R-134a Conversion Success

[thorsen]

When I bought my 1972 250C, the AC did not work. I shot some dye in and found the condenser had some pin holes. After pricing new condensers, I elected to go with a universal aluminum parallel flow unit, which was about 1/4 the price of the original type.

Next, I decided that as long as I had the system open, I might as well replace the compressor. The York had a heavy layer of gunk around the front which led me to believe the seal was bad. I dropped in a new Seltec rotary compressor and after shimming it for clearance everything looked great.

The hoses were next, as they were not only very hard, but now they had the wrong fittings as well. I bought the hoses, an assortment of fittings, and a crimper and proceeded to make my own.

At this point the conversion to R-134a was a no-brainer. I went ahead and replaced the original electric fan in front of the condenser with a high-capacity model I had sitting on my shelf.

I was able to charge it up yesterday afternoon and was very pleased with the result. Ambient air temp was 90 and I had 50 degree air out the vent.

[Mike D]

Good job! You went about it in the correct way. Most people try to do a "drop-in" style of replacement and are unhappy with the results.

You eliminated all the "trouble" spots. The new compressor, condensor and hoses were the weak links in the original system.

You did replace the drier?

[thorsen]

Originally Posted by Mike D

Good job! You went about it in the correct way. Most people try to do a "drop-in" style of replacement and are unhappy with the results.

You eliminated all the "trouble" spots. The new compressor, condensor and hoses were the weak links in the original system.

You did replace the drier?

Yep, replaced the drier and expansion valve. I cleaned out the evap but did not replace it because of the $$$ involved.

Now if the windshield guy would show up, I could actually drive this thing!

[alabbasi]

Where did you get the crimping tools and fittings?

[thorsen]

I bought the Atco 3700 (?) off eBay for around $75. I bought my fittings from http://www.rayeveritt.com/Fittings/Fittings.html

Ray can custom make hoses, but I wanted to pay more and do it myself (ha ha).

[todds]

Looks great man! Happy to hear you and your passengers will be comfortable this summer, A/C is pretty much mandatory for relaxed driving and it's nice in the rain and fog too. Your car is looking pretty damn good, the w114 is a nice ride. Do you know which dimensions the condenser was you got from ackits? Did you mount it straight to the radiator?

[nhdoc]

Originally Posted by thorsen

I bought the Atco 3700 (?) off eBay for around $75. I bought my fittings from http://www.rayeveritt.com/Fittings/Fittings.html

Ray can custom make hoses, but I wanted to pay more and do it myself (ha ha).

I ordered a hose from Ray Everitt and they did a great job making it up for me...it came something like 2-3 days after I placed the order online too. I highly recommend them. It saved me a fortune over having to have a shop do the repairs for me.

[thorsen]

Upgraded and up-sized my electric cooling fan and have the temperatures down to 36 degrees at 88 degrees ambient.

[twinockchef]

How do you know which compressor, condenser and dryer to use?

[thorsen]

The compressor I used was a universal replacement style for either R-12 or R-134. The condenser was selected by the size that would fit. The dryer was the standard issue dryer for the car.

[Cr from Texas]

Originally Posted by thorsen

Upgraded and up-sized my electric cooling fan and have the temperatures down to 36 degrees at 88 degrees ambient.

How do you find out the capacity of the factory fan and then go about finding a better one? Mine is a 123 (1983 300D) and in Texas you are always looking for ways to get cooler air.