griffiths today and sorta got the skinny. I can convert to R134 for not to much money. Compressor valve change new o rings and a new drier. Less than $150.00. The gentleman I spoke with was very informative. Suggested this is by far the best way to go. I may need new hoses in the engine compartment....these seem to deteiorate (sp). He said, as did the excellent articles on their web site, that R134 will cool as well as R19 IF set up properly. Well its almost winter here in Gods country Cape Cod so I'll wait till spring.....

Thanks for all the help

Tom

Rich W

a3,

Don't be surprised if the condenser coil has failed. Apparently it is a problem with the C2/C4/RS America air conditioning systems. Mine has failed, and I'm waiting to replace it.

Just thought you'd like to be prepared for the worst case.

Bill Wagner

Adam:

Was your AC system factory installed, or is it an "update"? How well does it cool your car?

Thanks,

Bill Wagner

Adrian

Dear Geo,
Removal of the aircon system can be done in stages. All up if you remove everything you will save yourself around 100lbs (45kgs).
The major components which are the heaviest are,
Compressor assembly
Evaporator assembly
Condenser (inc fan) assembly.
How far you wish to go is up to yourself of course. If you remove the condenser you will need to rebalance the front end which "may" require the addition of ballast. Some of the people I know who have done this installed an additional oil cooler. Added some weight but this was for the track and the extra cooling was very valuable.
Other things which can save you weight are,
Sound Proofing (mine is gone up to the rear girewall)
Rear Seats and anything else you never use,
Ciao,
Adrian
911C4

AdamKWeinstein

Bill,

My 93 RS America came with the AC system option installed at the factory.

At the end of 1997 the AC system was converted at a cost of approximately $650 (flush system, replace expansion valve, new drier, new o-rings and a compressor update kit) by a professional shop (Bob Varella's Foreign Affairs). The system runs extremely cold for about a year before it starts losing its cooling ability. At that point, two cans of R134 from Walmart at $5 per can go in and its back at 100%.

Although the car is an 70% dedicated track car (DEs and solo events), I live in Florida and its nice to sit in the hot pits with the AC blowing while waiting to head out on the track.

Best of luck, Adam.