TAC Tech > Electrical

AC compressor upgrade, 1980 TA

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5th T/A:
When purchased in February of 2020 my car had the original GM A6 compressor. The AC worked fine, although there was oil leaking from the front seal, a typical problem with this model compressor. I assumed the refrigerant was upgraded from R12 to R 134A because it had the quick coupling connectors on the service ports. But there were no labels stating it was a R134 conversion. During the engine upgrade I removed the compressor and condensing coil. Once I had the car back together, I evacuated and charged the system with R134. The AC worked fine, although it still had some oil around the front seal. Since I like a clean engine compartment I ran the AC very little to minimize the oil and dirt.

The ceramic seals were so prone to leaking that GM put a metal shroud around the compressor clutch on some Cadillac and Buick models. Doing some research, I found that if the car sits for long periods of time without running the AC, new seals often still weep oil. There is an aftermarket lip seal made for these compressors now that are supposed to be less prone to leaking oil. Going to car shows I have seen many cars retrofitted with a modern compressor or in some cases a complete new system such as vintage air. Other than a slight amount of oil from my compressor everything worked fine. I came across a compressor upgrade kit from Original Air / Classic Air. The kit includes a new compressor, compressor mounting bracket, accumulator, rubber lines, new O-rings and Orifice tube. I did some more research on TAC and other sites and found people didn't like the compressor mount included in this kit and recommended the Vintage air compressor mount.

Here is the Kit from Original Air / Classic Air.

IMG_3965 by Lawrence Alexander, on Flickr

IMG_3963 by Lawrence Alexander, on Flickr



Here is the compressor mount kit from Vintage Air.

IMG_3966 by Lawrence Alexander, on Flickr

Here is a comparison of the original A6 compressor, top of photo and the Sanden type replacement at the bottom.

IMG_2573 by Lawrence Alexander, on Flickr

Out of curiosity I weighed all the old compressor and associated parts compared to the new in the kit. The original compressor and parts weigh 44 lbs. versus the upgrade kit at 21 lbs. Also from what I have read the A6 compressor needs 10 - 15 horsepower to operate versus the replacement needing 2 - 5 horsepower.

So, on September 7th I ordered the Compressor upgrade kit directly from Original Air. The kit arrived October 8th. On the same day I ordered the Classic Air compressor mounting kit from Summit racing. It arrived on September 9th.

Unfortunately there were issues with Classic Air sending me the wrong compressor.

More to come!

b_hill_86:
Thanks for the progress so far. I’m one of those that installed the entire Classic Auto Air/Original Air Group kits. For the record I’m still not a huge fan of their bracket but my biggest complaint regarding it was ridiculous belt flutter when the compressor was engaged and I was at highway speeds (70mph with a 3.08 gear @ about 2700). Since then I presume the belt has loosen up some or become less rigid rather and it has improved quite a bit. I still wonder if adjusting the tension would improve it at all but I can live with the current state of it. I did make a little bracket I added to provide some rigidity to the compressor mount. I’m not sure if that has had any effect or not to be honest.

I’ll be interested to see what your thoughts are on the VA bracket.

roadking77:
Following along :grin:

5th T/A:
As I mentioned yesterday the upgrade kit arrived on 10/08 and was well packaged. I opened the kit and took inventory. These are the installation instructions I received.

img20231114_19042184 by Lawrence Alexander, on Flickr

On 10/09 I called Original Air and told them the installation instructions were not legible. They immediately sent me a .pdf with the instructions.

On 10/10 I started mocking up the pieces and realized the suction and discharge hoses they sent me were too small at the compressor end. I called Original Air and explained the hoses would not fit the compressor. I was told I had to submit a warrantee claim. I immediately filled out an online claim form with a picture showing the difference in hose size versus the compressor fittings. On 10/12 received an email saying they will get a new discharge hose sent out to me. Before I could reply back saying both hoses would not fit (1:15 latter) they sent another email. The second email reply " As we're looking into the issue it appears that what actually happened is we received an incorrect batch of compressors from our supplier". "They won't fit the mount or the discharge fitting". "We are looking to see if we have any of the compressors in-house right now". After receiving illegible installation instructions and the wrong compressor I am questioning the lack of attention when they packed my kit that took a month to assemble and ship. Nine days pass without any email or shipping notification of the correct compressor. I call back on 10/19 and ask what's going on. They say they want to me to send back my compressor and they will switch the plate at the rear of the compressor to one with the correct fitting size. My reply is this is unacceptable, I want the compressor factory sealed sent to me. They reply it will ship on 10/20. On 10/26 I call back asking for tracking information on the compressor. On 11/05 I finally receive what appears to be the correct compressor.

5th T/A:
When I purchased this kit I liked the idea that it was engineered with everything I needed for the upgrade, not just a compressor and bracket. leaving me to make up hoses and fittings. Also came with the accumulator, O-rings and Orifice tube.

Using a couple of cans of AC flushing solvent I flushed out all the solid refrigerant lines, the evaporator core and the condenser. The evaporator needed half a can before the solvent came out clear. The condenser needed almost two cans of cleaner before solvent was clear. What came out of the condenser was pretty disgusting and made me question how my AC system managed to work.

Before I could flush the evaporator I had to remove the orifice tube. I tried using a thin nose piler but was unsuccessful. I did some you tube research and found out that this can be a difficult task A special tool is often required and sometimes requires heat. In some cases the orifice tube can break, requiring replacement of the evaporator coil.

I found removal tool online, cost $12.00. the tool grips the orifice tube in four places. It took three tries before I was successful in removing it. I was getting a little nervous. What I found was a little alarming metal debris, non ferrous in the tube.

Original orifice tube installed in evaporator, somewhat damaged from my piler.

IMG_2604 by Lawrence Alexander, on Flickr

Original orifice tube removed.

IMG_2605 by Lawrence Alexander, on Flickr

New Orifice tube, attached to removal / installation tool.

IMG_2600 by Lawrence Alexander, on Flickr

More to come!

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