Can I overhaul my own a/c??
07-14-2014, 06:48 PM
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Can I overhaul my own a/c?? My Camaro hasn't had a/c in at least 10 years. The compressor is shot and done. Getting the parts is no problem. It's adding freon or what ever else is needed. I've called around and was told that I'm gonna need an evaporator, drier, compressor, and some other stuff that I have never heard of. As well as needing to be flush and blown out. Every shop has given me a price from $900 - $1,000. Does that sound right?? Is it worth the effort on my own or just take it to a shop?? Thanks.
07-15-2014, 12:05 AM
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I bought all the hardware and parts and did mine for less then $800.00. but local wieners here wanted $1,600.00 to do mine. So I gave them the bird and did it myself and still got all the tools to keep it running without paying thru the nose to some half wit that looks like he signs his name with an X.
You can buy a 30 pound bottle of 134A off ebay shipped for like 112 to 120. Brand name Dupont SUVA mind you not some Chinese stuff, or you can buy the correct amount of 12 or 16 OZ cans also and be done with it for reasonable.
If your in Cali like me and you try to buy it here they want $10.00 per can recycle fee which makes buying a pound of Freon look like a proposition by a hooker more then a car repair, since it makes a can of freon cost almost $20.00+ a pound to buy here in Cali. So buy off ebay and out of state for $3.25 a pound freon, and no state imposed BS recycle tax that you have to return the can to get your money back < complete nonsense but you will find it that way in every auto store you go to In Cali > Save money buy out of state, and no tax either lol lol lol..
You will need at minimum:
Your ride uses electric fans ??? make sure they work properly with the AC running, and if by chance you have the antique clutch fan please consider replacing it for about $50.00 or your AC system will blow its guts on main street if you don't have a proper cooling fans setup on your radiator/ condenser coil setup up front....< very important point here...
a set of universal seals~ $11.00
one new compressor ~$350.00
one new dryer ~$30.00
one new orifice tube ~ $3.00 to $7.00
one new condenser coil < the one in front of the radiator >~$150.00
All of the above is so you can actually get and have a warranty on the compressor that you buy, without all of the above you will be turned down for a warranty condition by any auto parts seller. < very important if you want a warranty on that $350.00 compressor they sell you, just a FYI heads up my friend >>> Online compressors are ~$150.00 and up shop wisely, and remember local can be good when you need to warranty a compressor....I did...
a set of long bottle brushes to scrub out all your hoses with. don't believe all the sales hype that any of those over the counter flush kits will clean the gunk out of those hoses, let alone the front coil which has special inserts to twist the fluid as it passes thru and it also catches gunk that can never be removed unless you got some really strong industrial solvent that Cali won't let you have at your level. You must hand scrub the the tubes and replace the front coil new IMHO.
Don't worry too much about the evaporator coil in your dashboard but it too will at least need a flush for good measure. Worry about weather or not it holds pressure and does not leak. I have seen two of them go in my lifetime, and your whole dashboard must come out and the entire heater core Ac box assembly will have to be removed to replace it if its defective, so count on replacing your heater core at the same time for good measure while your there if this worst case situation happens to be your situation. Best price I found on heater core was Car Quest, they beat everybody by almost $50.00 savings. But this is a all day job to completely remove your dashboard and heater AC assembly from the firewall, so don't expect this to cost 800 to 1000 bucks lol lol .
Everybody my dad carries his 1990 suburban to charges him $1,600.00 and up and they don't even do all of the above work for that price, and it only lasts maybe two years at best I have seen so don't let some yooboo that signs his check with an X do your AC system. I try to do it for him but he thinks its best to spend money needlessly, and not trust his son that GM trained, go figure....
There are plenty of how-to's on the web for servicing your own AC, I suggest you read them. and ebay sells great gas and stuff for cheap, but you will need receipts to prove warranty for any compressor replacement so be wise and keep all your parts tags for proof because if you get a bad compressor < and they make them just like lemons > You will have to prove you replaced everything and flushed the system before any warranty for any parts will apply
now to do a fair job it would be nice for you to own a vacuum pump, harbor freight ~$150.00 maybe less, and a set of gauges also harbor freight ~$50.00. This will allow you to evacuate your system properly and know the proper pressures are on your system. Consider these investment tools since they will be always useful to keep your AC running. Any factory manual will tell you how much AC oil to add and what type. PAG-46 is what auto parts stores have on hand with dye chemical added. my Sierra called for an entire 8 once bottle. They make oil adders but most of them were designed by idiots, as they leak and allow air to enter your system, so be careful on which one you chose to use. I found one on ebay built correctly and even it leaked all over the place. 2 ounces in the dryer, compressor gets another 2 ounces, the rest in the evaporator will do nicely, just allow time for it to settle across the system before you actually measure your ducts temps, and think you day is done.
You must pre oil your compressor before system assembly IMHO < you don't want it to run dry on start up, not nice to the pump internals >. The green dye indicator will show you very quickly if you have a leak anywhere and you don't need UV to see it either but if you have a UV flash light handy it shows up real good.
Can you do your own system, Sure you can but if all of the above puts you off then please read up on it on the web via google search. And please be careful the high side discharge pressures can be as high as 300 PSi and very hot. I would not want to hear you got burned doing your own job off the info a shared with you. Oh and how do i know what i know, well I spent a few years of my life working at a GM plant where I took care of the R-134a feed system to the line 15,000 gallons of freon and liquid in the line at 350 PSi to the line where automatic machines connected by x signers evacuated and then charged the cars automatically. just needed a X signer to connect and disconnect the hoses, and push one button... VIOLA!!! AC on the production line at NUMMI Gm/Toyota, so I kind of got my license on the industrial scale....hope some of my info helps you a bit If I lost you anywhere , you might not be ready to do this on your own just yet...
PS and remember that pressures and temperatures are relative to one another when dealing with refrigerants, So say you got 38 pounds low side pressure, well that means your temperature is just about that same number inside your dashboard at the coil...and that anything below 32 will freeze water to the coil an block air flow and possibly case the coil to rupture, so you want it up around 38 to 42 pounds low side for a nice cold AC system....
You can buy a 30 pound bottle of 134A off ebay shipped for like 112 to 120. Brand name Dupont SUVA mind you not some Chinese stuff, or you can buy the correct amount of 12 or 16 OZ cans also and be done with it for reasonable.
If your in Cali like me and you try to buy it here they want $10.00 per can recycle fee which makes buying a pound of Freon look like a proposition by a hooker more then a car repair, since it makes a can of freon cost almost $20.00+ a pound to buy here in Cali. So buy off ebay and out of state for $3.25 a pound freon, and no state imposed BS recycle tax that you have to return the can to get your money back < complete nonsense but you will find it that way in every auto store you go to In Cali > Save money buy out of state, and no tax either lol lol lol..
You will need at minimum:
Your ride uses electric fans ??? make sure they work properly with the AC running, and if by chance you have the antique clutch fan please consider replacing it for about $50.00 or your AC system will blow its guts on main street if you don't have a proper cooling fans setup on your radiator/ condenser coil setup up front....< very important point here...
a set of universal seals~ $11.00
one new compressor ~$350.00
one new dryer ~$30.00
one new orifice tube ~ $3.00 to $7.00
one new condenser coil < the one in front of the radiator >~$150.00
All of the above is so you can actually get and have a warranty on the compressor that you buy, without all of the above you will be turned down for a warranty condition by any auto parts seller. < very important if you want a warranty on that $350.00 compressor they sell you, just a FYI heads up my friend >>> Online compressors are ~$150.00 and up shop wisely, and remember local can be good when you need to warranty a compressor....I did...
a set of long bottle brushes to scrub out all your hoses with. don't believe all the sales hype that any of those over the counter flush kits will clean the gunk out of those hoses, let alone the front coil which has special inserts to twist the fluid as it passes thru and it also catches gunk that can never be removed unless you got some really strong industrial solvent that Cali won't let you have at your level. You must hand scrub the the tubes and replace the front coil new IMHO.
Don't worry too much about the evaporator coil in your dashboard but it too will at least need a flush for good measure. Worry about weather or not it holds pressure and does not leak. I have seen two of them go in my lifetime, and your whole dashboard must come out and the entire heater core Ac box assembly will have to be removed to replace it if its defective, so count on replacing your heater core at the same time for good measure while your there if this worst case situation happens to be your situation. Best price I found on heater core was Car Quest, they beat everybody by almost $50.00 savings. But this is a all day job to completely remove your dashboard and heater AC assembly from the firewall, so don't expect this to cost 800 to 1000 bucks lol lol .
Everybody my dad carries his 1990 suburban to charges him $1,600.00 and up and they don't even do all of the above work for that price, and it only lasts maybe two years at best I have seen so don't let some yooboo that signs his check with an X do your AC system. I try to do it for him but he thinks its best to spend money needlessly, and not trust his son that GM trained, go figure....
There are plenty of how-to's on the web for servicing your own AC, I suggest you read them. and ebay sells great gas and stuff for cheap, but you will need receipts to prove warranty for any compressor replacement so be wise and keep all your parts tags for proof because if you get a bad compressor < and they make them just like lemons > You will have to prove you replaced everything and flushed the system before any warranty for any parts will apply
now to do a fair job it would be nice for you to own a vacuum pump, harbor freight ~$150.00 maybe less, and a set of gauges also harbor freight ~$50.00. This will allow you to evacuate your system properly and know the proper pressures are on your system. Consider these investment tools since they will be always useful to keep your AC running. Any factory manual will tell you how much AC oil to add and what type. PAG-46 is what auto parts stores have on hand with dye chemical added. my Sierra called for an entire 8 once bottle. They make oil adders but most of them were designed by idiots, as they leak and allow air to enter your system, so be careful on which one you chose to use. I found one on ebay built correctly and even it leaked all over the place. 2 ounces in the dryer, compressor gets another 2 ounces, the rest in the evaporator will do nicely, just allow time for it to settle across the system before you actually measure your ducts temps, and think you day is done.
You must pre oil your compressor before system assembly IMHO < you don't want it to run dry on start up, not nice to the pump internals >. The green dye indicator will show you very quickly if you have a leak anywhere and you don't need UV to see it either but if you have a UV flash light handy it shows up real good.
Can you do your own system, Sure you can but if all of the above puts you off then please read up on it on the web via google search. And please be careful the high side discharge pressures can be as high as 300 PSi and very hot. I would not want to hear you got burned doing your own job off the info a shared with you. Oh and how do i know what i know, well I spent a few years of my life working at a GM plant where I took care of the R-134a feed system to the line 15,000 gallons of freon and liquid in the line at 350 PSi to the line where automatic machines connected by x signers evacuated and then charged the cars automatically. just needed a X signer to connect and disconnect the hoses, and push one button... VIOLA!!! AC on the production line at NUMMI Gm/Toyota, so I kind of got my license on the industrial scale....hope some of my info helps you a bit If I lost you anywhere , you might not be ready to do this on your own just yet...
PS and remember that pressures and temperatures are relative to one another when dealing with refrigerants, So say you got 38 pounds low side pressure, well that means your temperature is just about that same number inside your dashboard at the coil...and that anything below 32 will freeze water to the coil an block air flow and possibly case the coil to rupture, so you want it up around 38 to 42 pounds low side for a nice cold AC system....
Last edited by 1moreamp; 07-15-2014 at 12:25 AM.
07-15-2014, 09:03 AM
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Yes.
Search popular online parts store for Premium A/C kit. Typically includes A/C compressor, drier/accumulator, and expansion valve. The kit isn't as expensive as you might think.
Replace the A/C condenser.
If the air blows weak, clean evaporator core fins or maybe replace blower motor.
Go to local parts store for o-rings/seals/gasket kit and 2 large cans of A/C pro.
Youtube has plenty of examples of how to recharge your A/C.
Search popular online parts store for Premium A/C kit. Typically includes A/C compressor, drier/accumulator, and expansion valve. The kit isn't as expensive as you might think.
Replace the A/C condenser.
If the air blows weak, clean evaporator core fins or maybe replace blower motor.
Go to local parts store for o-rings/seals/gasket kit and 2 large cans of A/C pro.
Youtube has plenty of examples of how to recharge your A/C.
07-15-2014, 02:10 PM
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Cool. Thank you both VERY MUCH. That's all perfect information. After reading all posts here, I feel pretty confident about doing it all myself. But of coarse before I even do attempt to do this myself, I'm gonna read more on the web 'cause I'm gonna need pics and vids. I'm not gonna tackle this until I'm 100% ready. Thanks again very much.
Last edited by chevystyle; 07-15-2014 at 02:22 PM.