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240 Another A/C thread

D

DMFWallace

Ignoramus Bigotus
Joined
May 1, 2004
Location
Fredericksburg, VA
Begin TL;DR

As some of you may know, my 850R got rear ended at like ~35mph by a drunk driver that didn't have insurance, so I have been without a daily driver that blows cold A/C except when the old lady lets me take the XC90.. which is only every now and again. I carry liability insurance on my vehicles but not full coverage.. which in hindsight is a dumb idea I guess...

I've got a couple thousand saved up for something to replace the R, such as another P80 to swap all my parts to, but without at least another $2k there's no way I'm going to find something nice enough to satisfy my wants.

In lieu of all that, I'm working toward making the 245 my new year-round DD. I have a list of parts but would like some input on additional considerations which I should take while rooting around beyond the dash board.

End TL;DR

I'm planning to run Envirosafe 12A or Duracool, not doing a 134 conversion. I've done a lot of reading in this forum about AC lately and it seems like either of those should cool sufficiently if I take the right steps to do it right. The blower motor sometimes rattles in speeds 3 and 4, so that must be replaced which means if there's anything I should replace on the way in or out of there, it would probably be proactive to do so.

So far this is the list:

-VDO blower motor
-O-ring kit
-Variable orifice tube*
-Blower Resistor (I see two different part numbers on FCP - 3540086 and 1370240, what's the difference??)
-Heater control valve (probably the David Samuels one)
-plenty of AC flush
-Oil (any recommendations on what oil to run?)
-Dryer (have one on shelf, still has the plastic plugs in it but it's old, should I buy new?)

So, what am I missing/forgetting? Any further recommendations? I'm prepared to spend a decent chunk of change making the AC work properly but I'd like to save as much as possible for suspension goodies and whatnot, but climate control is the #1 priority at this time.
 
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Worth just getting extra o rings honestly. Nothing like tightening something up and realizing you pinched one oddly and it's blown up.

Regarding that dryer. If it's sealed... it's sealed. But truthfully... who even knows? Since your system is an R12 system apparently, and it can be... complex to evacuate something that is a "non-standard" frig... my advice would be to spend the coin now to be sure you don't need to crack it open later. Buuuuuuuut I hate just wasting parts.

How do you like the Yamaha XC90? Everything I always read says to stay away... but I want one REAL BAD. Mostly for the motor.
 
Sounds like you've got a plan. Definitely o-rings to replace if you're cracking any fittings. I would replace the receiver/drier, especially after you flush the system(if you do, but don't really need to flush). The receiver/drier that you have...I'm not sure how they do sitting a long time. If you're doubtful just get a new one, they're $16 for a Four Seasons R/D on RockAuto Use POE oil with dye to add to the new receiver/drier, two or three ounces should do. The 91+ cars utilize the orifice tube system, $19 on RockAuto for a variable orifice tube . As for the heater valve, Charles Risen at EuroPartsHouse.com(local boy for West Coast brickers)$59 for the kit. I just went through this late last summer with my Wife's car.

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Solid advice, I'll order a new dryer. This one has been stored for years (plugged) but probably wouldn't hurt for cheap insurance to get a new one.

I'll get 2 o-ring kits, no idea what sizes they are until I pull everything off.

Should I use a variable orifice tube or a standard one when using ES12A or Duracool?

Regarding the XC90, I did have to do an alternator swap (most of them go bad over 100k) which was a pain but far from impossible, other than that it has a light on for the cat (gonna get a bung extender and see if that clears it up) and the alarm module battery is dead. Other than that, solid vehicle! Stay away from 05 V8s and 06 under a certain engine serial (6500ish I think?) as those engines didn't have the drain hole in front of the balance shaft.

It can, and has been, expensive to fix and maintain but I really love it and we got it for a little under $7k with 110k on it, we now have 133k on it and other than the alternator it's just been oil changes... Expensive oil changes :lol:
 
KeizerBrickGuy said:
I would get a variable to ensure you get better refrigerant flow on hot days.
Click to expand...

The VOT benefit is at lower engine speeds, traffic for example. I'll find out shortly as I've got one in the DD which is nearly ready to fire up.

OP - if you have a 92 245 I think you are set under the dash with your evaporator setup (91-93 identical from what I read). There were some great threads last year on this very topic in this sub forum.

Don't scoff at proper R134a...... the key is to WEIGH the refrigerant and not just eyeball it. There is a local optima for this gas.... too little, too much and far less than optimal cooling and DELTA T.

I just restored the AC in my 92 745T and saw as low as 37*F on the freeway with recirc. of the cabin air.....good enough IMO.

If you want optimum in a 2 series, find a 93 donor and pull the ONE YEAR ONLY condenser which was designed for R134a (parallel flow vs. the R12 serial flow). I pulled a complete 93 system for my 242 Whiteblock project, which hopefully starts this winter. Good luck!
 
I have a 93 wagon and while I have kept it 134. If I was doing a conversion it would use the ES12 or something else. But in answer to your questions. I put a vov in my 93 and it helped a lot. Definitely get the variable orifice valve and make sure the pusher fan works. The fan also makes a big difference in slow driving traffic.

Recently I had to replace the pusher fan on mine. But the system wasn't cooling. It also needed a refill of 134 after about five years. The shop vacuumed it out and weighed what they got and it was only 11oz. So the 134 also seems to slowly leak out over time just like the old R12. They couldn't find a leak and just refilled and tested it and it's been fine since last spring.
Wish you well with the setup!
 
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