ac repair?

[bhw33191]

all of the recent posts about ac related issues reminded me that mine doesn't work at all. Warm weather is coming in for me and i wondering what i'd have to do to get the ac working. Does it need a simple recharge? The car has been sitting for about 5 years with minimal use until now and i don't know if i should replace all the hoses or what. AC really isnt my thing so i was wondering if anyone had a general idea how much this will cost?

[GreyGoose006]

first, go get a gasket kit.
it has about 20 green gaskets.
put the new gaskets in all of the AC tubing, then take it to go get recharged.
that way it wont leak out in a month or two.

[j cAT]

Originally Posted by bhw33191

all of the recent posts about ac related issues reminded me that mine doesn't work at all. Warm weather is coming in for me and i wondering what i'd have to do to get the ac working. Does it need a simple recharge? The car has been sitting for about 5 years with minimal use until now and i don't know if i should replace all the hoses or what. AC really isnt my thing so i was wondering if anyone had a general idea how much this will cost?

this will require a leak test then vacuum the system...and if no leaks a recharge....if possible r12 freon....if this is not available you will require removal of the compressor oil and replace with a PAG oil that will work with your system and the r134 freon....since a/c is not you thing shop around for a repair shop that does this work frequently...this could be 80.00-300.00 to do...........

[PeteA216]

Cold air isn't cheap unless you do it yourself. The gasket kit that was spoken about above is more of an O-ring kit. All fittings are sealed with little green O-rings. The whole kit is very inexpensive. You might as well replace the orifice tube tube as well since you'll have the system all opened up. Thats sort of a refridgerant filter/regulator to simplify it, and costs a grand total of no more than $3.00. It's found in one of the aluminum tubes. It comes out with some needle nose pliers. Closing everything all back up tightly and promply is a good idea because the dryer (the aluminum canister) is designed to absorb moisture in the system and once exposed to the atmosphere it will begin to absorb the moisture out of the air, and it can only hold so much moisture. After all said and done Inter Dynamics makes an affordable and easy to follow R-12 to R-134a retrofit kit. It comes with everything needed to convert and charge your A/C system with the new R-134a refridgerant, even a step by step DVD.

[mike561]

Yeah i recommend converting to R134a too, its cheaper in the long run, R12 (if you're lucky to even find it) is about $80 a pound now, and you gotta take it to a shop to be charged, and honestly i notice no difference between the two types anyway, as long as its cold i dont care. dont be surprsed if the compressor is bad either worst case scenario, i had mine replaced, cost about $550, i would have done it myself but i diddnt have the right tools and equipment.

[DAB77]

83 used an R4 compressor.look around the shell of the compressor for oil build-up. the oil used in R-12 refrigerant always sticks around a leak so if you find the build-up you should replace the compressor. The new compressor comes with-out oil, install 6 oz. of PAG 150 oil, replace the orifice tube and accumulator/dryer. new compressor(NOT reman)about $300.00, tube..$4.00 accumulator about $48.00 retrofit kit with PAG 150 and seals $30.00. after you do this it is very important to have the system evacuated before it is recharged.