Date:         Fri, 28 Aug 2009 08:00:58 -0700
Reply-To:     Steve Williams <sbw@SBW.ORG>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Steve Williams <sbw@SBW.ORG>
Subject:      Re: AC Repair report
In-Reply-To:  <727920.65488.qm@web54305.mail.re2.yahoo.com>
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At 09:47 PM 8/27/2009, Michael Hart wrote:
>... Mark at San Carlos Auto Radiator & AC ...

Mark's shop worked up an estimate on my '84 shortly after I bought it
in April.  I found him very nice to work with.

My A/C wasn't getting cold.  Mark said he found a major leak in the
compressor.  He said he couldn't effectively test the rest of the
system until the compressor was replaced.  Fair enough.

The estimate was more than I wanted to spend (and I didn't have time
to do the R&R myself, as Michael wisely did), so I put it off.

In May, I took my camper to GoWesty to have the new
higher-compression engine put in along with a lot of other
work.  They wanted to fill up the A/C and pressure test it.  I
resisted at first, on the strength of Mark's report.

In the end, I told GoWesty to go ahead.  They charged up the system
with their preferred gas (I've forgotten the details) and said it
pressure-tested fine.

Now, I'm pretty sure Mark in San Carlos DID find a leak in the
compressor, but it is surprising that the compressor now works
well.  Maybe GoWesty uses a sealant or seal conditioner?  I don't
know.  Mark seemed very competent and honest, so I doubt he was wrong
about the leak.

I ran the A/C for about 2,000 miles, and it worked fine except for
two complaints unrelated to leaks:

  - Condensation dripped on my luggage after an hour or so.
  - The engine tends to stall at stop signs when the compressor is running.
  - The compressor whines pretty loudly.

I returned to GoWesty in June.  To address the dripping, they
replaced a broken condensation catch tray with a good used one.  I
didn't ask them to look into the stalling.  (Don't remember why.)

On the whine, GoWesty recommended running the compressor until it
fails, since it's an expensive item.

I used the A/C rarely over the summer, if you can believe it.  I just
didn't need it in June, when I drove to New York, and then I didn't
drive much for a couple of months.

I needed the A/C badly when I left New York this week.  I fired it
up, and it worked great.  But after a couple of hours, it started
dripping again.  So I switched it off.

At Westy Ventures a few days ago, we found the drain hose was running
"uphill" from the catch tray, so we tied it down with a couple of
clamps.  It now runs level with the bottom of the cabinet all the way
to the closet.

I fired up the A/C on the next long leg, and it still
drips.  However, whereas before it dripped pretty much all around,
including at the front where the new clamps are, this time I saw a
drip only at the rear left corner.  (Are there drain hoses at the back, too?)

I haven't had time to look into it further.  I'd welcome any
troubleshooting tips for the dripping, and brainstorming on the rest
of the issues.