|
I'm attempting to reawaken the long slumbering air conditioner in "Babe", our 1956 C-73.
The shop I'm working with has pumped the system down and found that it holds vacuum. They charged the system with 4 lbs of F 12, and found that they had cool air on one side of the rear window outlet (passenger side) and closer to ambient on the driver's side of the outlet. We opened the blower compartment in the trunk. It looks like new inside. The filter in the bottom is only slightly dirty. It seems that the evaporator is colder on the pass. side than the driver's side.
Thinking that the system might still be low on Freon they added another pound bringing it up to a total of 5 lbs. There was no noticeable difference in cooling.
I'm fortunate to be working with a shop that is willing to let me use their F12 to sort out the problems before we convert it to 134A.
We couldn't find the sight glass mentioned in the service manual so we really don't know if it was ever completely full (no bubbles) even with 5 lbs.
The bypass valve seems to be working according to the man working on it. It clicks when the switch on the dash is moved from COLD to COOL.
The Tecumseh compressor is smooth and quiet. The clutch works just as it should, we believe. The condenser is clean.
I'm sure several of you out there have been through these systems and know them (certainly better than we do). Would you suspect a partially blocked filter/dryer? Thorough reading of the service manual didn't help us find the sight glass. I would be grateful for any input as to how to proceed from here.I know the answer is lurking among you somewhere.
When I was young we had an identical car in our family. I remember playing freeze out when my mother was in the car. They really do work when they're right.
Gary Kitterman
1956 C-73 "Babe"
|
Back to the Home of the Forward Look Network