HEATWAVE and AC is jacked! HELP!!!

[lilredtdi]

Ok,   Hello all, never posted here but have been over at Freds for about 4 years now.  This is an IDI car so i felt this was the better place to get my questions answered.

So.............Bought a car end of last summer that did not run.  Victim is a 1989 1.6L non-turbo Jetta.  Was not running due to cracked fuel lines, but whatever.

As I had no history, i replaced the TB, WP, tensioner, glow plugs, injectors, brakes etc.

Finally put car on the road about 3 months ago and it has been running good with the exception of needing a new master cylinder, tranny mount and half shafts.

I also pulled a double vacuum on the AC system as the system was nearly flat (flat enough comp would not come on) and charged system according to Bentley but with the ENVIRONAIR refrigerant.

No problems there and system was ice cold.  I did the vac and charge when ambient temp as in the 70's.  Used the AC once on a 20 mile round trip when ambient was about 80 and it worked perfectly.

As you know the east cost is now in a heatwave and the AC does work while driving at highway speeds but whenever you shift gears or go into neutral at a stoplight etc. the idle gets extremely rough.  Does not stall, but is very rough.  Leaving stoplights, the AC belt screeches in 1st and 2nd and the cars power is WAY down.   Once up to speed engine is smooth.  Another observation is that the temp guage quickly rises when climbing a hill even small ones.  The factory gauge has been 1/2 way between medium and hot.

FYI- I did change out all rad hoses, WP, T-stat, Rad fluid, belts when i did the TB which was less than 3k ago.

I have confirmed the electric fan is working correctly, AC charge is correct and belt is properly tensioned.

Suggestions?

[R.O.R-2.0]

Ok,   Hello all, never posted here but have been over at Freds for about 4 years now.  This is an IDI car so i felt this was the better place to get my questions answered.

So.............Bought a car end of last summer that did not run.  Victim is a 1989 1.6L non-turbo Jetta.  Was not running due to cracked fuel lines, but whatever.

As I had no history, i replaced the TB, WP, tensioner, glow plugs, injectors, brakes etc.

Finally put car on the road about 3 months ago and it has been running good with the exception of needing a new master cylinder, tranny mount and half shafts.

I also pulled a double vacuum on the AC system as the system was nearly flat (flat enough comp would not come on) and charged system according to Bentley but with the ENVIRONAIR refrigerant.

No problems there and system was ice cold.  I did the vac and charge when ambient temp as in the 70's.  Used the AC once on a 20 mile round trip when ambient was about 80 and it worked perfectly.

As you know the east cost is now in a heatwave and the AC does work while driving at highway speeds but whenever you shift gears or go into neutral at a stoplight etc. the idle gets extremely rough.  Does not stall, but is very rough.  Leaving stoplights, the AC belt screeches in 1st and 2nd and the cars power is WAY down.   Once up to speed engine is smooth.  Another observation is that the temp guage quickly rises when climbing a hill even small ones.  The factory gauge has been 1/2 way between medium and hot.

FYI- I did change out all rad hoses, WP, T-stat, Rad fluid, belts when i did the TB which was less than 3k ago.

I have confirmed the electric fan is working correctly, AC charge is correct and belt is properly tensioned.

Suggestions?

this is a factory R12 system. is the refrigerant and oil compatible with any R12, or mineral oil left in the system?

is ENVIRONAIR a R12, or R134? if its 134, did you retrofit it, or just re-fill? did you use the right oil? if you dont use ester oil, then whatever mineral oil will mix with the non-ester oil, and turn it into a gel that destroys the system.

did you put the right amount of charge in the system?

how do you put a DOUBLE VACUUM on a system? ive never seen a vacuum much higher than a perfect 30" of vacuum..

if the a/c pump is bogging down the engine, then i imagine that there is something not right about the charge..

are your pressures TOO HIGH?

[Dakotakid]

What he is describing is typical old n/a VW diesel with the usual worn pulley assembly attempting to rotate a compressor when the engine is a little time-worn with a low idle setting. Nothing usual that I can see.

It takes a fair amount of power to turn these compressors and an older diesel struggles to get the job done at idle. Plus, turning a compressor with the old designed v-belts is not exactly the hot set-up. But, that is what these cars came with.

When I used to run air in these, I simply turned the compressor off when in the low-rpm conditions.....zip. Hate to burst your bubble, but these cars are NOT the do-it-all solution to life's problems.

He can buy a little spray can of belt dressing.....but, THAT is only going to help for so long (until the belt material terminally softens from the stuff).

Enjoy the cool under higher running conditions. Write your congressman and ask him to remove all the stop signs!

[Powjetta]

Your observations are similar to the way my car runs with the AC on.  I generally turn it off while stopped.  I was thinking about a solenoid that would bump the idle up when the AC is on but haven't looked into it further.  When you don't have much HP you really miss it when the AC compressor comes on.  I upgraded to a double fan and have been able to keep the engine cool.