re-installed my a/c, 98ex 4Door w/B18a awap

4Door · Post by **4Door** » Mon Aug 10, 2009 3:33 am

okay... so in the end my a/c was blowing really cold, started to add the last can of freon when i noticed something wasnt right... turns out i have a lil hole in my condenser... Time to buy a new one $110...

thank you again RyanA for the insight...
so i decided to re-install my A/C due to the hot ass humidity...
the process was straight forward, i cleaned all my lines with a/c flush and added 6oz of PAG oil to the compressor and replaced all my a/c o'ring's with brand new ones...

here are some of the good's...
a/c bracket from a B20, along with the belt tensioner bracket and pully... i also order a tourq mount bolt and nut while i was at it...

all mocked up...

Harbor freight for the win...

just a pic after i removed the radiator...

just a few more before pics... yes, i removed that oil filter relocater...

B20 a/c bracket/tourq mount bolt and belt tensioner all bolted up...

what would we do if it werent for spare nuts and bolts...

worth there weight in gold...

a/c lines all cleaned up with brand new o'rings installed...

they fit like a glove... it was really surprising how easy they were to put back in, i still remember how big a pain in the ass it was to remove them 4/5 years ago...

condenser is in...

compressor is all hooked up and has 6oz of pag oil in it...
FYI:
before you vacuum the system or try to add the freon in, put the PAG oil in the high side of the compressor, then you have to spin the clutch about 15/20 times or you can hydro lock it... make sure your spinning the clutch and not the pulley...

pulling a vacuum... this lil $15 air feed vacuum pump works pretty damn good...

just showing that there is indeed a vacuum... once you close the valves and then turn off the compressor it should drop to approx 27 inches...

mike93hatch · Post by **mike93hatch** » Mon Aug 10, 2009 4:04 am

actually no it shouldnt drop. it should stay pegged at 30 unless you have leaks. if it was at 30 when you closed the valve then why would it drop? think about it.

4Door · Post by **4Door** » Mon Aug 10, 2009 8:17 am

it was at 27 and stayed there...

the leak occured after the high side built up pressure...

RyanA · Post by **RyanA** » Mon Aug 10, 2009 9:47 am

Good to see you got all the parts to get the AC going. Mike is right, though. Actually, it seems weird but I have actually seen some systems appear to "gain" vacuum after I turned off the pump and gauge valves. If you are at a certain vacuum point, turn off the valves on the gauge set, and the vacuum drops, you have a leak. Whether it's due to your gauge set or hoses for the gauge set or a minor leak in the system, who knows. Unfortunately, the leak like you "saw" with your gauge set did not seem very apparent until you pressurized the system. My Typhoon did exactly the same thing your car did. Pulled to 30 inches then dropped to about 26 or 27. I put in a little refrigerant and I would hear it hissing at the back of the compressor.

Well, at least once you get the condensor in, you should be good to go. Nice job posting the part numbers for people that want to do this but don't know what AC bracket to use. You CAN use the P54 del Sol bracket but it's nearly double the price of the P7J. They both do exactly the same thing, just one is more expensive.

Ryan

4Door · Post by **4Door** » Mon Aug 10, 2009 4:43 pm

thank you Ryan, i really didnt get what mike was sayin, but now i do...

ya, i'm going to head over to o'riely's in a lil while and order my condenser... it's $135 but with the stlh discount it's only $110, so i'm pretty happy with that...

i am a lil concerned tho as to weather or not it will be the right part, i say this because Matt got a condenser from another member on here for me but it was way off... it was from a 99 hatch, according to o'riely's and advance, they should be the same... i guess i will find out when it get's here...

luvmyhondas · Post by **luvmyhondas** » Fri Oct 23, 2009 10:33 pm

Parts Slingin' Hobo RyanA;192625 wrote:Nice job posting the part numbers for people that want to do this but don't know what AC bracket to use. You CAN use the P54 del Sol bracket but it's nearly double the price of the P7J. They both do exactly the same thing, just one is more expensive.
Ryan

Yes, I'm glad I read this...learned something.

good job on a 'cool' install.