AC Repair anxiety

[Hokie]

Just a bit nervous about what I might have to pay a classic car shop to diagnose and repair my AC. It was converted to 134 in 2013 and ran cold for 3 months. I recharged it myself in 2014 and it ran cold for 2 months. The shop I'm considering, Automotive International in Charlotte, NC (labor rate $98) cannot provide an estimate or even a guesstimate, which I certainly understand. My concern is that they'll probably have to spend many hours trying to figure it out and have it just about fixed before being able to tell me the cost, which may end up being more that I can spend. I would LOVE to send my car to DMC or DPI but I just can't afford the shipping AND don't want to be without my car for an extended period of time. With all that said, I guess I'm just asking for folks to share their stories of having their AC fixed (find the leak and repair it) by a classic car shop and how much it cost them.

[TTait]

Go buy a can of 134a with marker dye in it, recharge the system until it runs, and then use a UV light to look for leaks - if you are up for that - we can talk you through it. Once you know where the leak is you can get a good estimate for the repair with confidence.

[alexwolf1216]

Just a bit nervous about what I might have to pay a classic car shop to diagnose and repair my AC. It was converted to 134 in 2013 and ran cold for 3 months. I recharged it myself in 2014 and it ran cold for 2 months. The shop I'm considering, Automotive International in Charlotte, NC (labor rate $98) cannot provide an estimate or even a guesstimate, which I certainly understand. My concern is that they'll probably have to spend many hours trying to figure it out and have it just about fixed before being able to tell me the cost, which may end up being more that I can spend. I would LOVE to send my car to DMC or DPI but I just can't afford the shipping AND don't want to be without my car for an extended period of time. With all that said, I guess I'm just asking for folks to share their stories of having their AC fixed (find the leak and repair it) by a classic car shop and how much it cost them.

I went through this exact same situation. Converted the car to 134, but it all leaked out from the old hoses. I bought DPI's complete kit with the hoses, accumulator, orifice tube, LPS and new adapter. I had so much anxiety I was going to pay Josh to fly/drive in to help me out, but weather prohibited him from leaving Ohio.

Last Saturday I attempted to do it myself. I cut the old hoses out, removed the accumulator, flushed the condensor and evaporator, installed new hoses and discovered my compressor went bad. I ordered a new one and as soon as it comes in I will recharge the system and hoepfully be done with it.

Let me say this. The entire process was MUCH easier than I thought. It took us newbies 2-3 hours to do all of it, including a trip to Oriellys for flush. The hoses went in like a breeze, thankfully everything came out easy and we didnt break anything. This is the first car I have ever worked on, and now I KNOW what was replaced and that it should all work when the compressor is installed. I had paid a shop to diagnose, but they were so clueless. For the money I spent I could have replaced all of the hoses and have been done months ago.

Take my advice for what its worth. Give it a shot. Whats the worst that could happen? You break something that the shop would have broken anyway? Heck drive down to San Antonio and lets do it together ;)

Alex

[Jonathan]

If the weather and temperature outside lets you, you might consider waiting until you have a local tech day and then see if another local owner can at least look around your car for any obvious/not obvious places that might be your problem.

If your problem is a leak in a hose or fitting, a shop shouldn't need to spend a ton of time trying to figure it out, DeLorean or otherwise. If the problem is related to the different components coming on or off in addition to a leak, then your local guys are a better option to get help from gambling with that $98 per hour.

The other piece of that idea to get with another local owner, is to find out which shop you know someone has gone to with their car and TRUSTED the mechanic to not screw them over. At the end of the day, it is just a car with most of the same systems as every other car. Trusting the place you're dealing with to charge you a fair price and do the work you needed properly is most important. I would get a referral from someone before you take it anywhere.

[Delorean Industries]

We were able to walk Alex through it painlessly. Very easy to install our line kits compared to the other options. I wanted to blitz out of Ohio last week and stop in to Alex's on the way to Az. With the weather there was no way the Mustang was going to make it out of the parking lot... :( If you get into trouble we can assist with tech advice and worst case a trip out. If you can get the evap/condenser lines off without damaging either component you are home free.

[Hokie]

We were able to walk Alex through it painlessly. Very easy to install our line kits compared to the other options. I wanted to blitz out of Ohio last week and stop in to Alex's on the way to Az. With the weather there was no way the Mustang was going to make it out of the parking lot... :( If you get into trouble we can assist with tech advice and worst case a trip out. If you can get the evap/condenser lines off without damaging either component you are home free.

Josh, is your kits for r134a?

[Delorean Industries]

Yes it is.

[Chris4099]

I can't recommend enough on replacing hoses when going to R-134a. The original or NOS hoses just won't cut it. While I replaced my system before DPI's kit was available, I used barrier hose which is much newer tech then the NOS hoses. Once I charged the system all those years ago, I haven't touched it since and the system still blows cold. It's really one of those conversions where you need to go all out and get it done right. Even if you find your current leak, you'll still be in for frequent recharging on an NOS system.

I never touched AC before until I replace the system in my D. It's not that bad of a job, especially the way DPI's kit works (or John's too if you have a lift). The worst is disconnecting the evaporator and condenser without damaging them. Once you've replaced all the hoses and compressor, you can take it to an AC shop for them to pressure test, vacuum and then refill if you don't want to invest in the equipment to do this yourself.

[David T]

I can't recommend enough on replacing hoses when going to R-134a. The original or NOS hoses just won't cut it. While I replaced my system before DPI's kit was available, I used barrier hose which is much newer tech then the NOS hoses. Once I charged the system all those years ago, I haven't touched it since and the system still blows cold. It's really one of those conversions where you need to go all out and get it done right. Even if you find your current leak, you'll still be in for frequent recharging on an NOS system.

I never touched AC before until I replace the system in my D. It's not that bad of a job, especially the way DPI's kit works (or John's too if you have a lift). The worst is disconnecting the evaporator and condenser without damaging them. Once you've replaced all the hoses and compressor, you can take it to an AC shop for them to pressure test, vacuum and then refill if you don't want to invest in the equipment to do this yourself.

Even if you aren't comfortable doing A/C work, if you change the hoses you save some of the time and labor that a shop will charge you for doing it. If you still have the original hoses just replace them because they are leaking and so are all of the "O" ring seals. My advice would be to try to stay with R-12. It is more expensive than -134 but you only need just over 2# of the stuff so it won't break the bank. You should also remove all of the old oil and replace it especially if you change to -134. Going to a shop has the advantage that they can flush it better, vacuum it better and find and fix the leaks better. It will cost a little more but you will have a more leak-free and reliable system. Also make sure your mode switch is working, otherwise rebuild it. If the fan is making noises replace it. Other things to check include the idler bearings, the belt, and the condensate drain.

[DMC5180]

It took us newbies 2-3 hours to do all of it, including a trip to Oriellys for flush. ;)

Alex

What did you use for the system flush?

[alexwolf1216]

A/CPro Power Clean & Flush

It was recommended to me by Josh, and it worked well. We did it when all of the fittings were off, we bought one can for the condenser and one for the evaporator.

It smells like citrus too, it was nice :)

[DMC5180]

Okay obviously the components were still in the car. What was the method of application? Sadly, I don't have an air compressor.

[Delorean Industries]

Very crucial to have air if you need to flush the system. The flush breaks down the compressor oil etc and can not be left in the system.

[DMC5180]

Very crucial to have air if you need to flush the system. The flush breaks down the compressor oil etc and can not be left in the system.

I won't be doing an entire system flush just the two components. Everything else will be replaced including compressor. The clutch is worn out and I'm not going to just remove the shim too the limp it along a few more years. 34 years old is long enough.😉

I do have a portable air tank that I can use for short duration blasting with a blow gun.

[David T]

I won't be doing an entire system flush just the two components. Everything else will be replaced including compressor. The clutch is worn out and I'm not going to just remove the shim too the limp it along a few more years. 34 years old is long enough.

I do have a portable air tank that I can use for short duration blasting with a blow gun.

If you don't have the proper tools (an air compressor, a vacuum pump, a charging bottle, manifold gauge set, nitrogen, etc) it is best to just let a shop do that special stuff. A small portable air tank won't do it. As for the compressor, if the clutch is bad it can be replaced. The Sanden compressor seems to be a very reliable part as long as it has some oil in it and the input and output ports are clean and shiny. If you have sticky black goo inside your system flushing may not help and you may have to replace EVERYTHING.