Date:         Sun, 25 May 2003 21:57:58 -0400
Reply-To:     lauterba <lauterba@BELLSOUTH.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         lauterba <lauterba@BELLSOUTH.NET>
Subject:      A/C Success
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"

After installing the new receiver-drier, I pumped the system down overnight and didn't get a chance to put the new refrigerant in until this afternoon.  I put in about three pounds taking care to purge the lines of my gauge set before hooking it to the system.  The air from the A/C started cooling down nicely so I stopped there even though there appeared to be pockets of gas as the refrigerant passed under the sight glass of the receiver-drier.  I put the clamp, which holds the receiver-drier to the frame, back on and gave it a test drive.  Ambient temperature was about 85 deg. F under hazy sun and I had lots of air coming in through the heater vent.  Still, the discharge air from A/C quickly fell into the 50s.  After about fifteen miles, I came back home, pulled the grill, and put duct tape over the air entrance to the heater.  I also sprayed some cleaner at the cooling coil to wash away some dirt.  I then took the van out along US 41 at 50 to 60 mph, and the discharge air temperature stabilized around 45 deg. F.

I am sure I did plenty of things wrong from not replacing the O-rings on the receiver-drier to not adding enough refrigerant.  However, "professional" A/C guys haven't done as well.

John Lauterbach
Macon, GA
'84 7-passenger