Is the York a/c Compressor and the Accumulator/Drier from 123 cars (300D, 240D, 300CD etc.)of any value?
Can it be restored and used to get good cooling??

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Dionysius

It can be restored and provide good cooling...
but they suck power and vibrate so much more than newer swashplate ( or hotchkiss either ) style compressors that really the only reason to use one would be if historical accuracy were at stake.
A restoration in other words....

If you do install a modern compressor on the system, you might try to sell that York on ebay or such. Off-roaders like to use them for air compressors.

Your used dryer is junk.

The Receiver/drier is junk, but the York Compressor, that's another story! York Compressors were extremely durable and dependable! It should give excellent cooling and if you can use Envirosafe in your retrofit, you will not notice much engine drag either. I would keep it if it was mine.

York compressors were built like a brick shythouse!

http://www.datcp.state.wi.us/press_release/result.jsp?prid=886

08-17-2001
Banned Flammable Refrigerant for Sale
Contact: Glen Loyd

For more information contact Tom Stoebig 608-224-4944.

Division of Trade and Consumer Protection Bureau officials are alerting consumers and businesses to be wary of illegal refrigerants being sold for motor vehicle air conditioning. The refrigerant products are flammable and banned from sale in Wisconsin.

Bill Oemichen, Consumer Protection Division administrator, said his office has seen an increase in the number of complaints this year concerning attempted sales of illegal, propane-based refrigerant substitutes.

Oemichen cited Enviro-Safe and Maxi-Frig 12a as two product brand names that have been marketed more heavily this year. He said sales solicitations have come via mail, newspaper advertisements and on the internet.

"The products are being promoted as safe replacements for R-12, commonly referred to as Freon, or as replacements for other refrigerant substitutes used in vehicle air conditioning systems," Oemichen says. "People are being told there is no licensing required to purchase and use these products, and no system retrofitting is needed. Nothing could be further from the truth."

Since 1996, the Department has banned the sale and use of flammable, hydrocarbon-based substances when intended for use in motor vehicle air conditioning systems "because of public safety concerns for motorists and repair shop technicians. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has also prohibited flammable refrigerants for most uses, including motor vehicle air conditioning," Oemichen says, "but it lacks federal authority to regulate sales and marketing of these products."

Oemichen says his Bureau referred a case two years ago for criminal prosecution involving an Enviro-Safe refrigerant dealer selling small cans of the illegal propane-based refrigerant substitute, has impounded illegal refrigerant supplies, and has worked to curtail product advertising of these illegal products in the state.

Other product brand names cited by the Department as containing illegal hydrocarbons include Duracool, HC 12a, Red Tek, Auto Cool, and ES-12a.

Oemichen said all motor vehicles manufactured after 1994 have been redesigned and equipped with a non-ozone depleting refrigerant called R-134a, a hydrofluorocarbon. "This is the refrigerant of choice within the automotive industry, and is the primary refrigerant choice when retrofitting older vehicle air conditioning systems," he said.

"The commercial production of R-12 or Freon has been banned under international treaties and federal law since 1996," Oemichen says, "so supplies are dwindling and prices are increasing. Although there are legal refrigerant substitutes that can be used in motor vehicle air conditioning, they are all regulated under both state and federal law. The sale and use of propane-based products, however, will only bring trouble."

No auto air conditioning system lasts forever, so the Department offered the following advice to vehicle owners:

If the vehicle's air conditioning system needs repair, don't do it yourself. Service the vehicle through a DATCP-licensed business. Under state law, repair shops and technicians performing repairs of motor vehicle air conditioning systems must be licensed and certified by the Department.

Make sure that the repair shop checks the system for leaks, and have them repaired.

For older vehicles, carefully evaluate the costs to convert and retrofit the AC system for use with an accepted refrigerant substitute. Ask an authorized dealer or a licensed repair facility.

For more information about servicing your vehicle's air conditioning system, contact the Wisconsin Consumer Protection Bureau's Regulation & Safety Section at 608-224-4940, or call the toll-free Consumer Protection Hotline at 1-800-422-7128.

I just had the BLACK DEATH!!!!

DieselClack is offline
Registered User

Join Date: May 2008
Location: Arizona
Posts: 189
Exclamation I just had the BLACK DEATH!!!!
On my compressor! Yep, it finally quit while going down the freeway into Phoenix yesterday. Clankety, Clankety, Clank, Clunk, Clunk, Clunk, THUD screeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeech!

So shut of the AC, at least it isn't 118*F out today! It looks as if the triple digit temps are gone for the rest of the year so it could have been worse!

Well, when I got it hone it looks like pieces of metal and chunks of god only knows what were flying around in there! It looks like the clutch is salvageable, but not much else and black slimy oil is dripping out of the case.

Well, keep your AC system well maintained, because there is a point to this. My compressor was manufactured in 1981, installed in late 1982 and was the original one for the car and my car has 294,031 miles on it!

For what it's worth, I've been told I got more out of the original compressor than most, so these old R4's can go for a long time!

Keep the oil level maintained. Now I'll get a Mapco replacement since I can't seem to find much else readily available, unless any of you have a better source/idea?

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Diesel Clack
gistered User

Join Date: May 2008
Location: Arizona
Posts: 189

Quote:
Originally Posted by turbobenz View Post
was it on the original charge too?

No. I had put Envirosafe in the system when i bought the car a few years ago along with a fresh few ounces of oil. The AC system was completely empty of refrigerant, but not oil when I got it. Looks like all the metal parts that broke loose were large ones! They stayed in the compressor at least. I haven't found any metal fragments.