lw300 rear strut

Ordered the new A/C compressor on Thursday through my friend's shop. Was
sort of hard to find but got it. Seems the OEM style was replaced by a new
scroll type of compressor. Comes with a whole kit to adapt the hoses and
includes seals, receiver-dryer and oil. Should be fun trying to shoehorn it
into the motor. Nothing on that engine is easy to get to.

Hi Oppie

I did this job on a '83 mustang V-6 once, but I think I broke it during
the charging procedure somehow, as it never worked right. I would
recommend you get a shop to charge the system once you get it all in. I
don't know if the oil that is supposed to be injected first got to all
the critical parts in time in my case.

Oppie wrote:

I used to do quite a bit of work with R22 (old school) systems. Changing out
the receiver, adding the correct amount and type of oil (mineral) and then
properly evacuating the system down to better than 29" Hg is necessary to
pull out all the water vapor. It will freeze up the expansion valve
otherwise. Lots of folks make the mistake of adding liquid refrigerant to a
running compressor. Yes, it gets the stuff into the system fast but will
kill the compressor either through hydro-locking or by washing the oil from
the piston/cylinder and causing scoring. Always best to introduce only
refrigerant vapor to the low side. Put the cans in a pot of hot water to
keep it flowing.

Never really got the tools for R134a. R22 was dumb easy to remember
pressure/temperature. The suction side pressure in psi was very close to the
boiling temperature in degrees F  (40psi=40 degrees F).

R134a has a more obscure pressure/temperature correspondence. Last time I
did anything with it, I needed a lookup chart. Then there are the EPA laws
and licenses now.

Compressor came in to my friend's shop on Friday. It was supposed to arrive
today so I didn't bother calling him (nor did he call me...). If I would
have had it earlier, I would have at least installed the new compressor over
the weekend. Now I have time constraints and will probably have his shop do
the whole job.

Interesting development though-
Kit was ordered through www.ranshu.com and came with new
compressor/clutch/pulley, new receiver/dryer, new manifold/hoses, gaskets
and a bottle of PAG oil. Nice thorough instructions but in bold letters, was
a note to use the belt included with the kit. No belt was in the kit so we
called and found that the new compressor pulley was slightly undersize so
have to find a serpentine belt 1/4" shorter than stock. (for correct
tensioning)

OEM belt is 79.53"  six rib (Dayco 5060795 or equivalent)
Now will have to look up in the belt reference for something similar but
with effective length of 79.28". Next smallest belt though is 79.0" so may
take some experimentation...
 

brain cramp... make that R12.
R22 was used in residential air conditioners and refrigerators.

 

Job's all done. Runs nice and quiet with good cold air. Actually, at low
blower, evaporator must have frosted up with fresh air and at highway speed.
Airflow from the discharge vents started to diminish. Shut down the A/C and
within a few minutes, airflow returned to normal. A few minutes after that
the discharge temperature started to rise (as all the ice melted). Simple
solution is to add another 5psi of refrigerant.

The Scroll compressors are supposed to have less losses and should give
better mpg when A/C is used. Time will tell.

Oppie wrote:

Good job the AC! Hot weather is coming. At least in
Connecticut. Old 94 Saturn still running well here.

It was very nice to drive in the cool rain today with the windows closed and
not have the windshield fog up. For the last few months, I would dread damp
weather that would cause fogging problems. At one point I kept a bathroom
mirror squeegee on hand to clear enough of the windshield that I could
see...

Remember www.ranshu.com  for air conditioning supplies. In all my web
searches, this did not come up at all.

I completed the suspension repairs this past weekend. Had done the rear
struts the week before but still needed the rear sway bar to frame bushings.
Got those through CarQuest (nobody else had them) along with new front sway
bar end links. All installed now. Sort of funny how one gets accustomed to
slow changes in ride as parts wear. Replace them, and suddenly get back a
good ride and think "how did I not see this before?"
  This summer we'll be cruising the back roads of Vermont. Between the A/C
and suspension fixes, will make it much more enjoyable.

Oppie
White Plains, NY