Date:         Fri, 8 May 1998 17:58:53 -0700
Reply-To:     "harald.nancy" <harald.nancy@MCI2000.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <Vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         "harald.nancy" <harald.nancy@MCI2000.COM>
Subject:      Re: a/c rebuild and retrofitted to R134a
Comments: To: Vanagon@VANAGON.COM
Content-type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1

I have just finished a complete overhaul of my air conditioning system.
So I thought to share my experience with the list members.

First I want to thank Eric Zeno for his post from May 7, 1996, describing
VW's retrofitting kit to R134a, and Rick Koller for his post from April 20,
1998, informing us of a low-cost a/c components supplier,
SouthEast Air, 1-800-274-1251.

Since my a/c in my '90 westfalia did not hold the refrigerant more than a
few months, and I did not want to contribute anymore to the depletion of
the ozone layer, I decided to convert to R134a.
Here is what I did:
1). I found a friendly a/c shop that was willing to work with me. Then I
had them evacuate and flush out the system. They also removed the
old drier which is that pot by the left rear tire. They also taped off the
hose openings before I drove the vanagon home.
2). At home in my garage, I followed the Bentley manual to remove the
uppper rear cabinet. It was kind of like fighting a 28 armed octopus.
I made a couple of free-standing wood brackets to support the cabinet,
while I removed the speaker wires, and the fan resistors and connectors.
I unbolted the 2 mounting screws on each resistor to lift them gently out
of the way, since the wires were soldered on. After some battling with the
drain hose, I had the cabinet out of the car. I also removed the shelf and
the cover in the left rear locker.
That's when I found out my high-low pressure switch was leaking.
It costs $102 from the dealer.
3). Disconnected all the hose connections, cleaned them, and installed
new green-colored R134a compatible o-rings. I lubricated the o-rings with
the ester oil that I was going to use in the system. Also redid the front
hose fittings on the condenser by the spare tire. The old o-rings looked
very tired.
4). Installed the new expansion valve by the rear cabinet.
5). Installed the new drier.
6). Drained the oil out of the new compressor through the oil-drain plug.
Filled compressor with 8.5 oz of ester oil. Installed new compressor.
Changed o-ring in the pipe connection by compressor.
7). It is possible to re-use your old compressor, if it is still working
good.
In this case, take off the drain-plug. Hold the compressor upside down and
drain out the old oil. Refill with 8.5 oz R134a compatible oil and
reinstall, using new o-rings.
8). Check high-low pressure switch for leaks. Mine was in the left rear
locker and was defective. I also changed the o-ring on its mounting.
9). Reinstall rear upper cabinet, drain hose, plugs for the 2 fans. Bolt
the resistors in place, speaker wires, duct, etc.
10). I installed the vw a/c retrofit kit connectors on the high and low
pressure fittings, so that it can only be charged with R134a.
11). Take the vanagon back to the a/c shop and have them charge with R134a.

List of parts and approximate prices:

1. 12 new green-colored R134a compatible o-rings
    (mine were free from a/c shop)
2. evacuate and flush a/c system and remove drier       31.00
    1 qt a/c flush   17.00

3.  new R134a compatible compressor                       199.00
    new expansion valve                                               28.00
    both from Southeast Air, Inc.
                   138 Coin St.
                    Ft. Worth, TX 76140
              tel. 1-800-274-1251 (thanks to Rick Koller for info)
4. new drier from local a/c shop                                 76.00
     (for retrofit, drier must be replaced)
5. new high-low pressure switch from vw dealer          102.00
    (only need new one, if yours is leaking or defective)
6. 12 oz bottle Johnsen's ester a/c refrigerant lubricant 10.00
    (can be used in R12 or R134a systems)
    sold by TCC Dallas Part No. 6808
7. Retrofit kit from vw dealer                                        26.00
   (comes with pretty stick-on label for R134a)
   (part no. vwn 35-820794)
8. Recharge with R134a (1350g)                                  80.00


Things I learned:
There are lots of places for the a/c vanagon system to leak refrigerant.
The a/c technician advised me that it is not the R134a refrigerant that is
harmful to rubber hoses, but rather some of the oils used with it. That is
why I used the specified ester oil. (Wear gloves using the oil.)
It is not that difficult to work on the system yourself. Just make sure
you have it evacuated first.
It is important to keep it dry while working on it.
Mine works great now.
I'll have to take a vacation to a hot place this summer.

Harald
'90 westy