Now that I already answered your question privately and now I see you posted it to the forum like a good DMCForum-ian, I'll cut & paste my novel for anyone who cares to hear my opinion on a/c. Hi Mike, <personal opinion about Bill vacuum-flushing the system using the car's intake edited out> Flushing is something that should only be done in short runs blowing it through with a lot of air pressure. Sucking it won't effectively pull out the debris and old oil it has dissolved. Also it is not at all realistic to expect any flushing solvent to make it past the orifice tube screen. If the system had problems, that screen may have been nearly clogged anyway. It should be a no-brainer that anytime the system is open that the orifice tube should be inspected for particulates and then replaced with a new one anyway. Accumulators contain a tea-bag/coffee filter looking pouch of moisture absorbing desiccant granules. The rule of thumb that I hear with these is that once you open a new one and install it, you should pull a hard vacuum within 15 to 20 minutes so as not to exhaust the granules before you charge the system. Also I understand that this desiccant (actually the whole accumulator unless you know a shop that can cut it open & weld it shut again) should be replaced anytime the system has been opened or left in a state of discharge. Also it goes without saying that it should be changed when the system is converted to a different kind of refrigerant. The original R-12 desiccant is not compatible with R-134a. It should be replaced with an accumulator that specifies it has a desiccant that is compatible with both R-12 and R-134a which should be expected to be in any new accumulator you buy. And it should also go without saying that the desiccant is not compatible with flushing fluid. If it wasn't toast the first time someone put R-134a in there, it surely was after. The effects of moisture in the system are not good. The first thing that becomes a problem is the connection to the orifice tube. It corrodes the fittings and makes it very hard to remove without damaging the evaporator. The next thing that the moisture attacks is the evaporator itself. Moisture interacts with the refrigerant making an acid that causes the rot. The minimum that I recommend doing with your system is: 1) getting the orifice tube out of there and inspecting it for particulates. It is most likely clogged with gunk anyway, but you need to make sure it doesn't have any metal flakes on it. Metal flakes indicate that the compressor is failing. 2) thoroughly flush the system using NAPA's Dura-141. Flush one part of the system at a time. Flush the evaporator separately. It will probably take more than one can to get it clean. With the compressor removed, flush through the high side hose (the thinner one) that was on the compressor. It is connected to the condenser and through the hose that leaves the condenser. The flushing fluid will come out through where the orifice tube goes. Put the orifice tube end in a clear plastic jug and watch what comes out. Keep flushing until what comes out is clear. This may take 1 full can of solvent. Next flush the compressor even though most directions say not to. Pour a few hundred ml in the suction side and through the oil fill nut on the top. Shake it around and pour it out. Do this a few times until what comes out looks clean. Do this while turning the pulley a few times. Then blow it out with lots of compressed air until you think it is dry. Then flush it a few times using new refrigerant oil. I recommend using Ester-100. When done, leave 12 ounces in the compressor and pull a hard vacuum on the system soon afterwards because the oil is hygroscopic and will degrade quickly if left in contact with atmospheric air. 2) replace the accumulator, but don't install it until you are ready to pull a hard vacuum. I don't care what Bill thinks -- a minimum vacuum should be no less than 28 inches mercury preferably for an hour or so. Shops in a hurry will do less time or not even pull a vacuum. That is one of the scams of dishonest mechanics which seem to be the rule and not the exception. (I'm not calling Bill dishonest in any way -- he is just not informed of proper procedures.) Trying to pull a vacuum through the engine's intake is, pardon my language, a totally fucked up idea. First it is no where near strong enough to boil the moisture out of there (16 inches mercury max). Second, the flushing solvent (actually a type of refrigerant itself) turns into phosgene when burned. This is one of the two ingredients in mustard gas. This is seriously toxic and will cause nerve damage if you breath it. It isn't good for the catalytic converter either. Any flushing solvent should be blown out of there with compressed air. That kind of stuff is not good for a vacuum pump either. It would contaminate the oil and may rot the seals. 3) If using R-134a, I recommend upgrading the FOT (fixed orifice tube) with a VOV (variable orifice valve). This is a new technology valve that will get a lot more efficiency out of the system. The compressor will cycle less often, your fuel economy will increase and the system will last longer. If you can't get anyone to do this sort of work for you, you can do it yourself. I taught myself by reading Haynes Techbook Automotive Heating & Air Conditioning. And before this I had experience from watching/helping other people do a/c systems. I really have no business flying up there and doing it, but I would be tempted anyway. Or if you are good at following directions I can UPS you the tools and you can do it yourself while I'm helping you over the phone. The next step that needs to be done anyway is for you to get the orifice tube out of there. The fittings are next to the accumulator behind the front passenger wheel. Getting it apart can be a two person job depending on what kind of wrenches you have that you can make fit. I have used crow foot wrenches on the ends of very long extensions. Once you have the fitting apart, it may be badly corroded and stuck. You need to heat one side with a heat gun while spraying the other side with electrician's component cooler (chills things down to -62 degrees F.) This should expand one side while shrinking the other. Then they should slide apart. Then the orifice tube should pull out with a pair of needle nose pliers. If not then there is a special tool I can send that is made to extract it. If you are not careful, they can break. And then they may break anyway. Then there is a special tool (looks like an easy-out) that you screw into it and extract it. I haven't had this happen to me yet, so I don't have that tool. Let me know what you think, Walt Yahoo! Groups Sponsor <http://rd.yahoo.com/M=249982.3179269.4495679.1261774/D=egroupweb/S=170512 6215:HM/A=1524963/R=0/SIG=12ongbbsq/*http://hits.411web.com/cgi-bin/autore dir?camp=556&lineid=3179269?=egroupweb&pos=HM> <http://us.adserver.yahoo.com/l?M=249982.3179269.4495679.1261774/D=egroupm ail/S=:HM/A=1524963/rand=552675156> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: DMCForum-unsubscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service <http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/> .
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