a/c suggestions

[niemo810]

hey, i have a 94 eighty-eight LSS w/ 161k on it, a/c hasnt worked since i bougtht the car. finally decided to charge the system using a cheap-o wal mart can of r-134a. started the car, charged (or tried to) the system only to find i couldnt build up anything higher than about 15-20 psi. shut the car off, heard hissing coming from the condenser which is all smashed in (duh). a few months later, today, when it REALLY started getting hot (for NY anyway) i broke down and bought a new condenser for a suprisingly low $40 at a wreck yard. it's suposidly guranteed.

ANYWAY....

does anyone have any suggestions as to how i should tackle this?

how much oil should i add in addition to the refrigerant? it's been a least a few years since the system ran... should i add any stop-leak just to be safe?

i should have thought this through before i bought it!

anyway, thanks in advance. sorry about the long and pointless intro

-Rob

[maxwedge]

3 oz of oil normally but you may have lost more during the leak? Should evacuate the system to see if ity holds vacuum and eliminate moisture, no stop leak stuff!! Then do your normal charge.

[niemo810]

sounds good to me. i'll add 3 oz of oil and hope for the best. i'm trying to be budget friendly (poor college kid) so an evacuation is most likely out of the question.

also, i dont know if any of you have seen it, but theres a special blue colored can of refrigerant that states "colder air faster, specially formulated refrigerant" at wal mart. is this a scam? i thought all r-134a was the same. should i bother? i think it's only a few cents more.

finally, i'm curious as to why you say no stop-leak? what's wrong with it?

thanks again,

Rob

[maxwedge]

Originally Posted by niemo810

sounds good to me. i'll add 3 oz of oil and hope for the best. i'm trying to be budget friendly (poor college kid) so an evacuation is most likely out of the question.

also, i dont know if any of you have seen it, but theres a special blue colored can of refrigerant that states "colder air faster, specially formulated refrigerant" at wal mart. is this a scam? i thought all r-134a was the same. should i bother? i think it's only a few cents more.

finally, i'm curious as to why you say no stop-leak? what's wrong with it?

thanks again,

Rob

Stay with the r134, stop leak leaves a residue in the system that will gum up refrig evac equipment and gages.

[niemo810]

well it turns out that the "up to 10 degrees colder" can of 134a was cheaper than the one simply labeled 134a. swapped the condenser out, now everything works great. some of the coldest conditioned air i've ever felt, let's hope it stays that way. thanks for your help.

-Rob