80 series AC intel? (3 Viewers)

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80 series AC question please (it's that time down here).

i'm thinking of getting in and cleaning my AC condensor myself. at that point having a shop replace the dryer and expansion valve.
at that point do folks also go ahead and do all o rings and all hoses as preventive maintenance? or only if a leak is diagnosed?
obviously i will talk to whoever is doing the work but i figured to price parts and wanted to try to get up to speed a little more on this.
i had someone hook it up real quick as a favor and they said high side was high (260) when it should be 150-200 and low side was high (40) when it should be 20-30.
also the dryer was hot.
anyway aside from flushing the condensor and the evaporator and referring to FSM for actual specs i'm wondering about replacing hoses and o rings which seem to run a little of money in parts alone.
just trying to get my head around this a little more since a full boat repair seems like it could run into a good chunk of change.
not planning to tackle this myself at rhis point but would like to be able to wrap my head around it a little bit more if it comes to saving some money.
if i clean the condensor myself can i get it done with just new dryer and expansion valve.
right now it blows cool but not cold air.
(note brake lines are in this parts list).

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I did my AC system last year. From what I read, r134a barrier hoses pretty much never go bad, so I didn't replace mine.

If you're opening it up, you might as well switch to a parallel flow condenser, replace your o-rings, TXV, and evaporator. My evaporator was disgusting, packed with leaves and dog fur.

I went with UAC for the condenser and evaporator. The mounting is chintzy compared to factory, but it's fine aside from feeling dirty for not using OEM. I tried to go with a Denso evaporator, but it arrived damaged (at the factory, presumably, as the box was pristine) and they were out of stock.
 
From the pressure readings, it could be overcharged (anyone work on the system recently?) or another possibility is the fan clutch isn't doing it's job.
It's normal for the drier to be hot.
I'm not sure what replacing the expansion valve & drier will accomplish. Usually if the expansion valve is bad it either sticks open and the system pressures are close to the same or it sticks closed and the low side pressure goes to zero or into vacuum.
In any case, if you end up opening the system, I'd replace all the o-rings and schrader valves.
 
I did my AC system last year. From what I read, r134a barrier hoses pretty much never go bad, so I didn't replace mine.

If you're opening it up, you might as well switch to a parallel flow condenser, replace your o-rings, TXV, and evaporator. My evaporator was disgusting, packed with leaves and dog fur.

I went with UAC for the condenser and evaporator. The mounting is chintzy compared to factory, but it's fine aside from feeling dirty for not using OEM. I tried to go with a Denso evaporator, but it arrived damaged (at the factory, presumably, as the box was pristine) and they were out of stock.
thanks man. i am kind of trying to make sure i remember the names of everything but also to try to keep trying to understand what they do.
evaporator is the cylinder thing in front. no, wait that is the dryer?
TXT is like thermal expansion valve i guess and it is like a little machined block thing?
condensor is the thing under the glove box that gets gunked up with debris?
evaporator is the radiator looking thing in the front?
i have a bunch of notes here in this i am going over tomorrow but if i can get a kind of "flash card" understanding (even if i bitch it a couple times) it help me a ton...
THANKS
 
Less is more, don't fix it if it ain't broke because if some drunk idiot hits you and totals your rig next month it's just wasted money.

If it were mine I would clean the evaporator and or condenser on your own. Especially the one in the grill. Than get it recharged and fix any leaks the shop finds.

Don't mess with the hoses, dryer, and expansion valve and make sure your fan clutch is good.
 
Evaporator is in the unit in the dash, condenser is in front of the radiator, expansion valve is also in the dash area, reciever/drier is in the driver side front below the headlight. As far as o rings, go get the 4 seasons or santech kit from Amazon, its like 15$ all viton and has every single o ring you'll need. Don't replace hoses unless there is an actual cut or tear in the line or you are feeling OCD and hate money.

Four Seasons 26749 O-Ring & Gasket Air Conditioning System Seal Kit Amazon product ASIN B000C2O8V8
Santech MT2580 A/C System O-Ring and Gasket Kit Amazon product ASIN B00HFLACNM
 
From the pressure readings, it could be overcharged (anyone work on the system recently?) or another possibility is the fan clutch isn't doing it's job.
It's normal for the drier to be hot.
I'm not sure what replacing the expansion valve & drier will accomplish. Usually if the expansion valve is bad it either sticks open and the system pressures are close to the same or it sticks closed and the low side pressure goes to zero or into vacuum.
In any case, if you end up opening the system, I'd replace all the o-rings and schrader valves.
thank you.
learning here obviously. i like to think i know good help when i see it so i hope you don't mind my following up with some things?
i've been slowly working towards understanding some of this. which is important AFAIK even if you drop it off at a shop.
i have a fan clutch and was going to order 15 CST silicone fluid (texas) and follow the modification instructions. i just did a quick video of my trying to "spin" the clutch by hand. i assume this vid (next post) shows it working. (edit: it won't post here but it only spins one or two blades).
i have noticed the air blow colder when i am accelerating? or at high speeds? someone said this was because the radiator was cooling faster.
anyway can i try and lower the pressure? or can i try anything on my end?
also - would you mind terribly eyeballing some of the parts and supplies i have here? i have kind of bought some items based upon "counter help" and i'd like to return what i can't use.
also i am posting a purchase order for a "aluminum gauge set 7 2' hose/couplers" and a "vacuum pump - air operated" from the go to supply house i FINALLY found. if i could throw some money at tools and be careful about what i am doing (and if i have ehe brain space for it) - i wouldn't mind trying some things.
almost seems like replacing o rings and cleaning that condensor or whatever could be a decent start.
anyway i need to write up what i need part wise and agsin i have the 98 tacoma and the 97 land cruiser so i need to kind of get two boxes going if i am going to supply some parts or do some or my own work on one or the other.

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From the pressure readings, it could be overcharged (anyone work on the system recently?) or another possibility is the fan clutch isn't doing it's job.
It's normal for the drier to be hot.
I'm not sure what replacing the expansion valve & drier will accomplish. Usually if the expansion valve is bad it either sticks open and the system pressures are close to the same or it sticks closed and the low side pressure goes to zero or into vacuum.
In any case, if you end up opening the system, I'd replace all the o-rings and schrader valves.
hey man,
here is the pro supply house list of what they said i need for DIY. anything worthwhile buying...?
also some kind of weight or pressure chart i need to study.
THANKS

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Evaporator is in the unit in the dash, condenser is in front of the radiator, expansion valve is also in the dash area, reciever/drier is in the driver side front below the headlight. As far as o rings, go get the 4 seasons or santech kit from Amazon, its like 15$ all viton and has every single o ring you'll need. Don't replace hoses unless there is an actual cut or tear in the line or you are feeling OCD and hate money.

Four Seasons 26749 O-Ring & Gasket Air Conditioning System Seal Kit Amazon product ASIN B000C2O8V8
Santech MT2580 A/C System O-Ring and Gasket Kit Amazon product ASIN B00HFLACNM
THANK YOU. i've got the taco which i started in on this winter and then moved on to the cruiser so i need to get sorted here obviously.
does this kit look like it works for the tacoma if i buy OEM for the cruiser...?

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Evaporator is in the unit in the dash, condenser is in front of the radiator, expansion valve is also in the dash area, reciever/drier is in the driver side front below the headlight. As far as o rings, go get the 4 seasons or santech kit from Amazon, its like 15$ all viton and has every single o ring you'll need. Don't replace hoses unless there is an actual cut or tear in the line or you are feeling OCD and hate money.

Four Seasons 26749 O-Ring & Gasket Air Conditioning System Seal Kit Amazon product ASIN B000C2O8V8
Santech MT2580 A/C System O-Ring and Gasket Kit Amazon product ASIN B00HFLACNM
one more. sorry i know some folks go bonkers when the noobs are figuring things out. but is the condensor drain poking through just below the condensor under the rig? i need to check it too...
 
Honestly, you can get all the parts to fully rebuild it for $650-800 less the blower motor.

It is a big job to pull it all. Why not prepare for that with fresh parts? The foam needs refreshed too, 90% of them it is turning to dust.

We have done a number of HVAC refresh/rebuilds on 80’s, it is well worth the effort but again a big job. I did it over the winter in my 95, HVAC system rocks hard now. It is worth the effort on these old Cruisers but ya, cans o’ worms.

Also plug OEM part#’s into Rock Auto, you can get denso parts for the refresh. We just did a 60-series too which you cannot get anything for it from Toyota anymore but you can get almost all of it in denso.

Cheers
 
Also just some friendly advice, either buy your own parts and do your own work. Or pay a shop and let them supply the parts unless the shop specifically asks you to supply your own parts.

I know most shops really don't like customers that show up with their own parts......
 
Honestly, you can get all the parts to fully rebuild it for $650-800 less the blower motor.

It is a big job to pull it all. Why not prepare for that with fresh parts? The foam needs refreshed too, 90% of them it is turning to dust.

We have done a number of HVAC refresh/rebuilds on 80’s, it is well worth the effort but again a big job. I did it over the winter in my 95, HVAC system rocks hard now. It is worth the effort on these old Cruisers but ya, cans o’ worms.

Also plug OEM part#’s into Rock Auto, you can get denso parts for the refresh. We just did a 60-series too which you cannot get anything for it from Toyota anymore but you can get almost all of it in denso.

Cheers
thanks a lot my man. it's a tall order so i am bound to be asking a lot of questions.
what is foam exactly please?
also for all the parts we are talking dryer, expansion valve, o rings and hoses?
 
Before you go opening up a system that does not appear to be low on refrigerant, let's try to do something about the high pressures. You talk about cleaning the condenser, which is the heat exchanger in front of the radiator, but then think you have to replace o-rings and add refrigerant as part of this, and that is generally not the case.
The biggest cause of high pressure is heat not being removed by the air flowing through the condenser. A lack of air flow can be caused by two things: insufficient fan operation and/or restriction of the air flow through the condenser fins. Your first step should be to clean the condenser fins. You can do this with compressed air if you are able to get a blow nozzle between the radiator and condenser. You can also work to clean it with soap and water. High pressure air or water from a pressure washer can bend the fins, which makes it worse, so you have to be careful of that.
One other thing--please be sure the cans of refrigerant you use (if it comes to that) do not contain any sealer. This will create more problems than it helps.
 
Before you go opening up a system that does not appear to be low on refrigerant, let's try to do something about the high pressures. You talk about cleaning the condenser, which is the heat exchanger in front of the radiator, but then think you have to replace o-rings and add refrigerant as part of this, and that is generally not the case.
The biggest cause of high pressure is heat not being removed by the air flowing through the condenser. A lack of air flow can be caused by two things: insufficient fan operation and/or restriction of the air flow through the condenser fins. Your first step should be to clean the condenser fins. You can do this with compressed air if you are able to get a blow nozzle between the radiator and condenser. You can also work to clean it with soap and water. High pressure air or water from a pressure washer can bend the fins, which makes it worse, so you have to be careful of that.
One other thing--please be sure the cans of refrigerant you use (if it comes to that) do not contain any sealer. This will create more problems than it helps.
thanks a ton for that. the way i end up doing these big jobs is i put in a lot of shoe leather around town talking to people. then i try to beat the bushes and get more recommendations if i can't nail it down to something that sounds right. it's been hard finding good AC help and also to keep the price down.
anyway then i usually try to find a tech doing work after hours. i got a good lead on a shop that sells retail to anyone in the know and the front desk guy hooked me up with his tech. but as a shop they don't do the work. anyway he put his hands on it which is how i got the readings and wrapped my head around it a bit more.
long story short is the task list i got was to pick up an expansion valve, dryer, and /filter/. also a gallon of "ZEP BRK Clean" or something.
but in the back of my mind i was thinking about that evaporator in the passenger compartment. and of course the parts counter said there is no filter.
i did have a shop put in an expansion valve after i got it. they were supposed to also put in the dryer i gave them but i don't know if they ran short on time or what the explanation was but they didn't put in the dryer for some reason.

/anyway/ please correct me if i am not following:

1. i have a makita compressor. i should get that plugged in and shoot compressed air through the space beteeen rhe radiator and the condensor in front and try to blow out any debris? but try not to set it too high on the setting? <edit: or i guess you are saying just use a bunch of cans of compressed air?>
2. then for good measure i could open up the passenger side dash and clean out all the crap that i am going to find stuck to the evaporator?

sorry if i am mixing anything up just trying to get a little more up to speed before i pull the FSM and all my collected documents on this and keep plugging away on it...

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thanks a lot my man. it's a tall order so i am bound to be asking a lot of questions.
what is foam exactly please?
also for all the parts we are talking dryer, expansion valve, o rings and hoses?

Every joint in the HVAC system, even blend doors has foam to seal it so you don’t get leaks. When it is wasted you get leaks and it isn’t so strong coming out the dash vents or defrost for example. It is specialized foam for automotive HVAC systems not your home depot seal your door at home foam. It is rated for high temps, most people don’t realize you can have 150-200* temps in your HVAC system in your Cruiser. So buy the specialized HVAC automotive foam and reseal all of it. It makes a big difference in my opinion. When you tear it all down you will see what I mean by “turning to dust”. HVAC automotive foam no matter how awesome wears out after decades. We are dealing with 20-30yr old parts or even foam here. Toyota used high quality on everything on these trucks but to expect over 20yrs from things, is asking a bit much in my opinion.

Fresh foam.

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Cheers
 
Every joint in the HVAC system, even blend doors has foam to seal it so you don’t get leaks. When it is wasted you get leaks and it isn’t so strong coming out the dash vents or defrost for example. It is specialized foam for automotive HVAC systems not your home depot seal your door at home foam. It is rated for high temps, most people don’t realize you can have 150-200* temps in your HVAC system in your Cruiser. So buy the specialized HVAC automotive foam and reseal all of it. It makes a big difference in my opinion. When you tear it all down you will see what I mean by “turning to dust”. HVAC automotive foam no matter how awesome wears out after decades. We are dealing with 20-30yr old parts or even foam here. Toyota used high quality on everything on these trucks but to expect over 20yrs from things, is asking a bit much in my opinion.

Fresh foam.

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Cheers
thanks a ton. pardon the ignorance but what is that part called and does it sit near the evaporator?
also i can't pull the whole evaporator out without draining the freon i guess?
 
thanks a ton. pardon the ignorance but what is that part called and does it sit near the evaporator?
also i can't pull the whole evaporator out without draining the freon i guess?

Yes and don’t dump it to atmosphere.

Get on an EPC like Mega Zip or Partsouq and use the part numbers to plug into Rock Auto.

Cheers
 
Yes and don’t dump it to atmosphere.

Get on an EPC like Mega Zip or Partsouq and use the part numbers to plug into Rock Auto.

Cheers

X2 on not dumping the refrigerant to atmosphere. There are homebrewed methods for "recovering" the refrigerant into a container, or you can pay a shop to use their expensive machine. That machine then performs a recycling process by which the refrigerant is filtered and has all moisture removed.
1. i have a makita compressor. i should get that plugged in and shoot compressed air through the space beteeen rhe radiator and the condensor in front and try to blow out any debris? but try not to set it too high on the setting? <edit: or i guess you are saying just use a bunch of cans of compressed air?>
2. then for good measure i could open up the passenger side dash and clean out all the crap that i am going to find stuck to the evaporator?

sorry if i am mixing anything up just trying to get a little more up to speed before i pull the FSM and all my collected documents on this and keep plugging away on it...

1. Using the Makita air compressor and a long nozzle will get you pretty far with cleaning that up. The dust will be going everywhere, but eventually you should see a nice pile building up on the ground. I like to also use some soap and water afterward to continue washing it all away.

2. Getting into the evaporator and cleaning it out would also help but not necessarily lower the pressures.

Now that you mention another shop replacing the expansion valve but skipping out on the receiver/dryer there is a new concern. Every single time the A/C system is opened to atmosphere, moisture (water) enters the system. The only way to remove the moisture is to boil (evacuate) it out with a vacuum pump, holding a deep vacuum for 30 minutes or more. Any moisture left in the system is absorbed by the receiver/dryer and the only sure way to start with an "empty" dryer is to install a new one as the last step before sealing and evacuating the system. If the shop did not replace the dryer, I would question whether they evacuated the system before recharging with refrigerant. If they did not evacuate it, they also left air in the system. The interesting thing about air in the system is that it will lead to higher than normal pressures!

To see if there is air in the system, connect a gauge or gauge set after the system has been off for several hours. Compare the pressures with the ambient temperature and the chart you posted earlier. If the pressures are higher than normal for the refrigerant temperature, this means you have air in the system. The other way to verify is to have someone connect a refrigerant identifier which measures a sample from the system and will show the percentage of air that is present (hopefully less than 2%).
 

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