Well that was frustrating.

[Galt]

So I just finished writing a review of DPI's AC line kit - love it BTW. You should buy one - and then followed it with a lengthy write-up of helpful, inside information from a licensed veteran AC tech and DeLorean expert. It was full of gold. Normally I don't share from the vault because information like that always gave me the edge but since I'm getting out of the business I figured 'why not'. The forum's little yellow box kept flashing 'auto-saved'. Hit 'preview' to check my work and it asks me to login again (I already was). Next page pops up; it's gone. Every word. So I page backward in hopes it was cached - it pops up for a nano second - then the page auto-refreshes itself to a blank form.

For real? Well there's hours of my life down the drain I can't get back and won't be repeating. I'm crushed.

Sigh.

[JohnZ]

Where does the "saved message" go? I once had a similar experience, and the message I was writing went down the tube and got positively flushed, but I thought "hey! thanks God it was auto-saved!" but I couldn't figure out WHERE! :frantic:

Since then I always copy long messages in a .txt file.

[Bitsyncmaster]

When I plan a lengthy post, I use a text editor (email or word) so I can keep saving it. Then I just copy and paste.

[Mario]

Had this sort of thing happen to me a couple times. Didn't take long before I got into the habit of hitting "Ctrl+A, Ctrl+C" before submitting a post! That really sucks, man.

[Ryan S.]

Galt
Hope you would try it again. Your informtion will benefit millions of Delorean owners for many many years. We may even call it the Galt installation method.

[Nicholas R]

Had this sort of thing happen to me a couple times. Didn't take long before I got into the habit of hitting "Ctrl+A, Ctrl+C" before submitting a post! That really sucks, man.

I do the same thing. Learned a while ago that this site has a way of forgetting you were logged in when you're finished writing.

[Kane]

I do the same thing. Learned a while ago that this site has a way of forgetting you were logged in when you're finished writing.

Really that's true of almost any web form. If you sit idle on a page while filling out a form, the page thinks you are inactive and you can hit the timeout.

[n29we]

So I just finished writing a review of DPI's AC line kit - love it BTW. You should buy one - and then followed it with a lengthy write-up of helpful, inside information from a licensed veteran AC tech and DeLorean expert. It was full of gold. Normally I don't share from the vault because information like that always gave me the edge but since I'm getting out of the business I figured 'why not'. The forum's little yellow box kept flashing 'auto-saved'. Hit 'preview' to check my work and it asks me to login again (I already was). Next page pops up; it's gone. Every word. So I page backward in hopes it was cached - it pops up for a nano second - then the page auto-refreshes itself to a blank form.

For real? Well there's hours of my life down the drain I can't get back and won't be repeating. I'm crushed.

Sigh.

Hi - That too bad about loosing the review but I'm wondering since you loved it could you tell us some quick details of the installation? I've been looking to change my lines and would love to hear the short version

[Delorean Industries]

I want to see the write up too!

[Galt]

I want to see the write up too!

LOL. I'll give you the highlights; "So easy a baby could do it". "No leaks first try". "Eaton connectors; love them." "Hoses were all the perfect length." "Zero complaints."

Then I wrote about the pitfalls of mixing different oils that then become acidic and destroy seals. Why some refrigerants are better, safer and MUCH colder than others. Why all R134a systems (even new ones) all leak over time, why conversions fail and to lower your expectations of a 'sealed' R134 system. R12 BTW is cold - damn cold. You forget until you get in a car still running the stuff. The AC in the DeLorean I just did is so cold it actually becomes physically painful around 2 minutes at full blast. It's like being in a meat locker. Not joking, I'm pretty sure you could safely store potato salad in it.

[dmruschell]

LOL. I'll give you the highlights; "So easy a baby could do it". "No leaks first try". "Eaton connectors; love them." "Hoses were all the perfect length." "Zero complaints."

Then I wrote about the pitfalls of mixing different oils that then become acidic and destroy seals. Why some refrigerants are better, safer and MUCH colder than others. Why all R134a systems (even new ones) all leak over time, why conversions fail and to lower your expectations of a 'sealed' R134 system. R12 BTW is cold - damn cold. You forget until you get in a car still running the stuff. The AC in the DeLorean I just did is so cold it actually becomes physically painful around 2 minutes at full blast. It's like being in a meat locker. Not joking, I'm pretty sure you could safely store potato salad in it.

What coolant did you use the the DeLorean you just installed the lines on?

I have DPI's lines, and am running R134. I get uncomfortably cold with the MAX A/C on fan speed 2 except on /really/ hot days. Even then, putting the fan on 3 keeps me more than comfortable.

As the DeLorean is the newest car(s) I own, I'm always curious as to why some 134 conversions cool really well, and others don't cool nearly as well.


EDIT: Most of the people I know that have just installed new lines (some with my help after they bought the lines) went for Hervey's kit that has the 2-piece lines that join near the transmission so that they can be installed with the body on the frame. While I have DPI's lines on my car, I haven't installed a set of them myself and am curious about the process.

[Galt]

What coolant did you use the the DeLorean you just installed the lines on?

I have DPI's lines, and am running R134. I get uncomfortably cold with the MAX A/C on fan speed 2 except on /really/ hot days. Even then, putting the fan on 3 keeps me more than comfortable.

As the DeLorean is the newest car(s) I own, I'm always curious as to why some 134 conversions cool really well, and others don't cool nearly as well.


EDIT: Most of the people I know that have just installed new lines (some with my help after they bought the lines) went for Hervey's kit that has the 2-piece lines that join near the transmission so that they can be installed with the body on the frame. While I have DPI's lines on my car, I haven't installed a set of them myself and am curious about the process.

Josh's lines went right in where the old ones came out. You just attach the fittings. It's literally pull one out, push the new one in. There is no reason on this planet or any other why you would need to separate the body and frame. Even if you were using the original sized hoses a little lubrication would send them right through. It's the fittings that get in the way and since the Eaton connectors allow you to do that after the hose has been installed, problem solved. DPI's are slightly smaller and a breeze to run. I haven't used Harvey's kit but the more connections the more places for leaks to develop. Josh's kit is the way to go.

Make sure you oil the O-rings. My system hasn't lost a single molecule of freon yet. I used R-12 as R134a sucks. If you use the wrong oil in the conversion the old and new will turn acidic and destroy the rest of your system. DO NOT CONVERT if you can avoid it. Find someone willing to charge your car with R12. It's absolutely worth the added expense. I've even been thinking of down converting my daily driver Jeep from 134 TO R12. Seriously. Drove the D in 90+ degree weather and it was like a meat locker in there. R12 is properly, epically frigid. After years of dealing with R134, going back to R12 reminds you what air con used to be like in American cars. Our parents had everything better.

You could put everything in yourself, use a cheap harbor freight vacuum and gauge setup to pull a vacuum and make sure you don't have any leaks. You could even oil it yourself by dropping your vacuum line in a measuring cup and opening the low side tap under pressure. Then just take it to somebody with the ability to charge it with R12.

Patience is the key. Enjoy the process. Take your time. It's a bit time consuming but on a difficulty scale - as long as all 4 wheels are off the ground and you can get fore and aft easily - it's a walk in the park.

[dmruschell]

Josh's lines went right in where the old ones came out. You just attach the fittings. It's literally pull one out, push the new one in. There is no reason on this planet or any other why you would need to separate the body and frame. Even if you were using the original sized hoses a little lubrication would send them right through. It's the fittings that get in the way and since the Eaton connectors allow you to do that after the hose has been installed, problem solved. DPI's are slightly smaller and a breeze to run. I haven't used Harvey's kit but the more connections the more places for leaks to develop. Josh's kit is the way to go.

Make sure you oil the O-rings. My system hasn't lost a single molecule of freon yet. I used R-12 as R134a sucks. If you use the wrong oil in the conversion the old and new will turn acidic and destroy the rest of your system. DO NOT CONVERT if you can avoid it. Find someone willing to charge your car with R12. It's absolutely worth the added expense. I've even been thinking of down converting my daily driver Jeep from 134 TO R12. Seriously. Drove the D in 90+ degree weather and it was like a meat locker in there. R12 is properly, epically frigid. After years of dealing with R134, going back to R12 reminds you what air con used to be like in American cars. Our parents had everything better.

You could put everything in yourself, use a cheap harbor freight vacuum and gauge setup to pull a vacuum and make sure you don't have any leaks. You could even oil it yourself by dropping your vacuum line in a measuring cup and opening the low side tap under pressure. Then just take it to somebody with the ability to charge it with R12.

Patience is the key. Enjoy the process. Take your time. It's a bit time consuming but on a difficulty scale - as long as all 4 wheels are off the ground and you can get fore and aft easily - it's a walk in the park.

Cool, thanks fo the response. The fittings are the reason that you'd have to separate the body and the frame. Hervey gets around it by using 2-piece lines. My car was off the frame, so I heard that my DPI lines were already assembled when the mechanics received them. I figured DPI wouldn't put out anything that was difficult to do, as I've had good luck with their products and Josh is always helpful. I just hadn't seen it done or met anyone who personally did it.

Both of our R134 DeLoreans keep us uncomfortably cold if we want it, so I'll stick with it on our DeLoreans. I know some other cars from other manufacturers don't work as well when converted though. Not to start a debate, but I've actually read that R134 transfers heat more efficiently, and therefore has the potential to get the system colder than R12. However, that benefit is only realized on a system designed to run R134. When retrofitted to a system designed to run R12, it doesn't always work as well as the R12 did. Replacing the condenser with a parallel flow condenser, replacing the compressor with one designed to run with R134, and installing a variable orifice tube are the things I've read can improve the A/C system when retrofitted.

Thanks for posting the details about installing the fittings on the lines!