Sanden ac compressor on a 280zx mount

[cgsheen1]

My 260 was converted to 134a nine years ago when I got it back on the road.  Stock condenser, Phoenix Arizona - I think you'll be fine in Idaho (I was raised in Idaho Falls BTW...).  My A/C is completely stock except the 134a and Kia blower motor.

[Dave WM]

might have missed it somewhere but is the evap behind the finisher or down in the foot well of the passenger side. when you said York I assumed the kind that has the evap down in the foot well, not a very good design. Think beginning in 260z they started making better AC with the evap right behind the finisher panel in the front.

[duffymahoney]

26 minutes ago, Dave WM said:

might have missed it somewhere but is the evap behind the finisher or down in the foot well of the passenger side. when you said York I assumed the kind that has the evap down in the foot well, not a very good design. Think beginning in 260z they started making better AC with the evap right behind the finisher panel in the front.

I have a dealer installed AC series 1.  The evap is mounted pretty high, about knee height, it's an add on to the stock heater system.  Pretty cool actually and worked well.  York is the compressor brand, huge 1 cycle motor that was directly above the air pump.  It made it almost impossible to adjust timing among a bunch of other things.  

[cgsheen1]

Ya, sorry - in the back of my head I knew this was an aftermarket on an early and here I am comparing it to stock and creating confusion...

I actually love that you mounted the Sanden on a stock A/C bracket.  I'm gonna do that!

Edited May 25, 2018 by cgsheen1

[duffymahoney]

4 minutes ago, cgsheen1 said:

Ya, sorry - in the back of my head I knew this was an aftermarket on an early and here I am comparing it to stock and creating confusion...

I actually love that you mounted the Sanden on a stock A/C bracket.  I'm gonna do that!

No worries, learning about it as I go. I deal with refrigeration at work a lot.  So I have a slight understanding of it.  

[Chickenman]

In Canada we use 12-A which is a replacement for R12, which is now banned in Canada. 12A is sold by Red-Tek and Dura-Cool. Outperforms R134A  and R12. Should be available in the USA.

Been using Red-Tek products over 12 years. Great product. AC in my Audi blows 42F with R12a. Even my ancient 280Z AC blows freezy cold air.

http://redtek.com/English/product.asp?ID=18

Edited May 25, 2018 by Chickenman

[Dave WM]

I had on of those on my old 240z, never really worked very well but I was a kid and did not know much about things back then. IIRC one of the biggest problems was lack of air flow due to the ducting really designed only to heat. Low flow fan and poor ducting resulted in less than optimum heat transfer at the evap. I would be tempted to find a shop that can install with R-12 on a system like that, just to remove one more variable from the equation (it was designed for R-12). I have heard of people using HC like butane,, but understand that it prob is not legal, and some may think not safe. Apparently its a very good refrigerant, large molecule gas so less likely to leak too. Also compatible with mineral oil IIRC. Anyway good luck with it, and plan for an upgrade of the fan.

[cgsheen1]

I kinda forgot about Red Tek 12a.  We charged Patrick's 280ZX using 12a and it worked very well.  He didn't want to convert and found the 12a online.  It comes in 6 oz cans (rather than the 12 oz. that you buy 134a in) so it is more expensive than 134a here in the US, but it works well for systems already using R-12.  On an essentially new system with a Sanden compressor I'd still clean the mineral oil out and convert to 134a...

[duffymahoney]

I got the system in. Now just need to pull a vacuum. I also got some r12 and should install this weekend. The Zx bracket is super nice and everything tucks nicely  

 

The dryer I found matches almost perfectly. 

[duffymahoney]

So far no leaks.  Pulled a vacuum for 30 minutes, then I let it sit for 1 hour, no loss of vacuum.  I then pulled a vacuum for another hour.  Then begin filling.  I ended up doing r134a, because compressor is setup for it.  Also my buddy that is a tech told me to do that as well.  

I first overfilled the system, I was using a 5 gallon jug of 134, and it moved faster than I would have guessed.  Now while running with a bumped idle and 60 degrees outside temp,I  have about 19- 22 or so on the low side psi, and 145-155 on the high side.  Which is in the chart for R134a.  The system only has one sight glass, and it's kind of crappy.  My tech buddy said to try it on a hot day going 60 next.  The system was working well and pushing 42-44 degree air out of the vents! They felt much cooler then that though.  

[Dave WM]

yea 60 is not a good outside temp to test it with, I am presuming the thermostat micro switch was cutting it off pretty quick to avoid freezing up. For comparison I just took mine out, starting temp  80f drive around the block I get down to 40f reading on a meat thermometer stuck in a main vent, max fan speed. down to 40 in about 2 min.

[duffymahoney]

18 hours ago, Dave WM said:

yea 60 is not a good outside temp to test it with, I am presuming the thermostat micro switch was cutting it off pretty quick to avoid freezing up. For comparison I just took mine out, starting temp  80f drive around the block I get down to 40f reading on a meat thermometer stuck in a main vent, max fan speed. down to 40 in about 2 min.

My tech buddy thinks I should put gauges on it again around 70-75 outside temp.  He wants around 30 psi on the low side.  To prevent freezing.