So all new R12 components with conversion fittings and PAG oil is all that is needed.
I will be taking it to a shop to charge it but they claim that they don't really know if conversion fittings are readily available anymore because they haven't done that in years.

Should I assume that the new o-rings that would be included with the new components are okay for use with the 134a?
Are there any conversion fittings that are recommended as being a better quality vs some cheap $10 Amazon special that I have seen?
Thanks

 

So far as I know, the only "conversion" difference is the two hose coupling fittings; other than the oil, nothing else changes.

I highly recommend you do whatever it takes to just use the PAG46 oil as sooner or later down the road somebody is going to dump some in there anyway and I have heard that the two oils are incompatible if mixed.

Your V-Belt FS6 compressor is all you need to use r134a.

As for cheap Amazon fittings and such, often the only difference between the "quality" part is price.

 

awesome!
Thanks guys!

 

Here you go; fitting adapters = $8.99

Just buy as well, watch a bunch of YouTube videos, and cut out the expensive middle men.

I highly recommend as well; it side-steps all the hassle and refrigerant waste and escape of the hateful "environmentally friendly" cans they make you buy today; I recently fought with one of those "self-sealing" cans and could never get nary a drop of refrigerant to come out with proper equipment, finally gave up; and, when I went to unscrew the can from the tap, instead of self-sealing, it violently sprayed and spewed every bit of it's contents into the elements and did not quit until bone dry = so much for preventing escape into the atmosphere.

 

UPDATE on my own situation = with three 12-ounce cans r134a in the system and NO MORE, yesterday, in Kentucky's Viet-Nam climate, heinously humid with outside temperatures in the upper 80s, the truck sitting in direct sun with the well-shaded thermometer showing 118° in the cab, I drove three miles and got on the "Parkway" and drove the thirteen miles to the next exit and thought I was going to freeze to death before I got there.

The dairy inspector's thermometer in the dash vent was holding 26° blowing on my left hand at top-center of the steering wheel and I thought my fingers were going to freeze and fall off --- I LOVE it --- far better than the norm around here of soaking wet sweaty clothes and sweat standing in your eyelids burning and stinging.

I appreciate everyone's help and advice in leading me to replace my rapidly leaking compressor.

 

If replacing the condenser, please see post #15 in this thread:

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...l#post20888645

The only aftermarket condenser available was an extremely poor fit, but apparently it has been redesigned. The part number has not changed, however. Before purchasing one, make sure it is the latest/greatest version. You don't want to unknowingly get one of the older versions.

I've had good results with AC parts from this outfit:

https://www.ackits.com/

I replaced the stock Sanden compressor about 10 years ago. The new one (with V-belt drive) has worked well. The only minor glitch was the female threads for the manifold bolts, where the lines attach. The original version had metric threads and the replacement was SAE, or maybe it was the other way around. I had to replace the bolts to match the new compressor, that's all.

This thread has the Four Seasons part numbers for the different orifice tubes:

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/8...a-c-motor.html

I know NAPA has them. That's where i got mine. They can search by the Four Seasons number. I'm sure you could also find them online. I bet Amazon has them.

 

Amazon has orifice tubes galore.

You can buy ten- and twelve-packs for barely more than the cost of a single one; they even have 25- and 50-packs I guess for the A/C shops.

One bit of advice from a questionable source = me; DO NOT let anyone ever put in a VOV Variable Orifice Valve; the only real A/C trouble I ever had was caused by a VOV that started popping off the relief valve on the compressor and spraying refrigerant into the elements.

I will from now on only ever use the "Red" orifice valves; they are actually Maroon in color but everybody calls them Red.

 

I am looking at Rockauto parts list right now and they list liquid, discharge and suction lines as being for:

pre-charged w/ manual shut off at compressor
and
in plant charged w/o manual shut off at compressor

Can anyone tell me how to determine what I need?
I took possession of my 1985 with no under hood AC components in place except the engine brackets for the FS6 compressor

 

Please see post #14 at this thread for a description of the two types of lines:

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...ave-these.html


Since you are basically building up the system from scratch, order the "in-plant charged" versions.

 

Thanks for the link. I have an older version, but it does not fit new R134a cans. I've got the proper threaded tap for the new self-sealing cans, but goodness is it finicky. Slow, too. There seems to be a restrictor inside. Worked on my car recently and was wishing I could have used a side tap instead. I though they were no longer available.

Here's a picture of the version you purchased:




This same adapter appears to be offered by multiple vendors, all from brands I've never heard of. I got to poking around and found Robinair makes their own version, part #10102, delivered yesterday:







The Robinair version is a little more expensive, but note the two grey adapters. They are hinged and permanently attached, so it can fit three different can sizes. The Fling Dung version only handles two sizes, and the separate piece is easy to lose. I'll let you know how my latest toy works, but it might be a while before any AC service is needed.

 

I may have already told this story, but it will bear repeating.

My uncle was THE refrigeration man in these parts; dairymen were constantly dragging him out of bed in the wee hours to fix their milk tank compressors and such.

I would ride along and always ended up being the go-for.

He drove an old Ford Falcon Van and had everything he owned in it.

Besides being a refrigeration man, he was first, last, and always a fisherman

If he sent you to the van to get a 9/16 wrench, you are likely to come back with a treble hook through your ear-lobe or turn over a bucket of minners when you opened the door.

Among all the many wonderful tools he had was a very intense side-can tap.

His was a big heavy-duty brass affair, with a long hinge on one side and a pair of those swinging bolts with wing-nuts to latch it around the can.

The whole thing was lined with thick rubber.

Instead of piercing the can as you squeezed the handles, his had a screw-in needle just like the normal can tap; you get the can buckled in this thing and then turn the handle to screw the needle through the can..

After I fought with some of those politically correct cans and even lost the contents of an entire can, that night, during a long and frightful nightmare where I had to deal with those environmentally green cans over and over and over, I had an epiphany where I remembered Uncle Glen's side can tap.

That sent me on the hunt of one and all I found were thouwzands of those squeeze-together plastic affairs; I never did find one of those serious ones like he had.


I can't take credit for this, as I read of it from someone else = my version, with the plastic adapter, fits normal aerosol cans like it was made for them.

I was at a swap meet and this guy had many cases of a Pennzoil Penetrating Lubricant --- one dollar a can --- I made an offer and took every can he had.

Now, I have dozens and dozens of cans of Pennzoil spray lubricant that will not spray out of the can.

I had occasionally knocked a hole in one with a sharp nail and hammer, or stab the side with my Muskrat; however, this always makes the can cave in wherever you try to force a hole and makes it hard to get it all out.

Today, my pump-spray bottle ran out and quit spraying.

Remembering what that guy had said, I used my side can tap to punch holes in a bunch of these dead aerosol cans.

It punched the neatest holes without collapsing the cans.

I found that it is very important to punch two holes --- on the same side, one at top and another at bottom.

With the two holes, I can pour the liquid straight into the neck of my spray bottle without even using a funnel; with only a single hole, it runs all over the place and more runs down my elbow than goes in the bottle.

To make a long story short, these make excellent tools to puncture aerosol cans and will probably see a lot more use doing that than tapping refrigerant cans.


Don't worry, I will rinse it off in the creek before I tap any refrigerant cans --- wouldn't want to contaminate my refrigerant.

 

I just bought this Robinair version as well but probably won't need it for many months to come. I am so done with most of the Amazon cheap junk.

 

If you want to test it out come on by as I think my system is low again as it is not blowing as cold as it had been
I have been fighting this system since I got it together 2 years ago.
I do have dye in the system and think my son bought a sniffer for me just because of this truck.
Dave ----

 

I'll be right over - after the 3000 mile drive. Lol.