Long story short... Converted my a/c to 134 early May. ICE cold a/c
since, including yesterday. This morning, no cooling. Jumpered a/c
pressure switch and activated the compressor. Then found the
florescent yellow a/c oil had leaked on the floor underneath the
compressor.
I haven't gotten under the car yet, but could the compressor leak somewhere other than the hoses? The hoses were kind of hard to tighten since the compressor was hanging when I swapped the o-rings. Anything more I should look for??
and the forecast is for Atlanta's hottest day of the year so far!
Many thanks,
John Pirtle
87 a/t 147k
http://members.rennlist.com/pirtle
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Yup,
Front main seal behind the clutch. Fill and drain fittings. Any of the fittings forward of the radiator/condenser could be dripping along the frame and look like the compressor.... Yadda^3
jfk
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While we are on the subject, I need to fix Don's A/C (as well as my Weissgold car) and the systems are bone dry. Not an ounce of gas in there. Going to replace the receiver dryer, expansion valve and as many O-rings as I can get to. Only problem is getting the receiver dryer out. Everything is on tight, like it's never been touched. Trying to loosen the lower fitting pushes the dryer into the condenser. I'm thinking it's easier to pull the condenser, then remove the dryer so I don't damage the condenser. Looks like I have to undo the upper connection to the condenser. There is a big Hex shaped fitting. Obviously I need to put a BF wrench there and another on the hose connector, then work them like a "thigh master". Anyone BTDT? Got some good tips, please?
Regards,
JE
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In approximately 20 minutes...you can have the condenser out with drier attached. This is the only way to go as far as I am concerned. You risk FUBAR'ing the fittings and components if you try it installed.
Just take out your electric fan, disconnect the fitting at the drier and the one at the condenser, remove the upper and lower bolts on the condenser and carefully pull the whole unit out. Lay it on a bench and perform the operation.
Keith Widom
SOCAL 928
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Thanks Wally,
Don wants to stick with R-12. I'm going R-134. Putting R-134 into a R-12 system to test for leaks is OK if I vacuum it out? If so, I have no idea what kind of oil is in the system. Should I drain drain the compressor (good way to do that?), then put PAG in so it's compatible with both? I have a full set of Green O-Rings, and I'm sure I have your HVAC paper. I'll give it a good review.
Regards,
JE
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From: Wally Plumley <wplumley@bellsouth.net>
To: John Eifert <JohnEifert@hotmail.com>
Subject: [928] RE: a/c compressor leak
Date: Wed, 25 Jun 2003 16:56:40 -0400
While we are on the subject, I need to fix Don's A/C (as well as my Weissgold car) and the systems are bone dry. Not an ounce of gas in there. Going to replace the receiver dryer, expansion valve and as many
O-rings as I can get to.
Good plan - the only thing that I might suggest is that sometimes it is a good idea to blow one can of R-134a into the system and do some leak testing. You can also go ahead and replace the O-rings, receiver/dryer, etc., and then squirt a can in and leak test. If it is tight, then you vacuum it down and charge it.
Only problem is getting the receiver dryer out.
Everything is on tight, like it's never been touched. Trying to loosen the lower fitting pushes the dryer into the condenser. I'm thinking it's easier to pull the condenser, then remove the dryer so I don't damage
the condenser. Looks like I have to undo the upper connection to the condenser. There is a big Hex shapped fitting. Obviously I need to put a BF wrench there and another on the hose connector, then work them like a "thigh master". Anyone BTDT? Got some good tips, please?
The joints don't NEED to be that tight. Every joint is sealed by an O-ring, and it doesn't matter whether it is really tight or not. Don't use any black O-rings - only the blue or green ones. Lube them all as you put them
in, using the A/C oil.
Yes, you need the two big wrenches. If you have a Harbor Freight store nearby, buy a set of the big open-end wrenches. Squeezing the wrenches together gives a lot of force without stressing the tubing.
Did I send you the paper on the 928 HVAC?
Wally
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From the front seal. Some of those seals will not hold 134. Happened to me, when the original compressor went south, I bought another "genuine Porsche" unit and had the system converted to 134. Shortly thereafter, the 134 leaked out through the front seal. I returned the compressor under warranty, but when I received the replacement, I was also told that if I used 134 in it, there would be no warranty, so I had the system converted to run 12 again.
wk
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If you have a 12-specific seal in the front of the compressor, you can pretty much count on it leaking in a short period of time if you stick 134 in there. Something about the 134 molecules being smaller than the 12 molecules.
wk