AC help

You have a Sanden compressor which is a common upgrade to the original York compressor. Based on the age of your cars I would guess you are running R12 as your refrigerant. There are no banned refrigerants in California, despite what some shops might tell you. A quality air conditioning shop will be able to test your gas to determine if it is R12 or the newer 134a. Likewise, a good shop will be able to service either of those refrigerants. And yes, the two ports are the high and low ports used for recharging.

Good luck

Larry

The top port is the low pressure side, and the bottom port is the high pressure side. If you have R12, you will want to convert to R134. R12 is gone. The only (legit) supply available is reclaimed gasses, and about as expensive per pound as a fillet at Ruth Chris.
Like previously stated, you need to see a pro to determine.

R12 works much better in a Pantera without modifying the system by using O-ring fittings and new 134 hoses. But 12 is very expensive so be prepared to spend 75.00 to 100.00 a pound and finding a shop in Calif. may be tough. Look on E-bay for real r-12
http://www.ebay.com/itm/R12-Refrigerant-/272787228441

Good luck.

If your system is currently R12 and you change to 134a you will most likely have to change seals in the compressor, replace all of your hoses as they are too permeable for the 134a, and you will have a refrigerant that is not as effective as R12 was.

There are nearly 1500 listings for R12 on eBay and my local Craig's List has multiple offers for the small 14 ounce cans between $20 and $30 apiece.

I have a 30 pound factory-sealed tank of R12 that I purchased three years ago for $375.

The Pantera system will take no more than 3 pounds. Even if you find a shop wants to charge you $75 per pound plus your service charge you would still likely save money over changing your entire system to properly utilize 134a.

You will definitely want to seek out a quality shop to do your recharge, but hopefully this information will be of use to you.

Larry

R12 is on Ebay. Averages around $30 can.

There's no pressure switch in the Pantera A/C system so your compressor cycling on is no indication of state of fill of your system.

I have heard untold stories of Pantera A/C systems being poor or non functional after an R134a switch, but there's a lot more to the change than most folks think;
1. You need to completely flush the system and remove all traces of mineral oil, then use an ester oil.
2. The type of fitting (flare vs. o-ring) or hose is somewhat immaterial, but your hoses need to be in good condition.
3. The evaporator valve under the dash requires changing to an R134a compatible one as the pressure drop across the orifice is different in an R134a system. This is the single biggest mistake people make and the biggest reason people say R134a system isn't working or blows high pressure hoses.
4. You also need a new dryer anytime you have the system apart.
5. You need to add a high/low pressure switch to the system to prevent over pressuring. The simplest ones screw on the fill port after you remove the schrader valve and the new fill port is on the pressure switch.

Nothing wrong with R12, just be sure you have found the leak(s) as it gets expensive really quick if you keep adding to the ozone layer! Have the shop pull a vacuum on the system and leave it at least 30 minutes to see if there is any leak down.

I picked up a dual charge and recovery station from a CA shop going out of that business. It has saved me far more than it cost.

Julian

In case you don't know which is the Discharge and which is the Suction port' here's a picture :

Maybe I've just been lucky not having problems from R12/R134 conversion, but I fill all my cars from a large R134 bottle I bought, also the Pantera. And when I had a new dryer in the Pantera, mounted on the rear "wall" there's a fitting there, so I can fill it without laying under the car near the headders. And BTW it can really cool the air, under 5C

As a precaution, after reading about the risk of pressure build up and hoses blowing, I've rewired the rear fan so it not only comes on when A/C demands it, it comes on whenever I use the heater interior fan. That of course means that it would run also when I use the heater, a bit of a waste, but since my car has no heater, I only use the interior fan when cooling the cabin. Anyway, cheap insurance I think

Thanks for all the info. More than I thought about AC considerations. Any recommended shops in the southern CA Orange County area (such as Costa Mesa, Newport, Irvine etc)? Just trying to be careful wherever I take my cars.

You have multiple Pantera vendors down in the Los Angeles area. I would imagine calling them would eventually locate a capable shop to handle your air-conditioning needs. Los Angeles is arguably the car mecca of the United States, surely there are at least several shops still working with R12 on the older cars.

Larry

I had my Car at Tommy Hodges in SoCal! 1-562-301-0583 He rebuilt my Air, along with a number of repairs from other shoddy work done by others! The work was done Right, on time and at a fair price! Oh...the Air is now R134 and yes it blows Cold! Real Cold!

Thanks all. Yeah Tommy is good, but he prefers that I come in for more than just AC when I checked with him a couple months ago. But he has an AC referral I could try near him directly. Plus I found a shop in Costa Mesa closer to me as well, although unknown about quality and care about peoples car. I just hate the places that take your car and fix something, then you get your car back and there's grease on the interior, door dings, joy rides & whatever. The place I went to looked like your typical junk ass AC shop with beat up cars in line to be serviced. So it's that, or sweat a bit till cooler fall weather arrives and fugetaboutit or a new owner wants to deal with it.

quote:

Originally posted by DOES 200:
Yeah Tommy is good, but he prefers that I come in for more than just AC when I checked with him a couple months ago.

So it's that, or sweat a bit till cooler fall weather arrives and fugetaboutit or a new owner wants to deal with it.

Well I'd say Tommy isn't so good if he wants to pick and choose what he services on your car. A good guy will sweat the small stuff knowing you'll be back when something more major needs doing.

Oh not another top dollar for sale ad with "A/C just needs charging" statement! Seriously Jan, your cars are in the top 5% for condition, don't let something so minor kill a potential sale.

Dont get me wrong I think Tommy would do it, but its something he coordinates with the AC shop so his preference was to just give me the shop referral. On the Group 4 the windows are a bit slow, so I was thinking of him doing that too since he mentioned he had a good system for that. Anyway I know he is super careful when he handles cars, so I may just do the combo windows & AC. As far as potential buyers, yeah they come & go and I don't think AC working or not would matter all that much. Its other hindrances, such as one guy was ready but was 6'4" and it seems adding lowered floor pans bothered him. No big deal, just more opportunity for me to enjoy it.

Ah, didn't realize Tommy was subcontracting the A/C, makes sense then.

Later 9,000 series cars have a totally different floor pan arrangement, already lowered to the rocker level. I'm 6'1" and my seat is not all the way back and I have plenty of headroom.

Glad to hear your experience with Tommey Cuvee.
As the new owner of 72 #3629 just took her to Tommy to do all updates.So far great experience but he will have her for awhile.New AC,All new cooling, New exhaust manifolds, new intake , new carb, the whole works.Cant wait.