Regenmeister

I just had mine recharged after 3 years running the 134.
And here's what I've learned.
1/ Without all the shrouding in place & in good shape you will never get the beneifts of a complete and comfortable AC system.
2/ The condensor MUST be clean of debris...completely. You'd be surprised how much crap gets caught in the unit. Salt pebbles, milkweed etc. Use a powerful blast of air to get rid of the crap. If no compressed air, use a jet of water.
3/ Make sure the cooling fan kicks on when you switch on the AC. If it doesn't, get it fixed. The cooling fan is part & parcel with keeping the condensor cool and preventing the pressure from building up so much that the auto-cut-out switch turns off the system. That means warm air coming in. Not good.
4/ If the Delphi control panel has a blinking redlite next to the outside air temp. One of your temp sensors is malfunctioning. When it does that the AC goes dead at the most in-oppertune time.

Observations made while mechanic was going over my system. BTW...CAR-X can do a retro fit for $120 these days. They are using a new oil that is compatible with the mineral oil that was used on the R12 systems. So no drama about vacuuming out old fluid or changing components. All they do is take out R12, change fittings and recharge with new oil and 134.

YucatanAudi

Well, the mechanic anyway, to blow air through the evaporator? I'm assuming 'yes.'

What did that cost (round numbers) if you don't mind my asking? Thanks for the thoughts about my own A/C situation below!

Regenmeister

small hose and attachement. Used the same thing on the condenser too. Sheesh did crap come out of there! He also said I was missing some kind of panel or what not between the condensor & radiator because some of the moving air was escaping off to the side of the unit between the radiator and condensor. When he put some rags along the side where he says air was escaping, the High side pressure came down from 400 to 200. The air coming out of the vents started coming out much much cooler.

YucatanAudi

but not sure about the sides. Never really thought about it until now. I will check on that tonight.

Inside, I think when I pull the blower out, I can try to use a vacuum or a spray air can to blow out the evaporator.

Thanks!