Quote:
Originally Posted by 83w126
It has been over 100 here for the first time this year, so I was thinking about how tired I am of driving a car with no a/c.
I haven't done anything with the climate control at all on this car since I bought it, and it pretty much doesn't work at all. The fan doesnt do anything at all (I think someone tried to rewire it didnt do it right) and if you set the temperature all the way to hot the heater will work, or if you turn everything off the heater just turns on and off for no obvious reason. And it has probably been at least 20 years since the a/c was working. The only good thing is that I think other than the blower wiring there isnt actually anything missing.
My thought is that it would be at least $3k to fix, and require buying another car to drive while I fixed it, so I would be better off just selling it and buying something else that the a/c works already, but am I making it more complicated than it actually would be?
|
I think that you stand a good chance of being able to fix it for a lot under $3k particularly if you reasonably handy. And there should be nothing that you would do in that process that would render the car undrivable during the process.
The good news is that you've got a 617 so you can use a current technology Sanden compressor which you can source online for as little as $150 or so. You can get the adapter bracket from Rollguy for $200 or so. A new drier can be as little as $25. An expansion valve is as little as $25 or so. You'd need to get one or two hoses made up which can vary depending on the shop you use. You'd be well advised to replace the expansion valve. So assuming that the system is "clean" that's what you're facing. Each item can be done independently and will not take the car out of service.
The first step however is to assess your existing system. If the compressor turns freely, there is a good chance your system will be clean. To find out remove the compressor and dump out the oil and see what it looks like. What you're hoping to
not find is black oil with particles in it - as that's "black death" and would require a complete system flush or possibly replacement. If the oil is decent you'd still be advised to flush out the condenser, lines and (while you've got the expansion valve out) the evaporator.
Then you can button up the system, vacuum it and install a suitable refrigerant. There are lots of choices. My personal choice is Envirosafe, but refrigerants are like oil, antifreeze, air cleaners, filters, etc. You'll get as many opinions as people you speak with, often quite aggressive. Do your own research and choose what's best for you.
You can charge your system yourself, with just a low pressure gauge, but if you've done all this, a set of manifolds are definitely worth it.
So you can evaluate your system pretty simply and tackle it incrementally bailing out at any point you feel you're over your head or it's just too much.
I'd probably focus on the blower first as that can be a bit of a project and your A/C system will be pretty much worthless without a good blower. Lots of info on this site, and plenty of parts in the junk yards to replace broken or missing components. And you might want to check your monovalve too. A leaking monovalve will hurt A/C performance significantly.
Good luck