A/C removal

[richard1]

Here we are, it is the Sanden/sankyo that is installed in my 72 and the unit has been trouble free since it has been in the car from the dealer 34 years ago. My condensor is full size the size of the radiator (I have never seen a York condensor) and installed in front of the radiator.

I keep a regular maintenance every two years and it blows cold as in a modern car.

This summer, I have had the blower fan replaced with a Honda unit and it is quite a difference in performance here in vegas during the summer.

I am sad that some of you guys have had your airboxes botched for the compressor fit.

[sblake01]

York 'compressor' not condenser. That was the upright type used in a lot of the early Z a/c installations. Not a very efficient unit. Doesn't move enough refrigerant. The best vent temp I was ever able to achieve with one of those is 38 degrees which is not low enough to comfortably cool a car. The nice thing about the Sanden SD508 which is the modern version of the Sankyo is that it is still available today. Sanden bought out Sankyo some years back. Vintage Air uses them in all the hot rod, muscle car and custom systems.

[richard1]

Does it means that if one day i have a problem with my Sanden sankyo compressor, I have just to buy a new one and it will fit right there.

Also, the shop I am doing business in town is very respected in this field and I asked if it would be a good idea to go with the R134. They told me to never to that because the R12 is better about performance, all the parts are still available and the cost of the coolant itself is not a major factor for converting to R134.

What are the opinions about that?

[JimmyZ]

The price of R-12 (at least in Florida) has gone down quite a bit in the last few years. It is now very affordable! Stick with the R-12 if you like really cold AC.

Conversion to R-134 isn't as straightforward as you'd think if it's to be done right. The cheapest/best route is to fix and fill your R-12 system.

I visited my local A/C shop and was talking with the manager about the whole R-12 fiasco a few years back. I was mainly interested in prices and future availability of the stuff. Both questions were met with positive responses but he let me know about some low tricks certain A/C shops were doing. I can't remember if it was R-12 systems we were discussing but some places were mixing different refrigerants and selling them as R-12. This is not cool so make sure you are getting bonafide R-12. We discussed many types of systems so it's possible we were talking about refrigerants in restaurant applications. If so ignore the R-12 mixing sentences above.

Jim

[sblake01]

You might have to use the fittings from you old compressor but other than that, they're the same. The newer Sanden version actually works better than the old Sankyo though the bodies of them are virtually the same. I've heard pros and cons about converting an R12 system to R134A so I use an alternative either HotShot (R414B) or RedTek 12 which is a hydrocarbon refrigerant. Many people are afraid of those but I've used them for three years with no problems. I bought some to test it and have never taken it out of either car. Many shops won't deal with the alternative refrigerants simply because the don't like to have several sets of reclaimation/recycling equipment. I do my own work, so that isn't a problem. If you change the seals, o rings, hoses, etc to R134A compatible ones, I personally don't see why it wouldn't work in an R12 system. I can get 134A for 69 bucks per 30lb. jug! R12 has come down in price somewhat but it can't touch that.

[Walter Moore]

My 71 came with the "York" style compressor and the clamp on hoses that never sealed even when they were new.

We had a similar system on my wife's 67 Mustang, and we had to recharge the R12 every spring because by October the system was empty.

I just cut the hoses with loping shears (Tree branch sheers) and unbolted the compressor and the add-on evaporator coil housing inside the car.

If the EPA is listening, the car had been in storage for over 10 years. There was NO pressure left in the system at all (I checked). It didn't even hiss when I cut the hoses.

The piston style AC systems were worthless no matter what brand of car they were installed into.

But I have converted a couple of later factory AC systems to R134 with no problems at all. As for the cost of R134 vs R12... ask the guy how much it costs to recharge an R12 system. But have an assistant ready with smelling salts because it is un-real. The last "recharge" that I paid for on an R12 system was over $100 just for the R12, and that was a system that was only a little low. (It still almost cooled the car.)

A full R134 conversion kit was cheaper than a recharge for R12. (Including the cost to have someone reclaim the old R12 and evacuate the system.)