NO A/C in 104oF weather!!!!!!! - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

JordaanDMC-12 · #1 04-23-2009, 03:41 AM

Sorry to post so many threads, but I just remembered to ask about this.

I have those giant York compressors in my 220D and I was wondering how do I recharge that? Where is the port that the hose from the freon bottle connects to? I'm pretty sure the compressor works, but it looks as if the freon has been long gone lol

Summer is starting to make its presence known and in the southern california desert where in the middle of summer, if you walk outside your front door you burst into flames. Last summer it reached 124oF and if I recall I was coming home from a basketball game at 10:00 pm and it was 110oF outside and it felt like a giant hair blow dryer with the windows down. it's just a place where you can't afford not to have A/C in summer. Thanks everyone

79Mercy · #2 04-23-2009, 08:06 AM

on the top of the compressor you'll see the fittings. Has the system been converted to R134?

leathermang · #3 04-23-2009, 08:27 AM

How to recharge is not the first question....
Finding the leaks or diagnosing the other problems is before that...

JordaanDMC-12 · #4 04-23-2009, 09:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 79Mercy

on the top of the compressor you'll see the fittings. Has the system been converted to R134?

Not that I know of, probably not. The car was sitting in a barn since 94 so i'm pretty sure nothing has been converted. Kind of wish it was though cause r13 is available everywhere, r12 not so much lol

JordaanDMC-12 · #5 04-23-2009, 09:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by leathermang

How to recharge is not the first question....
Finding the leaks or diagnosing the other problems is before that...

I really want to recharge it though, that way we can know if the compressor works for sure and if it leaks out, then we know that... well, we have a leak lol

again, the car was sitting since 94 so I imagine the freon just evaporated away and just needs to be refilled. It would be so amazing having A/C again.

leathermang · #6 04-23-2009, 10:11 AM

You are ' imagining' a lot of stuff instead of seeking facts....
AC is based on real physics... at a pretty high standard in fact if it is to last a reasonable length of time..
The method you outlined is not responsible in several ways... you would be wasting R12
And venting it into the atmosphere... an unnecessary cost to you and the air...
The proper method to check for leaks... is to have 4 ounces of R22 installed in the system pressurized by nitrogen... then you use normal leak checking methods to find and fix the leak... the R22 can be vented legally after the test...
Be sure to get that old oil out of the York.... then in refilling it you may need to make your own ' dipstick' to put the right amount back in before running it...
If you want to do it correctly we will try to help... AC work is not fun or easy... but a good working long lasting COOL car is usually worth it....

79Mercy · #7 04-23-2009, 10:35 AM

Im with leathermang on this one

ah-kay · #8 04-23-2009, 12:24 PM

I just fixed my 300SDL, changing out the condenser, rec/drier and converted it to R134a. This is what I do to check for leak without spending a dime. I pulled vacuum and made sure it held for an hour or so. I then pressurized it with compress air and sprayed soap water at the joints ( reachable ones ) to check for leak. I pulled vacuum again and recharged with R134a. Now I have cold air.

leathermang · #9 04-23-2009, 03:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ah-kay

I just fixed my 300SDL, changing out the condenser, rec/drier and converted it to R134a. This is what I do to check for leak without spending a dime. I pulled vacuum and made sure it held for an hour or so. I then pressurized it with compress air and sprayed soap water at the joints ( reachable ones ) to check for leak. I pulled vacuum again and recharged with R134a. Now I have cold air.

Your method has some very serious limitations.

1. If you pressurized with air you may have compromised your oil/dehydrating jell in your receiver / dryer. Once it gets contaminated with moisture you have to replace it... later vacuuming will not take moisture out of deep oil ( the rec/dryer ) or the drying jell / pearls, etc.

2. " reachable ones " .... that leaves the entire evaporator and under the dash connections ( at least four ) that you could not check...

3. If you had used nitrogen ( which is DRY ) and R22 to check then all those potential problems could have been avoided. Leaks in the evaporator show up big time just putting the sensor at the vents...

It is your car...so you can do what you want to with it... but it would be nice if you checked STANDARD procedures in the AC field before recommending them to others that might not know they needed to research the situation further to have hopes of long term success and avoiding unnecessary expense. All these principles are well vetted and proven.

ah-kay · #10 04-23-2009, 04:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by leathermang

Your method has some very serious limitations.

1. If you pressurized with air you may have compromised your oil/dehydrating jell in your receiver / dryer. Once it gets contaminated with moisture you have to replace it... later vacuuming will not take moisture out of deep oil ( the rec/dryer ) or the drying jell / pearls, etc.

2. " reachable ones " .... that leaves the entire evaporator and under the dash connections ( at least four ) that you could not check...

3. If you had used nitrogen ( which is DRY ) and R22 to check then all those potential problems could have been avoided. Leaks in the evaporator show up big time just putting the sensor at the vents...

It is your car...so you can do what you want to with it... but it would be nice if you checked STANDARD procedures in the AC field before recommending them to others that might not know they needed to research the situation further to have hopes of long term success and avoiding unnecessary expense. All these principles are well vetted and proven.

Most members here are DIYer without too much resources. If they have the money and the resources then they can take it to a shop and it will be fixed with warranty, at a costs.

1) Compressor air can be dried with a de-oil/de-water filter attached.
2) The pressure does not need to be too high. may be 40psi or less, the R134a is pressurized at 200psi or more at the high side. So pressure is not an issue here.
3) I never claim this is a silver bullet. There are a lot of leaks that a home DIY cannot detect without expensive sniffing probe.

One has a choice to take it to a shop and spend $1000 to convert it to R134a or try to improvise and get the job done. They are my cars and I run them at minimal costs, BIG FAT ZERO 0 if I can help it.

leathermang · #11 04-23-2009, 04:50 PM

Air can be dried.... but did you get that filter you describe free " without spending a dime" as you claimed originally ?

" most members ... with little resources".... that includes ME !!! LOL

" silver bullet" .... but you did indicate NO COST... and it will find MANY ... but you need to find ALL the leaks before vacuuming and filling and driving off into the ( hot ) sunset.

The expensive probes can be rented many places...

There are also some times when there is no cheap fix... and using the common methods can help one determine if their particular problems are DIY or need HELP.... Knowing what is needed also helps keep that local AC mechanic from pulling any fast ones...

ah-kay · #12 04-23-2009, 05:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by leathermang

Air can be dried.... but did you get that filter you describe free " without spending a dime" as you claimed originally ?

" most members ... with little resources".... that includes ME !!! LOL

My intention is always to improvise. There are times that you need professional help like detecting leak under the dash and others. As I have said, I run my car at minimal costs and would not like to spend a dime more unless it is necessary.

BTW, the de-water filter is attached to my compressor already when I did another project.

leathermang · #13 04-23-2009, 05:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ah-kay

...BTW, the de-water filter is attached to my compressor already when I did another project.

I do not know for sure... except for the very specific instructions in books like the MB AC manual to use dry nitrogen, and about not opening up a new receiver dryer until right at the time of installation..... but that type general air dryer may not be sufficient for this particular job.
Someone should investigate this before betting refrigerant and labor involved in their AC work on it being dry enough.

Putty · #14 04-25-2009, 01:42 PM

Ive read about using compressed air on here and I dont recommend it. Ambient air is whats considered a "combustable"...whereas nitrogen is a "non-combustable". Nitrogen is dry and its pressure is not affected by changes is temperature.

Regardless of where you live, ambient air has moisture in it...compressed or not and moisture in an AC system mixed with freon residue and oil makes ACID. Acid, especially with the aluminum parts in these cars can make short work of fittings all over. Seals are affected too...and you may find that soon you have more leaks because vacuuming out your system doesnt always get ALL the moisture.

As regards freon...yes R-12 is expensive and not produced anywhere...your best bet would be to find it used (recycled/reclaimed) or in a forgotten garage somewhere...otherwise people have switched to R-134a. Dupont cornered the market on that freon and soon, it too will be gone. My advice is look into R-420A. Its like ICOR's "Hot Shot" (which is another great freon) but its whats referred to as a "drop in" freon. It mixes with mineral oil AND Alkylbenzine and can top off your existing charge.

"Sniffer" probes can be rented in some places...I would recommend the R-22 sniff test...its VERY effective and will spot pinhole leaks better than soap.

Hope this helped.

techguy512 · #15 04-25-2009, 01:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Putty

Nitrogen is dry and its pressure is not affected by changes is temperature.

The pressure of ALL gasses are affected by temperature. It's a consequence of the ideal gas law:

pV=nRT

There's no way to eliminate the T from the above equation....