my 134a conversion begins...

[Soma576@xxxx]

Hey all,

one of the last things that i need to do to get my car complete is to rebuild 
the A/C system. when i bought the car in 2000, the A/C worked ok but didn't 
work when i took the car out of storage. i had it recharged and it worked 
perfectly for a while until the compressor cycling became excessive and i 
eventually blew one of the long A/C lines. and that's how it has been ever 
since last summer. this year i want to get things rolling again....

i have decided to switch over to R-134a freon. R-12 is becoming 
prohibitively expensive around here ($90/lb), especially if i have a leaky 
system. R-134a is only $8/lb. last year i had my A/C checked out after the 
leak and they found dye pretty much everywhere under there where there are 
metal to rubber connections, and the two main lines were both leaking freon 
down the whole length of them. so it is obvious i will need new lines. 
anyway, i have had my car's underbody steamcleaned and i am going to take the 
car in to a local A/C shop to have it evaluated. what we will do is just 
charge the system with a couple lbs of 134A and find out where the leaks are 
so i know what needs to be replaced. after that i'm going to get my old long 
hoses out and bring them to a hose shop in town who custom makes A/C lines. 
they looked at them today on the car and estimated about $130 for both lines 
including the fittings. then i'll get the new lines from them minus the 
fittings attached and feed them thru the frame and they will crimp the new 
ends on them with the lines on the car. this will save me the hassle of 
lifting the body from the frame. i'll probably have to replace the high and 
low pressure switches too, or at least i'll do it just because i'll already 
be in there. depending on what else is leaking, i'll have to replace that 
stuff too. once everything is leak-free, i am having another local place 
change whatever o-rings need to be changed and they will also vacuum the 
system and put different oil in and charge it up. HOPEFULLY everything will 
work!!

1. what does everyone else think about this?? am i missing anything really 
important? 

2. what about the "A/C dryer" that some places have told me will need to be 
replaced? i can't find anything on any of the vendor's sites that is called a 
dryer. does the DeLorean have this part? 

3. any ideas on what else will need to be done to make the A/C work 
correctly? 

4. does the line that goes from the accumulator to the evaporator need to be 
changed? 

5. and what about the line from the lower fitting on the condensor?

any insight is greatly appreciated!!
Andy

Soma576@xxxx
1982 DeLorean DMC-12 VIN#11596
Fargo, ND 58102


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