Automotive Air Conditioning Information Forum

I have a 65 Chrysler presently sitting in my side yard. It is a limited use driver that belongs to a friend in Australia, she drives it anytime she is in the States. The likelihood of her needing it anytime soon is slim to none, so I am fixing all the little irritating things that always exist in a car of this vintage, (something to deal with my boredom at this time). I am presently putzing with the A/C. My A/C equipment is limited and hobby quality at best. The history of this unit is it will hold a charge for a few months. It held a partial vacuum over night and with can pressure my So So leak detector does not detect anything. When I was contracting we used spectroline in home and commercial units with a fair degree of success but I can find no information on using it in an automotive unit. Spectroline does in one place on its website state that it is applicable to automotive usage but no information on how much of which product. This is a last ditch effort, if it works great if not nothing lost. I have double wrenched and tightened all the flare connections so there is the possibility that I may have inadvertently fixed a small leak but wishful thinking never fixed anything.

Anyone have any information on using spectroline in an automotive application? I have researched every auto leak sealer sold and none of them list the sealant used or even if it is a polymer based product so am not willing to pump it in not knowing.

This is an R12 system. You can try putting a shower cap on the compressor and let it sit. Then after a few hours, put a leak detector inside the shower cap. This system also uses an EPR valve so it is handy to have another low side gauge. I do have gaskets for that system. I would also advise you to replace all of the o rings and do not over tighten them. 55 year old system. Hoses are also suspect.

Definite NO on the sealer.

Put some dye in it, make sure there is enough oil in the compressor sump. Charge it & drive it a little every day for a week. Then use a UV light to find the leak.

Forgot to mention that it was converted to 134 before I ever saw it.

O rings? I have not broken down any hose connections but I remembered these as having flare connections. If they are o ring connections I will break them all down. Should I use the green o rings?

It does have a sight glass so the charge is not a problem and when charged it does cool surprisingly well on 134 so don't know what good a second low side gauge would do for the issue but thanks for the info.

Also the leak is such that there is no discernible oil residue, all the connections are powder dry but the dye is a good suggestion unless it is the evaporator.

As I did not do the 134 conversion I have no idea what it has in it for oil so I may suck it all out and replace it with known Pag oil with dye, how much oil does it need? Also where do I get the least expensive UV light as this could be the only time I will ever use it.

As for gaskets front and rear flange and sump? And how do I go about getting them if it seems necessary?

You guys are getting me into a lot more work than I had planned on but in reality what the h... else do I have to do.

Grumpy

While the '65 is mostly flared fittings, the OEM A/C cars have a pair of O ring fittings right at the firewall for the evaporator.

We are assuming this is OEM A/C - but in '65 lots of cars had dealer installed A/C. Presuming you still have the V2 pump on the car, the R12 shaft seals on those were not always happy when converted to 134a.

Is this a C body B body or an A body Mopar?

For a cheap blacklight go to Lowes or Home Depot. They have LED blacklight bulbs that will fit in your drop light. Cheap. Reliable. Bright.

Min oil is 6 ounces, max is 8 ounces. Dipstick drawings are on the internet. If you suck out the sump dry, put at least 6 ounces back in.

It is a Newport which I believe is a C body. It is a factory air, still has the airtemp sticker on the rear window, V2 compressor. That being said is there a shaft seal available that is 134 compatible. As long as I am going this far might as well go for the gusto. As memory serves the shaft seals were a carbon seal which required a three pronged tool to r&r the seal. Presumably I can find one of those on E bay.

I started breaking down the connections and so far they are all o ring connections, the discharge connection at the front of the compressor did not have an o ring in it which may explain a lot. So much for my faulty memory. Whatever work I might have ever done on one of these systems would have been before 1977 which is when I got out of automotive and into structural steel.

Ok. C bodies all have an EPR valve in the compressor suction. So during testing the low side pressure should remain constant.

I would replace the missing seal, add some dye & run it. If it seems to have a shaft leak, then you can address it.

Finally got back to the Chrysler, been a while since I have screwed with any of this. Went to the parts house to get a few items and found that there is more than one pag oil. Which one do I want for this V2 compressor, or does it make a difference?

Pardon my ignorance but "barrier hoses"? Looking at the system the hoses look like the originals.

Since I replaced all the orings I did flush out the evap and condenser best I could with what I have to work with probably not perfect but better than nothing.

I started out trying to do a favor for a friend and the more information I get the more it seems that I have stepped into a pit of quicksand.

Here is where I am presently at. I have opened up all the connections to replace the 55 year old o rings. While open I did a simple flush on the evaporator and condenser. I have not yet flushed out the compressor but that is next. I am not in any hurry because the owner lives in Australia and only uses the car when she is in town. Present situation being what it is I do not expect her to be in town anytime soon. I did get a new receiver dryer as that seemed to me to be a no brainier.

I got mentally locked into 134 because someone apparently did a conversion as there are adapters on the service valves. Last night it occurred to me that there are now R12 replacements. Would it be a better option to do a more thorough flush and go back to the R12 oil and replacement refrigerant?

Apparently R12 has a larger molecule than R134 hence the need for barrier hoses. So with a larger molecule is it easier to seal?

Obviously I am in an area where my knowledge is limited to what I can research, and researching anything it seems that there are as many opinions as there are people.