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'85 325e A/C Rebuild

 
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jamesnau



Joined: 19 Jul 2002
Posts: 520
Location: NC State University

PostPosted: Wed Jun 06, 2012 8:42 pm    Post subject: '85 325e A/C Rebuild Reply with quote

85-325e,

Was going to send you a PM, but thought that using the forum would maybe benefit others. This is a long post with a number of questions for you:

Today, I ordered a reman compressor for our '85 325e. I ordered it from Griffiths; Griff seems to be quite knowledgeable. I also ordered the other parts (receiver/dryer, switches, expansion valve, and O-rings) from Pelican. I have placed nearly a dozen orders with Pelican in the past year for the e30 and "new" e36. They really give great service...3 day shipping for $3 often means I receive parts here in NC in just 2 days!

I will take the week of July 4 off to do the job, and I am looking forward to it. This will be the first major job since replacing the clutch 3 years ago. I have a couple of questions for you:

1. I found a reply of yours to someone on the board with photos of your evaporator flush. I will use the same approach. I like the idea of using tubing and hose clamps. I note that you used Castrol flush solvent. I can't find this...where did you get it, and how much did you need? If I can't get Castrol, what flush solvent would you recommend? My research shows a number of brands, some of which are very expensive.

2. Did you completely remove the A/C lines from the car to flush them? I am worried about getting the solvent out of the low spots, so I do want to remove the lines if I can. Do I need to remove the radiator to disconnect the condenser? It seems that I might.

3. As you know, I am sticking with R12. I have plenty on hand. I believe you also used R12. Did you use mineral or ester oil? My research leads me to believe I should stick with mineral. I have read that it lubricates better than ester. How much oil do I add, and where? My research has turned up different numbers, but 5.7 oz looks to be the answer. Did you add all of this to the compressor, or did you spread it around a little? Bentley seems to indicate spreading it around, but Griff told me to add all the oil to the compressor. Does it matter?

I am sure I will have more questions for you before and during the job. Julie will drive the '95 e36 vert while I have her car apart. I bought the e36 one year ago from an estate. One owner, 65K miles, now only 68K. What a dream car!

Thank you in advance for your help with the A/C rebuild. It has been a long time in coming.

Jim
'85 325e, born October 1984
200+K, original owner
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cjhsa



Joined: 10 Jun 2004
Posts: 325
Location: West Michigan

PostPosted: Thu Jun 07, 2012 1:03 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Bookmarking. My A/C still makes the compressor clutch engage and SOUNDS like it's trying to work but no cold air.

Found "a guy" up north that works on old stuff like this. You really have to get away from the urban areas these days it seems to find anyone willing to work on R12.
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85-325e



Joined: 30 Jun 2002
Posts: 4712
Location: Southampton, NY

PostPosted: Fri Jun 08, 2012 8:03 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Howdy Jim! Long time no chat lol! It's rare that a professor ever asks me anything, and it's even more rare that I provide an adequate answer Wink!

It's been a LONG time since I did that job, so you can probably imagine that the memories are somewhat rusty!

OK, let's start with the flush... I don't think I searched too hard to find that flush, but I don't remember going way out of my way to find it. (just found an old post that I got it from JC Whitney, but they don't appear to have it anymore). Here are some links:

For a full gallon of the Castrol stuff:

http://www.autoparts2020.com/rsdev/part_detail.jsp?PART_HDR_ID=48205

Here's some at JC Whitney InterDynamics that looks like a good substitute (sold in quarts). ID makes a lot of stuff for A/C systems, especially for R134a, but I'm sure this would work too:

http://www.jcwhitney.com/a/c-flush-and-clean/p2011348.jcwx?filterid=u0j1

I took every part of the a/c system out of the car, and flushed every tube and part separately. If the filter thing in the compressor disintegrated, that crap is everywhere... no matter what, the old oils is indeed everywhere. It's easy to get everything except the evaporator out... that's why I flushed it in the car with that jerry-rigged system of mine. If the solvent is the right solvent, it'll evaporate, even from the tough spots.

Pelican does, indeed, provide great service!

I did use R-12. I believe I added the oil to the compressor. It'll get everywhere once the system's working. Don't forget to pressure test everything before you add anything. The o-rings should seal everything and you should be able to draw your vacuum... If you recall, I couldn't draw the right vacuum and it was you that found that at my altitude, what I had was the best I could get up here.

I can't remember abou the volume of oil, but I took that info right from Bentley I believe...

Would love to know more about the E36... email me... the email address is still the same...

Cheers!
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Cosmo - 1985 BMW 325e, Single Owner, 265,000+ ORIGINAL miles and still going strong! But now on the East Coast and the salt air corrosion is eating my beautiful car alive... Sad

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jamesnau



Joined: 19 Jul 2002
Posts: 520
Location: NC State University

PostPosted: Fri Jun 08, 2012 9:57 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thank you, 85-325e.

Couple of unanswered questions:

1. How much flush solvent should I order to thoroughly flush everything?

2. Oil? Mineral or ester?

Will email you about the e36...wow, what a car!

Many thanks to a long time friend,
Jim
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85-325e



Joined: 30 Jun 2002
Posts: 4712
Location: Southampton, NY

PostPosted: Sat Jun 09, 2012 12:37 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Howdy Again Partner!

I used Ester Oil. (Just went down to the garage for you and checked). Ester Oil is synthetic, Mineral oil is natural. I don't think it matters much. I used to use Mineral Oil on all of the rubber parts of the car, and they always remained supple, which is, of course, the whole idea... to keep the o-rings supple and sealing.

As far as the amount of flush is concerned, well, that depends I guess on how you do it. I bought a flush cylinder that attached to the compressor, and used that. I reused the fluid... in other words, I did all of the flushing at once... I had all of the metal lines ready, and I flushed through into a bucket or large plastic Arizona Tea 1 gallon bottle and reused the fluid right away. I honestly can't remember how much I used... I think it was at least a quart or two... flushing the evaporator in the car like that used quite a bit as the hoses I used were pretty big. I would say at least two quarts. Keep in mind please that this is just a guess. I would just make sure you are ready to do all of it at once... that's why I removed all of the metal lines. The stuff evaporates out of the tubes pretty fast Jim, but it REALLY cleans them fast. After all, the tubes are very smooth inside, and there's little for stuff to cling to in there.

Cheers bud... hugs to Julie!
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Cosmo - 1985 BMW 325e, Single Owner, 265,000+ ORIGINAL miles and still going strong! But now on the East Coast and the salt air corrosion is eating my beautiful car alive... Sad

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jamesnau



Joined: 19 Jul 2002
Posts: 520
Location: NC State University

PostPosted: Sat Jun 09, 2012 6:56 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks, Enis.

Griff is shipping the compressor with a bottle of ester, so I will just use that. I will need to swap out the suction manifold because he told me there was a ding in the threads.

Depending upon the brand, the ac flush solvent is expensive. I think I will go to the ac shop that everyone in town uses and ask them to sell me what they use. I am sure they use a machine, but I will use a flush cylinder like you did. That arrived last week. The parts from Pelican will arrive today, and the compressor will arrive on Monday.

I went ahead and bought a new set of gauges for both R12 and R134a. The e36 is, of course, R134a. I will change the oil in my refrigeration vacuum pump and hook the new gauges up to see if they will hold a vacuum. My old set leaked a little. When I bought the pump, I splurged and bought a Robinair electronic vacuum gauge. After I replaced the O-rings in the pump, it could easily pull down to 20 microns.

Thanks again, I am sure I will have more questions. I hope I am prepared for everything, but I am sure something unexpected will come up...something always does.

Jim
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jamesnau



Joined: 19 Jul 2002
Posts: 520
Location: NC State University

PostPosted: Tue Jun 12, 2012 10:04 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Enis,

Did you use Nylog red thread sealant when reassembling your ac system?

Thank you in advance,
Jim
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85-325e



Joined: 30 Jun 2002
Posts: 4712
Location: Southampton, NY

PostPosted: Tue Jun 12, 2012 10:14 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hi Jim:

I don't remember... If it called for a sealant, I'm sure I used some, but I honestly don't remember.

Maybe later I can take a look and see if I see any traces of anything. I don't remember the name Nylog though... sounds like something the Dr. would prescribe for sleep apnea!

As I recall, I was pretty paranoid at the time about doing things correctly, so I may have used soemthing as a sealant...

Enis
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Cosmo - 1985 BMW 325e, Single Owner, 265,000+ ORIGINAL miles and still going strong! But now on the East Coast and the salt air corrosion is eating my beautiful car alive... Sad

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jamesnau



Joined: 19 Jul 2002
Posts: 520
Location: NC State University

PostPosted: Tue Jun 12, 2012 12:32 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thank you, Enis.

Griff tells me to not use a thread sealant...the O-ring does the sealing. I will just lube the O-rings with a little ester oil.

Jim
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jamesnau



Joined: 19 Jul 2002
Posts: 520
Location: NC State University

PostPosted: Thu Jun 14, 2012 10:35 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Enis,

There is a little rectangular electrical component in the wire to the compressor. The reman compressor Griff sent does not have this component. Do I need to use the the old one, or just eliminate it? Any idea what this? A noise filter?

Jim
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85-325e



Joined: 30 Jun 2002
Posts: 4712
Location: Southampton, NY

PostPosted: Fri Jun 15, 2012 11:58 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hi again Jim:

I can't really say anything about this because I just cleaned my original compressor and put it back in. WHatever was there remained. Honestly, I don't remember the wiring at all... I won't be able to check the car or the compressor for you until at least Sunday...
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Cosmo - 1985 BMW 325e, Single Owner, 265,000+ ORIGINAL miles and still going strong! But now on the East Coast and the salt air corrosion is eating my beautiful car alive... Sad

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jamesnau



Joined: 19 Jul 2002
Posts: 520
Location: NC State University

PostPosted: Sat Jun 16, 2012 9:19 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thank you, Enis.

My new (reman) compressor does not have the little box in the wire. I can cut the old wire/box and splice it in if I need to. This would be easier now, before I install the new compressor.

I was just wondering what the little box is for.

Jim
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dale



Joined: 22 Aug 1999
Posts: 3087
Location: Seattle, WA USA

PostPosted: Sun Jun 24, 2012 1:48 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Jim,
I have to say, it sounds like you are doing a very complete job of this rebuild of the A/C.
When I converted my '92 325ic from R12 to R134a, I just pulled the compressor, drained the oil, didn't put any cleaner in, reinstalled it, used compressed air to blow out the lines, put in new o-rings, new R134a expansion valve and dryer, then sealed it up, drew a vacuum on it and started adding first the oil, then the R134a.
It's been blowing very cold for 3 years now with no further work.

The compressor, as I remember it, needs 1 wire going to it, maybe 2, power and ground, to activate the clutch. Otherwise it's just a pump, don't know why it would need anything else.

I think I've got an extra one kicking around the garage off of a race car build, I'll try to look at it and see what else I see.

Dale
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jamesnau



Joined: 19 Jul 2002
Posts: 520
Location: NC State University

PostPosted: Sun Jun 24, 2012 8:17 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thank you, Dale.

It is hot as h--- here in the south, so, yes, I am trying to do as complete a rebuild job as I can. I am following Enis's lead when he rebuilt his A/C several years ago.

I am all set, but still need to get some flush solvent. I will take the hood off and radiator out, and take every A/C component out of the car that I can. I think this will allow me to flush the components more easily and completely. I will even try to remove the evaporator. I found a post on this board from member DJB (Don Becker, August 2, 2007) which indicates that evaporator removal on the e30 isn't too bad.

My wife is out of town the entire week of July 2, so I have plenty of time. If you are able to determine what that little electrical component in the wire to the compressor is, please let me know. I figured it was some sort of filter to prevent radio interference.

Jim
'85 325e born October 1984
original owner
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