Vandit

For the past couple of summers i've been cool enough (literally) by just putting some R134a in the car every 3 or so months... this summer however, no go. It's pretty much dead now. I put some freon in the car last night (enough to get the compressor to start engaging and blow cold) and by my afternoon commute home today, the compressor wasn't even engaging anymore due to the lack of refrigerant in the system...

Looks like a new evaporator is in order. I'll likely go Kuehl.
http://www.griffiths.com/shop/index....32655aaed2a88f

Before I order it, i'm going to pick up a leak sniffer to make sure the leak is coming from the vents. I'm fairly confident it is, especially since the fuel pump cover / a/c drain area is covered in tacky gunk, which **per this thread** is a mix of refrigerant oil (from a leaking evaporator) and condensation.

Here's all the work that lies ahead.
http://p-car.com/diy/ac/

and to make matters worse, I had just topped off the gas tank the other day! $70 USD of 93 octane I gotta burn before I drop the tank!

lateforlunch

my advice...save your money on the sniffer, I have 3 different ones and I dont trust any of them. Youd be better off to buy the uv inspection light and glasses to look at that drain... I have the best luck finding leaks using that method.

I can also tell you with almost 100% certainty that you will indeed need the evaporator core. They all need them, the only cars that dont at this point are the ones that have already been changed out.

I need to do this job on my car as well its not tooooo bad

abarthguy

I second that !
Mine had the not so slow leak and gunk at the drains. Original evap. was toast.
Got the Griffiths flat fin one. Had my local AC place do the install. $1100 and it works great !

Vandit

Any other "while I'm in there" items while replacing the evaporator? I'm thinking (1) lube the blower bushings and (2) check the condition of servos.

jstyer

I have a few servos and an evaporator... not sure what your time table is, but if you can wait a few weeks they're yours.

lateforlunch

Solid forum stuff. Thumbs up

JB 911

I would consider doing the Griffiths condenser at the same time I've heard it is more efficient removes heat/pressure from the system faster. Then you'll be all set for July and August

Vandit

Interesting, because the Griffiths page for the condenser simply states "OEM condenser", no big spiel about how it's superior to the OE design like you find on the evaporator page.

http://www.griffiths.com/shop/index....roducts_id=207

JB 911

You look right. I thought I read that somewhere but I can't find it. Maybe Griffiths will jump in. It seems there would be even more 'cool' to be had by having a better condenser too.

Vandit

So I've been sweating it out the past few days, driving the 964 to work, trying to use up my full tank of gas...

Today I decided I was gonna drive my Toyota daily driver, MY03, it's been dead nuts reliable for over a decade, and guess what??? The a/c stopped working since the last time I drove it! Sonofabish!!!

k9doog

The superior design refers to the 964/993 Kuehl Serpentine Evaporator from Griffiths.
From his website "The Kuehl Serpentine High Performance evaporator is a direct drop replacement. This high output unit offers higher efficiency with the use of modern serpentine tubing bringing your 964 or 993 into the 22 century! There are numerous advantages with the Kuehl serpentine designed evaporators: a) there are only 2 points where the tubing is brazed: the inlet and outlet, as opposed to old style tube & fin evaporators which have many braze points or connections which can leak, b) serpentine tubing has several channels or paths for the refrigerant to flow, whereas the stock version evaporator has very few, and c) the Kuehl serpentine evaporators have greater surface area which increases cooling performance. This unit includes a R12 - R134a compatible expansion valve attached. Comes with our 3 Year Limited Warranty."

tbennett017

You will find it works so much better with a new evaporator. The old ones get gunked up with dust etc... especially when there's a leak as the dust sticks...

My A/C works a lot better with new components.

While you're in there... you may want to look into the lubrication of the fan bearings. There was a lot of chatter here about how to do that...

-nick

Related- are the 993 r134a compressors a direct swap with our r12 versions? Do the ac lines bolt directly up? Even better, anyone know if there are more efficient compressors available?

RicardoD

Now that my 91 Tip is running, I need to recharge the A/C so I think I will be not too far behind you because I will be shocked if it recharges and works without need in a month for another recharge.

Looking forward to seeing your progress.

Rocket Rob