I got my A/C working again!!!!

[Dakotakid]

How much equipment does a person have to purchase to go with one of the above alternatives to 134a? Do you need an elaborate set of guages and hoses, etc?

[Ziptar]

Nope. Check the products pages, most places sell complete kits with everything you need although some guys recommend pulling a vacuum on the system first, you'll need a pump for that or a shop to do it.

RedTek Kit (that's $310.00 for 6 kits, you'll have to call a distributor), DuraCool has two, the mobile recharge kit is ~$50 and the mobile tune up kit is ~$84.00.Here

If you do it get new seals ~$20 and a new receiver / dryer ~$40 for an MKII.

[jtanguay]

duracool even sells duradry which does nearly the same as pulling a vacuum.  it converts the moisture in the air into a synthetic oil.  my system ran fine after that.

[Sam Johnson]

After reading a number of reviews I am going to use envirosafe in my compressor.  It certainly is less expensive as well as less environmentally damaging.

However, as I am going to have to fabricate an A/C compressor bracket I am seriously thinking about using a slightly used 2005-2006 non-VW (probably GM as they are readily available and cheaper)  compressor rather than my 20 year old VW Sanden compressor.  In addition to needing to be rebuilt my Sanden compressor has the v-belt pulley and I need the serpentine one--which comes with the modern one.

Can anyone tell me if I will have any problems with the rest of the A/C system in my Vanagon if I change compressor??  What other things should I do to the system?  Anything else that would need to be changed??

Thanks for any advice or suggestions.

Sam,
Tucson

[Possum79]

I would say probably not as long as the connections work, but you may have to question if your hose sizes make any difference in pressure. You may want to see what the GM compressor uses in hose diameters. Also pressure switches, if there is a switch in the compressor how does the new vs the old hook up.

duracool sells new non rebuild compressors for like 125 US bucks right now.

[jtanguay]

yea i doubt GM uses metric stuff.  you'd need to have some hose conversions or something to make it work.  Prothe also sells an a/c compressor with serp pulley & clutch (the clutch alone is worth about $300) for $179, but doesn't look oem.  i'm buying one myself as i want to keep my a/c when i do my mTDI conversion.

[vik F]

i have a 91 TD jetta, was going to use one of these redtek kits.  but my vacuum test failed.

vacuum was initiated but would not hold.  Mech suggested i save my $$ and NOT use the kit as i may have a bigger than sealable leak.

that being said, does anyone know of the part #s for the seals replacable seals?  i'm hoping that swapping these out will hold a better vacuum, then use this kit with a seal can aswell

thx

[jtanguay]

i have a 91 TD jetta, was going to use one of these redtek kits.  but my vacuum test failed.

vacuum was initiated but would not hold.  Mech suggested i save my $$ and NOT use the kit as i may have a bigger than sealable leak.

that being said, does anyone know of the part #s for the seals replacable seals?  i'm hoping that swapping these out will hold a better vacuum, then use this kit with a seal can aswell

thx

i think a can of sealer is about $20.  i'd buy two cans and fill the system right up.  you'd be surprised at what kind of leaks they can seal.   duracool's system seal is really good.  i have a 'phantom' leak in my jetta.  it's super slow but i'll try the system seal and see how it goes.  one charge lasted all summer so its not a bad leak.

the problem with some of the leaks is that some don't show up when the charging hoses are attached to the valves.  nobody seems to check the valves themselves for leakage... and yet they are probably the most prone to leaking.

[Matteo]

Where can I get the AC, seals for my 1990 Wolfs. Jetta?

I found an immediate leak on the Low Pressure intake port close to the compessor...

Thanks,

Matt

[Matteo]

Any special type of seal for the low pressure nipple, or is this standard stuff? I went to put in some R134 with the dye in it, and it immediately came out the seal area on the nipple closest to the AC compressor.

Thanks,

Matt

[jtanguay]

you can buy o-ring kits for import vehicles.  do a search on the net

[Quantum TD]

For those of you looking for seals:

Seal part numbers can be found on vagcat. They are seals for R12 however (not sure what if any difference there is).  Worst case scenario: buy the seals from a dealer (or 1stvwparts.com), get one of each that you need and then get comparable seals from NAPA. They have a huge selection of AC seals. I managed to get all the R134 seals for my Rabbit from them, after I bought new ones from the dealer to get the correct sizes.

When installing the seals, it is advised that you put a little dielectric grease on the seal to keep it moist. This is the new preferred lubricant.

[Zulfiqar]

Ah - I remember the pain of finding VW A/C parts in Pakistan, so I made my own system - using the original huge sanden compressor - its running on R-12 (its still legal there) and sourcing a used bar and fin condensor, a spanking new denso dryer a denso low/high pressure switch  and my own lines that I made from copying the ekta diagrams

A little hint for better performance - put a slim bosch fan in front of the condensor on the RHS of the car - and run a dropping resistor with 2 relay setup - wired to the A/C compressor and high pressure switch - that way your A/C compressor head pressure does not increase massively.

Couldnt figure out the engine temperature cutout switch wiring for the A/C - its a big switch on the cylinder head hose outlet with 2 prongs on it saying 105 degrees C - I know its for A/C cutout - I saw it in a manual - but how do I wire it up?

[The Mad Hatter]

Hey guys, if i can keep the ol girl running ok, i'd like to get the A/C working.  But, i was wondering what kinda mileage you guys are getting with the A/C on?