AC: Fix it or junk it?

[cloud9]

Okay... so my question... three of you had your refrigerant/oil recovered and it was pretty much non-existent. Where did it go?

A seized compressor isn't going to make the refrigerant disappear... and it would make your belt non-existent

Any signs of refrigerant leak? Usually there is a dye included to assist with locating.

I'm asking because I turned my AC on at Hallett (it was hot as hell) and it didn't blow cold, cool or any other chilling word. I like my AC and plan on keeping it (just in case my tow rig breaks and I have to drive it home or a competitors car breaks and he/she needs a ride home).

Looking for places to start (I'll hook up my gauges this weekend).

FWIW, my compressor spins freely with no added resistance or noise. I'm guessing low refrigerant is keeping the compressor from turning on (low pressure switch) <or> one of the switches went out.

Sorry, I got nuthin' :-\

 

[steveespo]

John
Are you positive the clutch is engaging, that was the problem with mine, clutch would engage and as the compressor cycled on and off, sometimes it wouldn't come back on. I could hear it trying (clicking) but no go. after a few trys or sometimes after it sat it would engage and stay on for a whole drive. At this point I'm heading to full race so I just pulled it out.
Steve

 

[Black Boss]

Okay... so my question... three of you had your refrigerant/oil recovered and it was pretty much non-existent. Where did it go?

A seized compressor isn't going to make the refrigerant disappear... and it would make your belt non-existent

Any signs of refrigerant leak? Usually there is a dye included to assist with locating.

I had lost a full 1 lb of refrigerant. It is dyed bright green. Absolutely no signs of a leak, either in the trailer or my garage. I can only assume that it was a slow leak under hard track driving.....

 

[JScheier]

John
Are you positive the clutch is engaging, that was the problem with mine, clutch would engage and as the compressor cycled on and off, sometimes it wouldn't come back on. I could hear it trying (clicking) but no go. after a few trys or sometimes after it sat it would engage and stay on for a whole drive. At this point I'm heading to full race so I just pulled it out.
Steve

Well, I'm honestly not sure of anything right yet. I need to toss the gauges on the car and see what the pressures are (Hi / Lo sides). the clutch won't engage if pressures are low (low side switch)... so until I get pressure, all I can check is that the unit is moving freely. We got nailed by hail Tuesday night, so my free time is currently being spent cleaning up that mess and painting outside trim work to cover the damage (house is currently on the market). I should have time to check this weekend.

Just seems very odd to me that 3 (or more) 302s all have exactly the same issue, with very low to no refrigerant, and no sign of a leak.

 

[VoodooBoss]

Does the A/C drop off the warranty after 36 months?

 

[JScheier]

Does the A/C drop off the warranty after 36 months?

Pretty sure it does.

 

[JScheier]

Wow... just googled 'Boss 302 Air Conditioning Issues' and got a bunch of hits. Seems like 35-40k miles is the lifespan for the 5.0 AC compressors. A couple have turned out to be leaking o-rings at the low pressure switch.

AC is covered under the 3/36, but not under the 5/60 drive train warranty (as expected).

I've got less than 9k on the car... so I may take it to the dealer and see what they have to say just for SnG's.

 

[VoodooBoss]

I have about two weeks left on my three year warranty so I may take mine in and have it checked.

 

[PJWANNABE]

Wow... just googled 'Boss 302 Air Conditioning Issues' and got a bunch of hits. Seems like 35-40k miles is the lifespan for the 5.0 AC compressors. A couple have turned out to be leaking o-rings at the low pressure switch.

AC is covered under the 3/36, but not under the 5/60 drive train warranty (as expected).

I've got less than 9k on the car... so I may take it to the dealer and see what they have to say just for SnG's.

Fortunately I have the ESP. I guess that might be a good reason to get one.

 

[ArizonaBOSS]

Wow... just googled 'Boss 302 Air Conditioning Issues' and got a bunch of hits. Seems like 35-40k miles is the lifespan for the 5.0 AC compressors. A couple have turned out to be leaking o-rings at the low pressure switch.

AC is covered under the 3/36, but not under the 5/60 drive train warranty (as expected).

I've got less than 9k on the car... so I may take it to the dealer and see what they have to say just for SnG's.

Best to just cut the belt, that way no strain on the compressor, then rip out interior everything and because racecar

 

[JScheier]

Best to just cut the belt, that way no strain on the compressor, then rip out interior everything and because racecar

Nope... not yet (or maybe never). I don't have access to the amount of spray paint you do

 

[PeteInCT]

We have A/C ???


:

 

[JScheier]

We have A/C ???


:

Wikipedia

 

[PeteInCT]

I prefer AC/DC !

 

[JScheier]

I prefer AC/DC !

With no A/C, it felt like I was on a Highway to Hell 8)

 

[PeteInCT]

Well Hells Bells, do tell !

 

[Black Boss]

Fixed the gap opened up by the condenser to keep air going throgh the radiator by fabricating some aluminum:



Fixed it to the rubber using plastic rivets:



Couple of pieces of angle attached to the upper condeser mount:



And the lower mount:



Installed:

 

[ArizonaBOSS]

Looks good...nice work!

 

[cloud9]

This weekend at Road America my CHT and oil never got above low-230s even beating it like a rented mule. That's 10-15 degrees lower than my last time there two years ago. I was running 6 seconds a lap faster which means it should have been hotter, not cooler. There's a huge improvement in cooling if you're willing to dump the AC condenser.

 

[steveespo]

This weekend at Road America my CHT and oil never got above low-230s even beating it like a rented mule. That's 10-15 degrees lower than my last time there two years ago. I was running 6 seconds a lap faster which means it should have been hotter, not cooler. There's a huge improvement in cooling if you're willing to dump the AC condenser.

Sweet info. Do you have oil temp dat Gary? I am running Summit Point and it will most likely be 90 degrees and 80% humidity at 1100 ft elevation, so a fair hot weather test for no condenser setup. I will post oil, coolant, trans and differential temp data. All systems will have fresh fluids in them for this test.
Steve