Date:         Sun, 8 Aug 1999 04:50:20 GMT
Reply-To:     Mike Finkbiner <mike_l_f@HOTMAIL.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Mike Finkbiner <mike_l_f@HOTMAIL.COM>
Subject:      A/C Condenser R&R Notes, '87 Westphalia, US Spec
Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed

Volks -

Some of you might remember that I had reported a leak in the A/C condenser
in front of the radiator on my '87 Westy.  I was faced with pulling and
either replacing or repairing the unit, and asked if anyone had done it
before.  My Bentley is vague on the details.

Apparently no one had, which is good, because it must not be a common
problem, but I thought I would post a note about how I did it to save others
a few headaches, and perhaps to prevent the problem I had from happening to
you.

The reason I developed a leak was that the passenger side of the condenser
was rubbing on the frame member in front of it.  Eventually the metal got
thin enough that it ruptured, and all of the freon escaped.

The reason it was rubbing, I think, was that at some point someone had
pulled the radiator/condenser assembly and not replaced it properly.

The unit is held in place by four plastic tips, two on the top and two on
the bottom.  A rubber washer is pushed onto each of them.  The two top ones
fit into receptacles in the sheet metal at the top of the grille opening,
and the two bottom ones fit into recesses in two L-shaped brackets that are
bolted to the bottom frame member.  Skipping a lot of steps, removing the
unit consists of taking the two bottom brackets off and letting the whole
thing drop straight down.

The problem comes when you are replacing it.  If you don't push the unit up
hard enough into the recesses at the top, it will vibrate, and if the
vibration brings it into contact with the frame member, you will eventually
have a leak.

The moral of the story is, if you have to work on the radiator/condenser
unit, be sure that it isn't loose when you are done.  I did that, and also
bent a piece of sheet aluminum around the frame member it had been rubbing
against before, to provide a smooth surface for it to touch, just in case.

Next time you have the grill off, you might check to see if your condenser
is rubbing against the frame.  If so, a re-adjustment or a piece of padding
could save you a lot of headaches.

Here's more detailed R/R instructions, in case you are interested.  If not,
I would just skip the rest of the post.

Mike Finkbiner
‘87 Westy

Condenser/Radiator Removal

The vehicle does not have to be jacked up, but doing so would provide more
room.
Some steps really require two people.  I have probably forgotten something I
did, and I'm sure a professional mechanic would tackle some of these steps
differently, but I'm sort of fumble-fingered at times.

Make sure the system has been evacuated of refrigerant
Remove the upper and lower grilles, the cardboard shrouds, and the
electrical connection to the fan sensor.  Push the wires back out of the
way.
Drop the spare tire carrier, and remove the spare.
Unscrew the O2 sensor box from the frame member so it can be pushed up to
provide more room to maneuver.
Remove the carrier by pulling the clips on the end of the metal rods that
hook into the frame, go over the top and through the hinges.  These
apparently hold the spare tire in place.   Look carefully at how you need to
maneuver the rods to remove them. Mark which side is which.

Remove the square metal box that covers the bottom of the shifter.  You
might not have to do that if you are jacked up, but I found that the extra
inch of space made it a lot easier to work with.

Unfasten the two refrigerant hoses from the fittings on the bottom of the
condenser on the driver's side.  They aren't the same size hose.  Cover the
ends of the hoses and the fittings on the condenser with plastic or
something to keep crud out of the system.  I used baggies and rubber bands.
Push them to one side.  They will get in the way when you are lowering if
you don't, but be careful to not bend them too hard.  These hoses are pretty
sturdy, but they are probably getting old.

Make sure you have a smooth clean surface to lower things onto so you won't
damage the coolant hoses.

Arrange a floor jack or something similar to support the unit while you are
removing the bottom brackets.  Be careful to use a piece of wood and not to
be jacking against plastic.

Loosen the two bolts on each of the two brackets, and lower the unit a
little bit.  Make sure that it isn't binding, and that the wires on the
driver's side aren't being held up.  With a friend supporting the top, and a
jack or brace under the bottom, you can now remove the two brackets.

Remove the jack or brace while holding up the unit.  It is not too heavy,
but the radiator is full of water, and the fan motor adds weight.  Slowly
lower the whole thing until it is resting on the ground.  Make sure that the
coolant lines aren't touching anything sharp.

The condenser is attached to the radiator with 2 screws at the top and two
tabs at the bottom.  Unfasten the two screws and make sure the unit is
loose.  Slide the radiator and fan assembly towards the back of the van
keeping it as vertical as you can while lowering the condenser so it lays
flat.  The two have to be at about a right angle to allow the tabs on the
bottom of the condenser  to come out of the slots on the radiator.

If you need to drive the van while the condenser is being welded, you can
just slide the radiator and fan assembly back in place, bolt the brackets
back and plug the radiator sensor back in.  I would also make sure the
refrigerant hoses are secured and the cover over the bottom of the shift
mechanism is back in place.  Don't forget to reattach the O2 sensor switch
box. She sure looks funny driving around with the grills off!

I had a machine shop weld the leak rather than replace the condenser.
Unfortunately, they didn't have a way to pressure test it before
re-installing it in the van, because the fittings are not a common type (why
am I not surprised?)  The charge was $25, so it seemed like a good gamble,
but - if you go that route I would make darn sure that the welder has
experience welding aluminum condensers.  If your leak is in the middle
rather than at the end, some of the fins will have to be sacrificed to make
room to get at it.  Even several square inches won't make much difference.

Reinstallation is - as they say - just the reverse.  For some reason the
tabs on the bottom of my condenser didn't want to fit back into the slots on
the radiator, so I had to wiggle and cuss, but when I got the angle just
right, they finally did.

I had problems with the wires on the drivers side getting bound up.  Check
and wiggle them as you are sliding the unit up into place.

The refrigerant hoses have o-rings.  I didn't think about it until I was
putting everything back together, but they looked good, so - I took a
chance.  The refrigeration tech told me that he often doesn't replace them
if they look OK, but I wish that I had when I could.

I jacked it up into place, and bolted everything down tightly.  No more
wiggling.

The repair shop vacuum tested the system for most of a day without any leaks
appearing before refilling it with R-12 ($95.63 for 50 oz).  I had looked at
R-134, R-406 and R-416 before deciding to spend the money and stick with
R-12.  None of the automotive shops around here work with blends, and I
didn't want to deal with the higher pressures of R-134.  So - I saved money
in some areas and spent more in others.

Today it's cooling fine.  We'll see how it goes

Mike Finkibner
'87 Westy - that cools!


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