84 LeSabre Q's

[gg750]

Hi all

Just purchased a 1984 LeSabre the other day. The car has 96,000 miles. The V8 runs like new, no rust, dents, dings, or interior defects..the car is in woderful condition!

I was very surprised that the AC worked..or did until today. On my way to work, the compressor seized up. I was wondering if anyone knew what I would be getting into to make the AC work again. A new compressor is easily obtainable, but what about recharging the system. The AC blew nice cold air, so I know the system was still good. Can the shop keep most of the R12 in there and put it back when their done, or are they going to have to charge it wil new? Would it be cheaper or make more sense to have it retrofitted to work with R134? All I can think is $$$$$! Any suggestions would be great.

The only other problem I've noticed is an awful squeeking in the driver side rear of the car. When going over bumps, there is a loud squeek, rattle noise in the vicinity of the rear wheel area. Sometimes sounds like a chain being dragged over cement. What is back there that could make that kind of noise? I got on a creeper and looked underneath, but couldn't find anything loose or hanging that could make that sound. Any ideas on where to look?

Again, thanks in advance for any input!

G

[Gocart879]

as far as the A/c was, i suspect the system clutch went bad. i would consider investigating the a/c clutch and see if it is indeed the problem. if the system went bad its likely the compressor heated up and seized. as far as the r-12 goes, it was banned in 96 with newer cars using 134a. if you find a good repair shop who deals with a/c problems they may be able to work something out with it, perhaps charging the system with an r-12 replacement like hot shot or some type of other freon gas. i would investigate and work on the comprssor first.

[gg750]

If it's just the clutch, can they replace that without having to evacuate all the freon?

[imidazol97]

Originally Posted by gg750

If it's just the clutch, can they replace that without having to evacuate all the freon?

Yes.

[kok328]

re: rattling noise ...

did you check in the trunk (pull the carpet too)?
junk in the trunk?
loose spare tire?
did you pull the brake drum and look for broken/loose hardware?