[Che]

I got a 1990 Sierra with air-con fitted, only the belt is unattached. I'm unsure if simply replacing the belt will make the A/C work again... is there any component or system checks I can do here to see what I should have?

A quick visual - I have the compressor on the exhaust side of the engine, a small metal tank next to the radiator (driver side), various metal lines to and from the firewall and a small radiator and fan on the bumper side of the main radiator.

The heater box must be full of crap and need a clean out too - there's little air movement, but you can hear/feel all the settings working as they should. Air-con light turns on in the dash too.


How to overhaul all this without costing a fortune?


If anyone can give me a basic 101, i'll make sure to take a heap of pics as a visual reference for anyone else to copy.

[TZAR]

che_guitarra wrote:

How to overhaul all this without costing a fortune?

don't touch it

[royce]

Pull the dust car off the line from the comp that goes towards the front and press the valve to see if there is gas
If so put a belt on and try it to see if the comp locks in and spins if not short the 2 wires on the pressure switch on the tank (drier its called) and if it cuts in you have no gas which means a leak
My bet is the comp is buggered ($500) plus the rest from age, nobody working aircon and lets it go soley from a thrown belt

[DarrylH]

Drop in to NATRAD at Brendale, the guy there is a pretty straight up sort of guy. He will check it out and tell you what you need with out bullshitting you. At least he did for me on two seperate occassions.

[Che]

DarrylH wrote:

Drop in to NATRAD at Brendale, the guy there is a pretty straight up sort of guy. He will check it out and tell you what you need with out bullshitting you. At least he did for me on two seperate occassions.

Perfect, just around the corner

[89_tintop]

F you want to see if it is viable turn the fron of the compressor.. Not the part where the belt turns but the clutch.

It's possible the pump has siezed and that's why they have removed the belt.

Then do what Royce aaud and check Aston whether ther is gas in the system. If both of these are ok then throw on a belt.

What part of Brisbane you in??

[89_tintop]

You could give me the whole system.......I you don't want to spend the $$ on it .. I will even come pull it out and give you some $$!

[Che]

As my Zook is a commuter as much as a weekend fun-toy, if I can get A/C working i'll be keeping it, sorry to say. Just a nice luxury to have during a QLD summer.

I wanna do it myself, as I hate paying others to do what I can do myself if I had a basic knowledge or a little guidance - gotta love a good DIY project. Might duck into Natrad to A - see if it's all there, and B - see if the components are working.


To check the heater box - is this article applicable?http://www.izook.com/tech/samurai/basics/heaterclean/heaterclean.htm

here's a refurb:
http://www.izook.com/tech/samurai/basic ... efresh.htm


Looks transferreable, but not sure if the US Samurai heating system is the same as my 1990 Sierras. One thing I do want to do is mod the venting so an external air souce isn't required (if permanently shut - that oughta keep the box free of debris).

Fresh air? I'll open a window.


Also - is this part of the air-con? Not sure what these electronics are for myself:

[89_tintop]

well the offer is there mate.

yeh i am pretty sure that is part of the a/c system. its lloks like a control box

have you turned the compressor to see if it isnt siezed?
do that and if it turns throw a belt on it.

if you need any parts for it let me know.as i can get them at a really good price (its what i use to do for a living and still have contacts)

[Che]

Definitely - if I crack the shytes with it i'll get in touch with you. But for now I think i'd regret selling the next time it's 35C and 90% humidity.

Compressor spins freely, good news.

[89_tintop]

che_guitarra wrote:

Definitely - if I crack the shytes with it i'll get in touch with you. But for now I think i'd regret selling the next time it's 35C and 90% humidity.

Compressor spins freely, good news.

that is good news mate... try what royce said and throw a belt on it

[eldo]

royce wrote:

Pull the dust car off the line from the comp that goes towards the front and press the valve to see if there is gas
If so put a belt on and try it to see if the comp locks in and spins if not short the 2 wires on the pressure switch on the tank (drier its called) and if it cuts in you have no gas which means a leak
My bet is the comp is buggered ($500) plus the rest from age, nobody working aircon and lets it go soley from a thrown belt

hey my air con is not working either, i tried the above there is pressure in the tank both at the dryer and the rear of the compressor, the switch has contanuity whilst running and whilst the car is turned off. the compressor is spinning when i put the switch on etc. the alum line that runs from the dryer and into the car is cold to touch, but not freezing cold. any ideas?

[89_tintop]

that pipe shouldnt be cold to touch..

the only one that should be cold is the one running from the fire wall to the compressor.

i would recomend a service. so
-old gas out
-new receiver drier
-regas

i am guessing at this though, its hard to say without gauges on and seeing what the pressures are doing but i beleive you have a blocked receiver drier. that is why you are feeling the cool/cold on the pipe.

[eldo]

i also noticed that when i undid the cap on the dryer to check pressure there was dye in there, the fitting was also only finger tight(the one with the valve in it) when i loosened it it started to loose gas out of it, i tightened it up, then i checked the valve and got my hand covered in fluro high pressure foam

[89_tintop]

sounds about right with the above post. it is more then likely a retrofitted system. bit iffy on the valve houseing being loose and letting gas out.

if it was my car i would check all connections and tihtend if need be, then i would take it and get them to change the drier and regas the system

[eldo]

approx cost of that ?

[89_tintop]

up hear it would set you back probably around 250

drive in drive out.

if you do it yourself i would say around the 100 mark.

wats a regas cost down there??

a filter would set you back from 15 to 50 (roughly)

dont let em rip u off cause a/c parts are pretty cheap to buy we use to work on a minimum of 50% mark up on parts at the company i use to work at. and the labour to fit them is usually really easy.

let me say. it is something that is way overcharged as it is a specialty job.

[eldo]

i have customers that do it for a living so i will ask them to have a look at it for me

[coneykid]

haha. its funny to here some off ya comments. As i do car AC every day but you's are pretty spot on on how to check a system when there no AC tools. I charge 110 for a "diagnostic charge" (we call it this cause topups are now illegeal) and you should not pay anymore for this. Butyou get ya belt on and without running the car (ignition on) turn ac on, if clutch cuts in you could be anywhere from 100% to 20% gased. If it does not then bridge presure swith like been mentioned and if ya clutch cuts in theres no reason you cant go get a free AC check. Most auto elec joints do free quotes. But if i cant find a leak i give option to do diagnostic charge.
hope i havent writen to much, it just pisses me off to see some auto elecs and radiator tools ripping guys off cause they call it a specalty trade.......

[89_tintop]

coneykid wrote:

haha. its funny to here some off ya comments. As i do car AC every day but you's are pretty spot on on how to check a system when there no AC tools. I charge 110 for a "diagnostic charge" (we call it this cause topups are now illegeal) and you should not pay anymore for this. Butyou get ya belt on and without running the car (ignition on) turn ac on, if clutch cuts in you could be anywhere from 100% to 20% gased. If it does not then bridge presure swith like been mentioned and if ya clutch cuts in theres no reason you cant go get a free AC check. Most auto elec joints do free quotes. But if i cant find a leak i give option to do diagnostic charge.
hope i havent writen to much, it just pisses me off to see some auto elecs and radiator tools ripping guys off cause they call it a specalty trade.......

i use to do it for a living as well mate.. and i cant beive how much money people pay to get there a/c fixed..

i am looking at getting back into it. what do you need to do now? is there still the whole licence thing??

[coneykid]

yeah you gotta do a licence renewal every 2 years,. but if you not an employey you need prof of recovery station, snifer, gauges, vac pump, ect. they very strict now...

[steak_knife]

coneykid wrote:

yeah you gotta do a licence renewal every 2 years,. but if you not an employey you need prof of recovery station, snifer, gauges, vac pump, ect. they very strict now...

So no more release to atmo & fill with LPG ???

Boring!!!

[Che]

So what A/C parts should I be seeing under the hood?

I know what the compressor is, dunno what the little Red Bull sized canister is on the driver's side of the radiator. I got a radiator and fan in front of the engine's radiator and fan, I got an idle bump up sensor, a few metal lines... that's all I can see in the A/C's line.

Under the dash I got a vented box next to the main heater box, and a metal case that could be the master A/C electronics...

What else should I be seeing?

[89_tintop]

coneykid wrote:

yeah you gotta do a licence renewal every 2 years,. but if you not an employey you need prof of recovery station, snifer, gauges, vac pump, ect. they very strict now...

cool so nothing has changed since i stopped doing it. will start piecing together all the tools that i need.

[89_tintop]

che_guitarra wrote:

So what A/C parts should I be seeing under the hood?

I know what the compressor is, dunno what the little Red Bull sized canister is on the driver's side of the radiator. I got a radiator and fan in front of the engine's radiator and fan, I got an idle bump up sensor, a few metal lines... that's all I can see in the A/C's line.

Under the dash I got a vented box next to the main heater box, and a metal case that could be the master A/C electronics...

What else should I be seeing?

sounds like it is all there mate.. you have pretty much described the whole system. the little red bull sized can is called a receiver drier. it is basically a filter.

[eldo]

mine ended up being low on gas, needed 170 grams to get it running cold again, i reckon it was that lose fitting

[89_tintop]

eldo wrote:

mine ended up being low on gas, needed 170 grams to get it running cold again, i reckon it was that lose fitting

yeh... nice easy fix..

is it good to have cold air again??

[eldo]

well this car never had aircon when i got it so its a bonus.