AZ heat vs old worn A/C

[MarkD51]

i have the fan installed, but havent completed the wiring. i think th biggest issue is more the volume of the cab as opposed to the efficiency of the system or the color of the car. if you have no window tint, then get that done first, that will be a huge benefit. do you have rear AC? I do, my Tahoe is black, and my system keeps the car cool.

as for replacing everything in the system, that seems to be a big expense, especially if nothing is broken. I would verify the charge by having the system evacuated and the correct refrigerant amont weighed back in. also, clean off the condensor and evap coils. when i was mounting the fan i used a brush to clean the condenser, it was pretty dirty.

there is paint that will radiate the heat away. i know they make it for homes, not sure about cars though.

i was mainly installing the condensor fan for around town, stop and go driving. my system blows very cold when moving.

I agree with not replacing what isn't broke.

My '97 Tahoe, which has been in my possession since day one, had a freaking remanufacted AC Compressor. And yep, that's where the leaks started. Front and Back Seals of the Compressor itself, nowhere else.

But when you do a Compressor Swap,you have to also acquire a new Drier-Acccumilator, and Orifice Tube, otherwise you're doing butcher back alley surgery.

The Drier, about $30, and the O-Tube, about $4-$7. (Of course you'll need Oil, and Refrigerant.

I replaced all Shrader Valves at the Ports to be safe. Nobody wants to dump expensive refrigerant into a vehicle, and then find a week later it all leaked out somewhere else.

Forget the little refrigerant Cans, do a professional evac, and charge.

 

[orange57]

I have professional grade vacuum pump, gauges and scale for weighing it back in. Its a little harder to erigh it in with the small cans.

If you just leaked out, and are just replacing seals i don't think you would need to replace all of that. Its when the compressor siezes that you get a bunch of garbage in the system and need to replace extra items.

 

[MarkD51]

I have professional grade vacuum pump, gauges and scale for weighing it back in. Its a little harder to erigh it in with the small cans.

If you just leaked out, and are just replacing seals i don't think you would need to replace all of that. Its when the compressor siezes that you get a bunch of garbage in the system and need to replace extra items.

It was a new (not rebuilt) Delphi Compressor I had installed. AZone won't fully warrantee the Compressor unless you buy the Drier, and Orifice Tube.

Compressor was filled, and bench primed with the correct oil, and no doubt best to start with a fresh new Drier-Accumilator, otherwise it gets harder to estimate how much oil remains in the system.

No, since I didn't have a seize up of the Compressor, the original Orifice Tube was not really bad looking, or had any shavings, just a little gunky looking was all. Downside of the Orifice Tube Swap, is the Grill has to come off. No biggie, have done it before when I replaced all lamp housings-lenses, only about 15 minutes to get off.

The fella that did the job for me was pretty thorough, in replacing Shrader Valves, insuring all seals replaced, and even seals were OK on the Low Pressure Switch at the Drier, was power flushed, evac'ed and charged (with Dye)

Figuring even though the truck has under 40K, it still is a 17 year old truck.
Provided the Compressor holds up, I should be good for another many years of use. In about 96 degree heat, I'm showing about 42 degrees at the Vents on Max Cooling.

If my truck was on its way out, I probably wouldn't have cared as much, but I plan on holding onto my Tahoe for many many more years.

Beauty of New Mexico here, my truck looks like it's a year old. No rust down here in the desert.
Mark

 

[orange57]

If you haven't already purchased everything from auto zone, there is a shop in PHX that has very good prices. I had to replace the compressor, condenser,and txv on my wife's car about two years ago. All the parts were about $400. I have the website saved in my favorites to my computer at home, I can post it when I get home.

 

[MarkD51]

If you haven't already purchased everything from auto zone, there is a shop in PHX that has very good prices. I had to replace the compressor, condenser,and txv on my wife's car about two years ago. All the parts were about $400. I have the website saved in my favorites to my computer at home, I can post it when I get home.

As for myself Orange, all was replaced about 12 months ago, and all seems to be holding up OK.

But for sure, do post any good info, as it might benefit others here down the road.

In my short time here, I've easily read through multiple hundreds, if not thousands of forum posts, present, and past.

As well as looking at all the great rides.

Gaining knowledge, and reading about other's experience helps mucho indeed.
Mark

 

[Gzes]

Dammit yall making me want ac more... When I get some change in I'll do mine

 

[orange57]

the website is www.ackits.com....which looks like they changed to ackits.net

They are a shop local to Phoenix. They didn't have my wifes car listed on their site at the time, but when I called up they had great prices. And they have a forum with some helpful folks also.

 

[SunlitComet]

SunlitComet,
Wouldn't the Silverados (and perhaps Suburbans) of the same time era and same engine basically had the exact same under hood layout?

At least in regards to Fan Shrouds, and Radiator-Condenser Layout?

What seemed strange, and wondering how much benefit would actually be offered, when I read mention that the Condenser Fan mounts "behind" the Radiator?

I would think if it could be done, and I'm sure some inventive mechanically inclined person could probably mount something like a dual electric fan in front of the Condenser, if there was enough physical room?

One other possible upgrade path, and may offer some additional benefit, is dumping the Clutch Fan, and retro-fitting something like a Flex-a-Lite Fan, with no Clutch?

I know when there's a suspected lack of AC cooling, one thing a mechanic will usually check is the Fan Clutch. As I understand it, a simple check is to shut the engine off, and if the Radiator Fan continues to spin for any length of time, the Fan Clutch is bad.

As for the Orifice Tube swap, this other high heat environment O-Tube looked much longer in length than the stock Tube. Do you know, or are sure that this other Tube would've fit?

In my estimation, and two other mechanics, we all seemed to believe no, that it would not.
Mark

the trucks and big burbs actually used that fan but it was mainly there as a back up for a hot engine when under stress as well as one other need. it can be adopted to do other things but you have to provision the controls for other uses.

i use the flex a lite 280 dual fan setup made for the obs trucks and the controller it came with for now. it will be controlled by the pcm later and the old fan controller will be used to drive the at single delco $65 add-on fan when i get it done. it goes in front of the heat exchanger setup. condenser fan behind radiator does not make sense. must be a typo.

the tube should fit. a few people here have changed over to it. i need it myself here in az. 105°+ here it a bit much for me.

for the fan clutch let the engine go cold overnight and and the coldest temp outside. start and rev the engine. if the fan howls loudly then it should be working properly and after enough revving or time it should let off its clutch and slow down.

 

[wrager]

I would imagine the added fan wouldn’t hurt and you would see some sign of improvement. The questions really is how much. A few things I am think of doing is first replace the whole system. Then remove the interior and somehow insulate the cab. And lastly I want to paint the roof white but want to research to see if I can find a paint that is made to specifically resist heat transfer. I have also heard of a window tint that has porcelain in it and it greatly reduces the heat that can enter the cab.

This might work well: http://www.summitracing.com/search/brand/lizardskin/?SortBy=Default&SortOrder=Default&autoview=SKU

Also, would cleaning the evap core real good make a difference?

 

[SunlitComet]

yes they can become clogged with debris over time fallen thru the cowl grille.