how important is it to change the reciever/drier when an a/c system goes empty?

DarkoStoj

DarkoStoj

A mysterious figure named Darko
fixing/charging up the a/c system on a few cars. Is it good to replace the receiver/drier and add the recommended amount of oil for that part? Or will you be ok just evacuating and charging the system with the recommended amount of 134a
 
So long as it hasn't been open for weeks on end you can usually dry out the desicant by pulling vaccum on it for extended periods of time. Usually though if the car is over 5 years of age it is better to just replace the thing.
 
the drier can become saturated in less than an hour if left open.. at that point even pulling a vacuum for days will not boil off the water in it.
if the system had any pressure left it should be fine.
 
where can you find how much oil the part contains, or do you just drill a hole and drain it out then measure the weight? You pretty much gotta just guess for the most part to get the oil to the proper level right?
 
hourang said:
replace it, im doing mine and it was only $18 on rock auto, worth it to me.
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hah the one for my viper is like $100, and thats with my pricing from the dealer. The aftermarket runs around $50, but i only want to put OEM on that car.
 
DarkoStoj said:
where can you find how much oil the part contains, or do you just drill a hole and drain it out then measure the weight? You pretty much gotta just guess for the most part to get the oil to the proper level right?
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If it has been open for extended periods of time it is best to remove the compressor and oil accumulator and drian and flush everything. I have some flushing solveant if you need it.

Then start over on the oil etc.
 
1BADAIR said:
the drier can become saturated in less than an hour if left open.. at that point even pulling a vacuum for days will not boil off the water in it.
if the system had any pressure left it should be fine.
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Never had a problem with drying out a dessicant bag. Sometimes the service on the AC system can take all day.
 
how do you know if the desiccant bag has been dried by running the evacuation pump?

I'm changing it out on the viper, i'm probably going to drain the oil from the receiver/drier, put a new one in with oil, then run the evacuation pump for an hour or so, then let it sit and see if it holds the vacuum.
 
DarkoStoj said:
how do you know if the desiccant bag has been dried by running the evacuation pump?

I'm changing it out on the viper, i'm probably going to drain the oil from the receiver/drier, put a new one in with oil, then run the evacuation pump for an hour or so, then let it sit and see if it holds the vacuum.
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Moisture coming out of the pump vent.
 
just an fyi darko, even properly working viper a/c is shitty, you need to heat shield the tunnel and floor if you wanna keep it cool in there
 
cjmatt said:
just an fyi darko, even properly working viper a/c is shitty, you need to heat shield the tunnel and floor if you wanna keep it cool in there
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last year it worked awesome, I bought the car and just topped it off and used it all summer, it leaked out again over the winter and for this year i want to track down the leak and charge it properly since last year i was still getting bubbles in the sight glass...it worked real good though.
 
got my old mans car done, 98 e300. I hooked up the pump and had vapor coming out but it stopped after about 5 min. Filled it up and all is good. It had a low charge in it when i first started.

quick question, whats a good way to make sure you get the right amount of r134 in it? The car called for 34oz, but the cans i have are 12oz. So I had to do 2 full cans and 10oz of the 3rd. Whats a good way to make sure you get the right amount in there?
 
Darko, I am replacing my Condensor and Dryer on my XJ on Friday (condensor went bad).
Want to practice getting it right on it? I'll let you Practice for Free?
 
DarkoStoj said:
got my old mans car done, 98 e300. I hooked up the pump and had vapor coming out but it stopped after about 5 min. Filled it up and all is good. It had a low charge in it when i first started.

quick question, whats a good way to make sure you get the right amount of r134 in it? The car called for 34oz, but the cans i have are 12oz. So I had to do 2 full cans and 10oz of the 3rd. Whats a good way to make sure you get the right amount in there?
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A scale is the proper method. What I found works best is to charge for the best tempature reduction and the widest split between low and high side pressures. If your not very experienced with AC work it would be best to put in the proper amount and call it a day.
 
Sean said:
A scale is the proper method. What I found works best is to charge for the best tempature reduction and the widest split between low and high side pressures. If your not very experienced with AC work it would be best to put in the proper amount and call it a day.
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hmmmm I'm getting comfortable with doing this, but I want to get pretty good. I got 3 more cars to do this week.

so could you give me a process you go through for selecting how much to put in? So do you watch the gauges and when the high and low side stop moving in opposite directions you call it quits while keeping an eye on the temp gauge? Just trying to figure out the best way to do this.
 
DarkoStoj said:
hmmmm I'm getting comfortable with doing this, but I want to get pretty good. I got 3 more cars to do this week.

so could you give me a process you go through for selecting how much to put in? So do you watch the gauges and when the high and low side stop moving in opposite directions you call it quits while keeping an eye on the temp gauge? Just trying to figure out the best way to do this.
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It is a little bit of voddu in some regards. My advice is to put in the proper amount. BTW studying guage movement vs efficiency and charge amount is a great way to learn how to feel it out.
 
DarkoStoj said:
you got the parts?
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Yeah Actually bought everything from Reiko back in the fall.
My Dryer is still sealed up unopened as I did not do it as it got cold and waited till now. I am gonna replace all the O rings seals too while I have it all apart.
 
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