A\C r3build

I lost the thread on rebuilding the air conditioning system on a 1St gen. Anyone want to help out a brother by pointing me the right direction?

Thanks in advance.

Kirk

 

taking a wild guess here it might be this one: http://www.1stgen.org/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=10403

 

Bad link, can you copy another?

 

Sub'd

 

try this one:

Installing ac in a non ac 4runner http://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/installing-ac-in-a-non-ac-4runner.402745/

what is it you are looking to do? rebuilding the air conditioning system on a 1St gen can mean a lot of things.

did yours come with a/c? and if so, what is broken, disconnected, or missing on yours now?

if you want, just give full detail of everything and I will take you through it step by step what to do if yours just isn't working.

 

Ill take you up on that. Let me do a write up when I get to a computer. Ill be in front of one all night.Thanks

 

be glad to help

 

The truck had the entire front end replaced. New core support forward. I was able to use the condenser off the old truck to replace the one that was wiped out in the accident. The donor truck had a functional A/C system. I do have the donor truck's compressor, but hope to not have to use that. It has 300,000 miles of service under its belt. Not sure what the lifetime of a compressor can be.

Because the drier, condenser and related plumbing was removed and the compressor plumbing was exposed to the atmosphere for over a year, I believe I will need to do a flush as well as purchase a new drier. I'm in need info on how to do a proper flush and pull a proper vacuum. I have manifold gauges, but not a real vacuum pump. Only a ventury type, compressed air vacuum type pump. I have been kicking around the idea of picking up a vacuum pump from HF as long as they work better than the ventury type vacuum. Input will be appreciated

I have no reason to believe the pump is bad, just no way to verify that it was functioning as intended before I bought the wrecked truck. Do pumps suffer from premature failure if uncharged for long duration's of time?

Obviously, I won't have to deal with evacuating the previous charge, as it was already gone when I got the truck.

In short, a quick list of items that must be purchased and a review on the HF vacuum pumps as well.

One other item...would there be benefit to obtaining a supply of compressed nitrogen to purge and check for leaks?

Any input will be greatly appreciated.

Kirk

 

ok..........

if the system you removed the parts from was pressurized at the time and you covered the ends of the hoses and openings so no trash could get in it, then you did it right and it was protected so a flush wont be needed. moisture isn't a problem and the vacuum pump will remove all of that, the open lines that allow dirt and debris to get into it is what a flush is used to remove, that and in cases on mechanical compressor failure or if a drier breaks down into powdered sludge.

if any parts that were disconnected were left open and uncovered for a while, they should be carefully checked for any dirt and debris and to see no bugs or mud wasp has crawled in the tubing and died or made a nest in it. it is hard as hell to do this with such small tubing but try your best to shine a light in it and look in it as best you can. then for any hose or tubing that may have had something in it, I stick a 8"-12" plastic tie strap in it and twist it around while holding it upside down to help get any loose dirt out.

DO NOT TRY AND USE Q-TIPS or ANYTHING MADE OF METAL, WOOD, OR RAGS TO CLEAN INSIDE THE TUBING, it leaves unseen lint and fine particles behind that will circulate through the system and eventually clog up the metering device.

CAUTIONARY FYI NOTE - if you are ever going to store any a/c parts like this cover the ends with a baggie and twist tie or wire tie strap it to keep them clean. also if storing a compressor it needs to be stored on its face with the openings facing up or the oil in the compressor will seep out over time and make a mess as well as ruin the compressor when it runs dry without oil when you go to use it. also never tape the tubing directly as glue residue will be hard to remove and could ruin the parts by making then not want to seal again so cover with plastic baggie then wrap the tape over the plastic.

when all is as clean as you can get it use compressed air to blow in both directions just in case anything has gotten farther inside then you could reach. naturally blow it from the cleanest end first a few times.

for flushing it is only needed for the parts you are replacing and NEVER flush anything to or through the compressor, metering device, or any receiver drier or accumulator canister (if you have one). if you need to flush the lines to any of these parts, then disconnect the lines from them first.

this video shows you how to do it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lnu8hA9F9S4

vacuum pump:
air pumps are useless as vacuum pumps, they are designed to pump and not suck so it cant pull a complete vacuum and are just a waste of time that makes you think you did something but in truth you removed the air from the system but it doesn't pull down enough vacuum to boil off and remove the moisture in the system. its better then nothing at all but not by much.

I don't know of anywhere they rent vacuum pumps and the one at harbor freight is overpriced and not good quality so get this vacuum pump and it will be perfect for your needs: http://www.ebay.com/itm/1-8CFM-Sing...877?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item5afcd39f05

or you can go to a shop to have it vacuumed and recharged, depending on what they charge in your area, it might be a better option then buying a vacuum pump you may only use once or twice in your life.

I think you already know the very last thing you do is install the receiver drier so it is exposed to moisture in the air for the shortest time.

leak testing:
your leak testing will be done using vacuum so before pulling the long final vacuum on the system, first pull vaccum for about 15 minutes then shut off the gages so the pump is no longer open to the system or it will leak through the pump. now just monitor the system for 30 minutes, it should hold within 1 or 2 numbers of where you left it or there is a leak somewhere (be sure its not the gage connections leaking, been there done that lol).

once you are sure there are no leaks then pull a 30 minute vacuum on the system to allow time to be sure all moisture has been removed.

moisture boils at -28 vacuum (most air pumps, even good ones, can only reach -20to -25) so you need to reach this level to "start" removing moisture so start timing it when it reaches -28 inches of vacuum.

the compressor:
if your Freon blew out at a high rate in the wreck (instantly like 5 seconds) then it would be best to replace the compressor and not risk it in case it blew out all the oil it had inside it but if it leaked out over a minute or so then it will be fine.

the other question is how long has it been open with moisture in the system? it has steel parts inside the compressor so think of it in terms of a car engine, if you think the cylinders had time to get rusty dont risk it and just swap them since you have a spare.

if you have rust in the compressor and it has a mechanical failure, OMG the trash that gets into the system from that is terrible and messy. its safe to say I have never seen a system cool the same after a major compressor failure because its dam near impossible to get it all out without literally taking everything out and flushing every single part out on the work bench which most people are never willing to do. house air conditioners have extra filters you can install in the system to collect all this trash left behind but cars don't.

 

I'm glad I asked about the vacuums. $50, that is an awesome deal...and with an endorsement. I do find myself rebuilding a vehicle every 5 or 6 years, so the purchase of the vacuum pump only makes sense. I will get that coming.

I have no idea if the refrigerant was lost rapidly or slowly. Might have to think about getting a new compressor. Do the new compressors come with the required amount of oil?

So far my shopping list will be:

Vacuum pump
receiver/drier (mine was destroyed in the accident)
Obviously, 134A refrigerant
New/re manufactured compressor(?)
Flush kit (good vid, that helps a lot)

Obviously this thread is going to take a few weeks at best. With work and other obligations, finding time to work on it will dictate progress.

Thanks for the free education.

Kirk

 

add to your list the O-rings for everything, don't assume things come with new O-rings so check to be sure and many things like that need to be ordered so get your ducks in a row ahead of time.

older GM and fords had a bolt you remove on the top to put a stick in like a dip stick and measure the height of it, but newer ones I don't think have this anymore and I know our tacos don't. I don't think there is anything you can do to check oil on them now.

a new/reman compressor will run you around $200-$300 and a new oem will be around $800 so stick with the one you have. if it blew the Freon fast then it would have sheared the tubing clean and not just bent it to crack it and everything at the rupture point would have been covered with enough oil to be dripping slimy oil so if you don't remember seeing that you should be ok. if your compressor turns easy without effort then it should be fine.

 

Questions about A/C driers. Do these parts go bad from sitting? Can they be dried by vacuuming for extensive time? I have one from my old Tacoma and need to know if it can be used?

 

Vac Pump is on the way.

 

yes they are perishable, exposed to air for just a few hours ruins them

if it wasn't vacuumed to removed all moisture and sealed with dry nitrogen as soon as it was removed then its a paperweight.

you can never remove all the moisture they absorb so its like a sponge, once its filled with all the moisture it can hold, its useless

not worth reusing anyway, rockauto has the denso receiver driers for like $12

 

Good info. I got confused when I was looking on Ebay for the drier. There were people selling used ones. I thought that odd for something so cheap.

I'll be checking in a bit later to update any thoughts, got to check in at work and gets some chores out of the way.

Thanks, again...

 

yep they sell used poop on there if some buys it lol.

I know a guy on a fishing website that buys $3 bass lure crank baits at walmart and repaints them to resemble antique lures and sells them as "custom made hand painted lures" (technically true) and idiots but them all day long for $20-$30 each thinking they are antique lures and he even had one go at auction for $72.45 so its amazing what people do sometimes.

if you took one and put it on vacuum for an hour or so you would remove enough moisture from it to not harm the system and it would no longer work as a drier but it would work as nothing more then a coupling to join the tubing together and that's what people get out of reusing old ones.

every time you connect gages to the system a tiny amount of air and moisture gets in the system and the drier captures it and safely stores it in the can so it cant circulate through the system to cause problems so the drier part is your protection aspect and that is what most people don't realize they loose when trying to save a few pennies

 

Rock auto shows the drier recharge, not the entire canister. I didn't know these came apart. is this correct? All I need is the bag of desiccant?

I think I would be ahead to just get the entire canister. No?

 

My mistake, looked at the wrong year.

 

the drier serves two purposes, it has the desicant to safely capture and store any moisture in the system and it also functions like an overflow container for excess liquid to be stored and read for high flow periods (like when your doing 80 mph on the interstate lol) so it never runs too low.

never heard of one for vehicles that comes apart, large commercial a/c systems have them but that's something new to me for cars

 

Reviving an old thread.

Wife gave me permission to take on this project as long as I promised to to the work in he attached garage. I'm not allowed to go out to my shop until 2 weeks after I get home. The shop is 200 feet from the house and a lawn is considered uneven ground.

I staged all the parts and tools so I can be ready when I'm some what mobile.

Stand by for questions.

Later

Kirk