A/C advice needed

[Chanman09]

Hello all,

It's been a while since I posted on here, and honestly, it's been a while since I've messed with the ol' square.  We had some family excitement and travelling and bought a new house/moved over the past year and it's finally settling down.  TLDR section at bottom!

While I was moving, I used my 1985 C20 with 350/350 to take loads of tools and pool parts and trash to the places they needed to go.  She ran wonderfully and pulled quite a few big loads flawlessly. 

The last trip it made was to my mom's place, where we stored some things and I'm about ready to go grab it and bring it to the new house. 

My next little project with the square will be getting the AC system to work.  The blower blows and all the switches work.  The heater works like a champ.  The compressor turns, but it's noisy and the bearing may be on it's way out.  I pulled the belt off there, and have been running it without for a year or so. 

My initial thought was, 'Hey, I'll slap a new bearing in there, slap some R134 nozzels on there, vaccum, dry and charge it all up and cruise with some AC.

Then I started digging and watching youtube, reading forums etc.  So there are some folks that do/say to do exactly as I say and seem to be ok.

But then, there are the folks that change a few things out.

Then, there are the folks that change absolutley everything out. 

Now, I'm kinda cheap, but I also don't like doing the same thing over and over because I screwed it up to begin with. 

So what do I do? 

Currently, my shopping cart online is like $70 with a dryer, hoses, orifice tube, clutch bearing, and o-rings.  I will have to add the conversion to 134 kit and cans of r134 to that if I keep it simple. 

Do I NEED  a new Condenser?
Do I NEED a new compressor?
Do I NEED a new evaporator?

Or can I flush and pray??

Let how deep do I go?  (it's a field find.  sat for 30 years.  not gonna be a show truck.  just want to drive and enjoy and not sweat)

TLDR:  AC doesn't work and I need to know if I can cheap out and just switch some hoses and drier, or if I need to change all parts and pieces?


Thank you all for the info and opinions!

[bd]

You haven't provided enough information for a reliable answer.  Hence, I recommend as a first step that you establish the actual existing condition of the system and major components.  For example:

• Does the system presently contain any residual refrigerant charge?
  
• If the system is empty of refrigerant, will it retain >29" Hg of vacuum drawn by a proper HVAC vacuum pump?
  
• Is the sight glass clean and clear or cloudy and dark?
  
• Are the Schrader service valves clean and dry or oily?  Are the caps installed?
  
• Is the compressor noisy due to a definite bearing failure or is it just low on charge?  Perhaps the drive belt isn't properly tensioned or needs replacement.
  
• Is the compressor clutch air gap excessive or oily?
  
• Is there evidence of oil seepage from any hoses, connections, the compressor clutch area, or "visually accessible" major components?
  
• Are the condenser cooling fins in good shape with unrestricted air flow, or laid over and plugged with debris?
  

I wouldn't replace the compressor, condenser or evaporator without good reason.  Visual removal and inspection of the orifice tube and screen will tell you a lot about compressor internal condition, accumulator desiccant condition, and general system contamination, depending on the debris trapped by the filter screen and whether it has a 'muddy' appearance.

The preceding comments aside, regardless of whether major components are replaced, in the scenario that you described, a proper flush using compatible solvent, new o-rings, orifice tube, Schrader valves, and accumulator, followed by the correct amount of fresh ester oil (assuming that you reuse the original compressor), IMHO, is standard minimum procedure.  Replace major components only as needed.  Others' opinions may vary.