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Did you get off the highway around 2:30 ish pm? I saw green built 80 with UT plates headed north towards the shop. You still in Bozeman? I may have a compressor for youPassing through Bozeman now. Heading to this place
Overland Cruisers
Overland Cruisers is Montana's premier Land Cruiser and Toyota / Lexus 4WD specialist. Whether it be a simple oil change or a diesel/V8 motor conversion or a frame off restoration we're your go-to shop.overlandcruisersmt.com
hoping maybe they have a lead
Yep, bet that was us. Thanks so much man! I might be hitting you up Monday as we pass again through your neck of of the woods.
Yeah unfortunately not going to be around Monday because minutes before you hit Overland Cruisers I had just rolled out of the parking lot with Stephens truck, flatbed trailer and all my tools headed to fort Collins area of Colorado. My 80 is just to the right of yours in that first photo of you parked out front of OC. Glad you tried the door, Stephen and Darren are both great guys! Hopefully the expansion valve fixes all your problems! Safe travels!Yep, bet that was us. Thanks so much man! I might be hitting you up Monday as we pass again through your neck of of the woods.
The back story...
In April took a 9-hour trip from Ogden Utah to Pinetop Arizona. Five hours in, about half way there, we started loosing AC. Vent temp was only slightly below ambient. Temps were in the high 70s to low 80s so not too bad, but still a long 5-hours with the windows down.
A/C seemed to work fine next morning. Looked at the sight glass. No debris that I could see. Took it to the Toyota dealership in Show Low for evac and recharge. They said refrigerant level was fine, and said "Pressures were off" and, "Compressor is worn out". I trusted them. Didn't even think to ask what pressures were. Priced new OEM compressor and receiver/dryer. It was like $600 - $700. Drove back to Utah (again with windows down the last half of the trip) thinking I'd fit it into the budget over the next month or so.
For the last few months, like everywhere else in the west, its been dang hot in Northern Utah. Record breaking temps regularly in the 90s and over 100 a few times. A/C has worked just fine. Made a few trips over 2-hours and NO A/C problems. So I just decided to let it go and see what happens.
Friday morning we left Ogden for Billings, it's about an 8-hour drive. About half-way into it, just like in the spring, A/C started to fade out. But this time it was WAY HOTTER outside. Blindly following the instructions of the Toyota dealership I started calling parts houses in Billings for a new compressor and checking car-part.com for used. Nothing to be found. Then started this thread.
By the time we came down from the mountains past Big Sky we were suffering pretty badly. On Highway 191 outside of Bozeman we passed a place called Mike's Off Road that had a modded 60 and a couple of 40s parked out front. I stopped and asked if they knew where I might source a used compressor. Nice guys there. One tech apparently was a Toyota fan and quickly spammed all his cruiser friends. Then they mentioned Overland Cruisers on the other side of town so we set out for them.
We were bummed when we pulled into Overland Cruisers and found posted they're closed on Friday. I tried the door anyway and it opened... Long story short Stephen and Darren at Overland Cruisers are two of the coolest, most generous, cruiser knowledgeable people you'll meet. They took time away from their own projects to try and help us out.
After evac and recharge and watching the gauges I could see the low side dropped too low. We all came to the conclusion there is likely a restriction in the system. More head scratching. I knew from calls earlier there were receiver/dryers available. Cheap and easy to replace so I decided I would start there. Stephen evacuated the system for us and we got back on the road, better for meeting and getting to know those guys, but still boiling in the cab.
In Bozeman I stopped at an O'Reilly and picked up a receiver/dryer, a bit of PAG 46 and a couple of cans of 134 and threw that at it. I could tell when I looked inside and blew on the old receiver/dryer I was wasting my time and money...
Driving from Bozeman to billings was miserable, but gave me time to think. After my conversation with Stephen and Darren, and starting to remember how AC systems work from a course I took 25-years ago, and how unlikely it is the compressor would have an intermittent problem, and because a compressor is expensive as hell, and because a sticking expansion valve seemed a more plausible cause of an intermittent restriction, and because I called and found an expansion valve in stock at Napa in Billings, and because it was only $34, replacing the expansion valve was obvious next step.
On Saturday morning I drove around (AC started working of course) Billings and called a bunch of places hoping to find someone who could properly evacuate the system again, and recharge after I got the expansion valve in. I found EVERYTHING was closed for the holiday weekend. I was to was about to give up hope when I stumbled upon a hole-in-the-wall shop, 3rd Avenue Auto Repair. Again, SUPER great people. Owner Don Stokoe is on of the nicest, knowledgeable people you'd meet. (I always thought people moved to Montana for the beautiful open country. I'm beginning to think it's more than that.)
I told my story to Don as we hooked up the gauges. Again, more head scratching. While he still has some reservations about the pump, he agreed replacing the expansion valve is the move.
After Don evacuated the system I found a nice big tree in a parking lot across the street and started taking the glove box apart. I had the expansion valve in my hand in about 45 minutes. Carried it over to the shop and Don helped me clean 26-years worth of dirt and garbage out of the evaporator fins and the case. Had it all back together in about an hour. Then vacuumed and charged...
I drove around Billings for a bit, then took the freeway out to Shepherd where we're staying. Drove for over an hour. A/C worked flawlessly. Maybe it's just because we were freaking dying of the heat the day before, but I swear the A/C works better than it ever has since I bought the truck with 45k miles. Still don't know for sure the expansion valve fixed it, but have a good feeling it did. We'll likely know for certain tomorrow when we head for home
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Thanks man. Right back at ya!
Sure looks 100% easier then pulling the entire dash in my tacoma. Did it on that years ago and hated every minute of it. I have recovery equipment, so no biggie going in there to pull out the evap and TXV. But I'm sure my EVAP is fine, my AC still works okay, just not amazing anymore. Wouldn't hurt to do the expansion valve and dryer for sure though.
…ain’t it the truth. And going into it, part of me was half expecting this again:Motivation is also a factor here
When you are sweating to death for several days the laser focus needed to solve the problem comes into play.
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