Hope one of you AC guys will answer a couple of questions. I have a Classic Auto Air under hood kit to upgrade my original '72 302 system. Sanden compressor, new condenser, refurbished evaporator and drier, and new hoses and fittings. Kit did not include a sight glass and my old one won't work easily with the new fittings and hoses. Have a new expansion valve. A local Merchants Tire has treated me right on a bunch of tire mounting work and I plan to use them to evacuate and charge the system. The new hoses have to be cut to length and have the new fittings crimped. Merchants Tire doesn't have a crimping machine so they recommened I get the hoses crimped at CarQuest. CarQuest has a warehouse/distribution center and retail store on one site here. Good service there. I'll cut the hoses to length and mark the orientation of the fittings on the hoses. So, questions: . Do I need a sight glass? The system will be charged with R134. . When should I open and connect the dryer? Is it OK to do that before I take the car for the evacuation/charge or should I leave those fittings loose and the caps on the dryer until I take it in? . What's a reasonable charge to get the lines crimped? Should be three fittings to crimp. . Merchants Tire wants $150 to evacuate and charge the system. Is that reasonable? Thanks for any advice. Jim
You don't need a sight glass, keep the dryer sealed for as long as you can, have them change it (if they won't charge an arm an a leg), crimping..I have no idea, as for $150, that's decent.
You can buy a crimper it isn't cheap though....I bought one for 300.00 but it does fuel and a/c lines!!! You can buy a vacuum pump for a 125.00 to 300.00 and a set of gauges for $75.00 Do it yourself and then service cars in your area to pay for the tools. 150.00 is fair though at shop rates. However after you buy the aforementioned tools you can easily make your money back in a few mths with just a few jobs I charge $40.00 to 75.00 for a evacuation, vacuum and recharge on r134a cars.If I need to retro fit any where from 75.00 to 500.00 Depends on the car and what mods you need to do.....I do it right I do not cut corners.... Profit is 40 or more a car for an hrs worth a work or less for a basic recharge.....and a little more time for a retrofit and more profits!!! HA HA!!!:Handshake Anyway I am certified to buy and install r12 but I choose not to.....it is more problems than it is worth....Heaven forbid you miss a small leak that takes a a couple mths to leak out enough to stop the system from performing correctly and people get pissed that the freon is 4 times as much as r134a in most cases!!! Remember on a retrofit to use 10 percent less freon!!! as it runs a higher head pressure. You will see some decrease in temp output but it is unavoidable unless you update the compressor, the evap and/or condenser as they are sized different!!!! Be prepared as AC is the biggest come back on auto repairs.....YOU cant see it, smell it , or taste it, Dye and a leak detector are great investments!!!! Yes Dave Boyer is correct you do not need a sight glass and they are leak prone anyways..... Happy mavericking!!!!
WOW, I guess we need to up the price on AC service in our shop. We charge $49.99 for the service plus R134a ($15 a pound). Includes vacuuming the system, adding dye, charging and checking for leaks. $150 sounds a little steep. We don't do R12 any more either, just too much of a hassle.
How would you determine 10% less refrigerant, in your garage at home.. Just take it to a shop, and I don't believe the 10% thingy either, there are methods to make sure the charge is proper, and I charge $100/hr (+refrigerant).
I have clicked and clicked those dang ruby slippers and I am still here, and it still sucks!!!!!!!!!!!!!
That's exactly what I thought. My shop charges the same as yours. Although I do r12 kind of...I use Freeze 12 but give no warranty.
I have a scale and a 30 lb tank.... But you can get it close enough by adding the cans..... and every class I have ever taken on retrofitting says 10 percent less.... also you can use a gauge set and calculate the fill based on ambient temp and barometric pressure....
