cross country drive w/ no ac (in june)=bleh.where do i start in trying to fix?
 

i'll be moving to new mexico in june, and the cross-country drive won't be much fun without air conditioning. needless to say, my ac doesn't work. i don't even know where to begin in diagnosing it, other than buying a vaccum pump, which i did a while back. do you guys have any advice for me? thanks :)

Sleep in the daytime, Drive at night......

I think you should drive to Virginia Beach and fix both her a/c and your a/c at the same time.

That way you can kill two birds with one stone. :D

You probably will never get it fixed, otherwise. :P

When was the last time it worked? Without anymore info from you it's impossible to tell whether the system just needs recharging or if a component failed. Take it to an AC shop and have them at least diagnosis the problem. Your moving everything you own in a 300D? If you are renting a truck just get an auto transport trailer and tow the car out.

Hey,
This question was allready addressed today. This was just 4 posts down from yours :)

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/diesel-discussion/119738-ac-problem.html

Danny

Did you buy oceanfront property in New Mexico???

Are you saying you bought a vacuum pump like would be used to evacuate an Air conditioning system ?
Like a Robinair or something... tell us more about the vacuum pump... and how much did you give for it ?

it's the kind that you can also use to bleed the brakes. it has a vaccum gauge on it. i'll take a pic of it tomorrow (if i can find the darn thing :)) i paid about 50 bucks for it...at the time it was the only one not made out of cheap plastic that i could find in stock. made by CarQuest.

jacrouch, I am sorry to inform you that that is not the type vacuum guage or pump which are used on the AC part of your car....
I asked the question on a hunch.... I thought maybe you had purchased one of the venturi type which run off the air from an air compressor... about $35 ... which is also not appropriate for this task.... Even used the type vacuum pump you need for evacuating the AC system is usually over $200.

My first advise may sound harsh... but you can ignore it and go to the second after you read it.... You are over your head on this part of your car's equipment problems. The amount of tools and knowledge you would need to acquire and apply Fast is huge. And not a small part of the problem is that there is a Safety Issue. AC involves serious stuff under pressure... which can explode and maim you... read Blind /Disfigure you. I was very lucky in the early 70's when I hooked up a can of R12 to the wrong side of the system and caught my mistake before it exploded in my face.... There are not the warnings which you have come to expect dealing with consumer goods.... they figure you will not be working on these things unless you already know the safety rules....and the function of the parts without markings on them.

I consult three manuals on AC... one is the Factory Mercedes AC manual , one a strickly Automotive AC manual and also a huge HVAC text with a section on automotive AC. They are strewn with warnings throughout.

You should at least find a copy of the Factory Mercedes AC manual... they are very specific in how they want things done... but then you will also need to purchase a set of guages for whatever referigerant you have in your system... which you will need to identify by the style valve installed. Then , to buy R12 cheaply if you need it you will need to take the online openbook epa test.... 608 or 609 ... do a search , plenty of info posted..... then you have to understand what electrical systems control your AC in order to by pass them one at a time to see what your problem/s might be.

Even for long time mechanics I suggest that the first time one works on this stuff that they have a ' mentor or guru' ON SITE... for safety reasons...
And I suspect you are not a long time mechanic... and we all start out that way.... so you really should find someone LIVE at your location to do this with you at the very least.

thanks for the advice...i'll have my mechanic take a look at it. i spoke with him yesterday, and he said that R12 costs ~$900/lb...is this correct? he basically talked in terms of it being not an option to keep the r12 system and not convert over to r134a.

please consider getting another mechanic, or print out a copy of auctions on e-bay for R12 going for about $20/lb, or call a local source. Anyone telling you its 900/lb is lying to you. It's true you need the 609 cert to buy it, but any A/C guy should have that. Before you talk to another mechanic, familiarize yourself with some of the basics in the system. There is a triangular plate at the front of the compressor, you should be able to turn it fairly easily(engine off of course). The v-belt to the compressor should be in good condition and under some tension. You should get 12V at the 2 prong plug when calling for A/C from the climate control. A jumper from the battery to the compressor should cause it to engage. Check a few websites that explain basic automotive systems so you understand. Good luck.

With your destination New Mexico..... that would really be crazy to get rid of your R12 system...
What Brian said is correct... please just find another mechanic...that one's credibility is GONE.
Fewer and Fewer cars need R12.... so the price has been dropping from what someone said...from last summer's price... which was much lower than it's highpoint about 6 years ago....

I bought mine from a pawn shop for $100.

Model 15234 - 1.2 CFM

Oil Fill Port Makes adding oil simple since the port is accessible from the front or either side. The sight glass on the front of the pump shows you when enough oil has been added.
Two stage Design Cleans the system more thoroughly than a single stage pump; the second stage starts pumping at a lower pressure so you can pull a deeper ultimate vacuum.
Die-Cast Aluminum Housing Cast aluminum housing makes the pump lightweight but durable.
Heavy Duty Motor High torque design for easy startup and efficient operation.
Molded Base Durable polycarbonate base improves pump balance and minimizes vibration during operation.
Iso-VaIve Isolates the pump from the system with just a quarter turn.
0ffset Rotary Vanes Our proven design builds a powerful compression within the pumping chamber to reduce system pressure and vaporize moisture so it can be exhausted along with air.
Oil Drain Valve Positioned at the bottom of the oil reservoir and angled

How are your windows and sun roof? What color is your car? I drove from Boston to North Carolina and back in June last year in a black golf TDI (this is a diesel board after all) with my wife and 2 kids....In retrospect it was everything we expected...hot, sweaty, unnnerving at times...I'd do it again, but would prefer a repair to the AC sytem in advance....

funny you should ask :) i'm working on replacing the driver side window regulator...somehow the large gear's "axle" (not sure what you call it) snapped in two. i was thinking maybe torque from the motor was to blame. anyway, i pulled one from an '83 at a junkyard, and my dad and i are working on installing it (any advice?). back windows don't work, passenger one does. the sunroof works great, although it has a deep rusted area around the edge of the part you can only see when it's opened. i guess the best thing to do there is sand it down and rust-proof it?