hydrocarbon refrigerant, chapter two (Alfa)

[Joe Elliott <jee@domain.elided>]

Having successfully recharged the intact system in my buddy's Audi 80 with 
ES-12a, the next step was to put the aircon back in the GTV6 and see what 
could be made of that.  Now my best friend always said he'd give me the AC 
hardware from his Milano since he had no interest in having it charged. 
Then his parents said he had to sell it, so he decided to leave it in the 
car.  But fortunately for me, he sold it to my little brother, who likewise 
said I could have the AC hardware.  So I was about to remove the compressor 
when my mom freaked out and said James (that's my brother) wasn't allowed 
to give me parts from his car (because he made some assinine deal with the 
parents wherein they pay for his insurance and he lets them borrow the car 
any time)!  So after much arguing I convinced the parental units to buy me 
a Milano compressor from APE.  I also thought I'd get a receiver dryer just 
to be safe since mine had been sitting on a shelf, open to the air, for a 
couple years.  APE got the compressor to me within 4 days of ordering it, 
but they didn't get around to shipping the receiver dryer (and some other 
stuff I ordered) for another week and a half.  So, I just "borrowed" the 
receiver dryer from my brother's Milano.  So now I've got everything.  But 
my condenser was pretty mashed from two accidents, so I spent a few hours 
straightening the fins and hoping it wouldn't leak.  Then I installed 
everything in the car, and discovered that the Milano dryer has two 
pressure switches, while the GTV6 only has one.  (I did this all last night 
before driving to Pittsburgh this morning at 7:00, so there was no one to 
call or email in the middle of the night for help.)  Well, the switch with 
the red connector closed when I added one can of refrigerant with the 
engine off, so I hooked it up to the GTV6 harness.  Flipping on the blower 
and turning the AC switch (something that I've never done in 3+ years and 
20,000+ miles of GTV6 ownership) yielded a "click" from the AC clutch and a 
spinning fan, so I guess I got that right.  So then, much to the 
displeasure of parents and neighbors, I'm sure, I pushed it into the 
driveway and fired it up at 1:30AM.  Someone said that the system should 
take 32oz. of (R12) refrigerant and this ES-12a stuff says that one can is 
equivalent to 18oz of R12, and I had a 2oz. can of leak-sealing stuff.  So 
by the time my shitty equipment and retrofit nipples from AutoZone leaked 
refrigerant everywhere (good thing this isn't R12...) I like to think that 
I got ~32oz actually in the system.  Low side pressure was ~42psi, which 
I'm told would be correct for R134a, and the cabin vents were starting to 
exhale COLD air--a GTV6 first.  What I'm curious about is the fact that the 
instructions for my hydrocarbon refrigerant say to "charge to your R12 
low-side pressure, which the seemingly-knowledgable guy at NAPA said should 
be around 80psi!  But 42 seemed to be working, and the Audi system worked 
at 45, so I left it there, if for no other reason than because I thought I 
had the right amount of refrigerant in there.  I told my brother to put the 
tools away, and I took a shower with the Lava soap, and went to bed for 3 
hours before setting off for Pittsburgh.  To build the suspense, I didn't 
let myself turn the AC on until I got to the freeway (I couldn't believe I 
was acually setting of on a 300mi. cruise in the GTV6 and wishing for sunny 
weather).  When I turned the blower on for fresh air, I was treated to the 
smell of refrigerant, and noticed some oil on the vent.  Well, f***!!  If 
there's one thing I don't feel like fixing, it's that heat exchanger buried 
in the dash!  But the smell gradually went away and when I got on I-71 I 
crossed my fingers and turned that AC knob.  Within seconds I was treated 
to ICE COLD AIR...and no additional smell.  Damn, I thought, that 
leak-sealing goo must actually have worked!  Like I said, it was overcast 
and not that hot, so only because I was driving a 116 coupe did I actualy 
have a need for AC.  Even then, I had it on about a third of the time I was 
on the road, and I couldn't have been more comfortable.  Imagine my 
surprise when I took off my sunglasses and the metal frames were cold to 
the touch!  Of course, considering the fact that this car was full of 
rodent feces and nests when I bought it, and that I had no intention of 
installing AC when I cleaned out the HVAC box a couple years ago, I kept 
expecting to get wet.  But no, not even on twisty mountain roads.  Sweet. 
But then, when I turn into the alley behind where I live here at school, 
there's quite an exhaust-dragging bump, and a huge quantity of water gets 
dumped into the passenger footwell.  Like a liter or more!  So much that it 
splashed into the blower and I got a shower in the face!  I don't know how 
that much water could have been hiding there and not dripped out before, 
but I guess I have some work to do on those drains.  So I have yet to test 
it in real heat, but so far I couldn't be more pleased.  To make a long 
story short, hydrocarbon refrigerants kick ass thus far.

Joe Elliott (in Pittsburgh for the weekend, then back to Oxford for a week 
before classes start, with a journey into Canada on the agenda.)
'82 GTV6 (let's hear it for Carl von Linde!)
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