My truck has the factory a/c option, but the PO took the belt off to run the compressor. Should I be worried? A Ford guy here, spun the compressor clutch by hand and thought everything seemed to be working properly. Should I hook everything back up and re-charge the system? I only need a/c for a few weeks here in Montana, but its gonna be near 100F for a few days. Oh- I've only owned the truck for one week.
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1986 F250 XLT Lariat 4X4, 6.9L IDI, C6, 33's on alum. mags and a big "deer slayer" on front

 

You can certainly hook it back up and see what happens. Once you get the belt on it, see if it will run. If it won't, take the low pressure switch plug off and take a jumper wire and jump the terminals in the plug just for a second or two only.

If the compressor kicks in and out, then take the low pressure port cap off and poke at the shrader valve. If gas comes out, then it probably still has r12 in it. I would take it somewhere and let them suck the r12 out, and the get a conversion kit at walmart and put r134a in it, and see what happens.

 

Thanks. No matter what, if it works, I was going to convert to r134a

 

Convert it properly, don't just dump in R134A. Basically here is what you need to do: Remove the remaining R12 and as much of the mineral oil as possible, some will be in the compressor, some in the evaporator and some in the condenser. Get a new accumulator with the proper desiccant for R134A (Type H7 or H9 I think). Get a new Red/White orifice tube to replace the Blue/White one. Get a High Pressure Cut Out (HPCO) switch and install on the high side of the compressor to limit maximum pressure. I get HPCO's from JC Whitney, no local parts houses carry them anymore. Use Castrol Polyolester oil, Never the use newer PAG oil where mineral oil has been in the past. Castrol makes a conversion kit specifically for these trucks that has all the correct o-rings, adaptors, etc. Remove the old Schraeder Valves from the high and low side ports before installing the R134A adaptors. In the liquid line from the condenser to the orifice tube there is a connection that has a little mesh filter inside-remove/ clean/ reinstall. I flush my components with mineral spirits and blow out with compressed air. Coat all new o-rings with a little mineral oil. Tighten all connections and pressurize to about 150 psi with dry compressed air (oil-pumped dry nitrogen is better) to check for leakdown. If pressure holds, Add 8 oz POL oil, half in compressor (turn by hand numerous revolutions while adding) and split the remaining half between the condenser then evacuate with a GOOD vacuum pump for about an hour or more. Vacuum level must be sufficient to reduce the boiling point of water in the system to at least 10 deg. F. below ambient. After vacuuming add a 2 ounce oil charge (POL and R134A) and R134A in the amount of 85% (by weight) of the original specified R12 charge weight. Other than The HPCO, I get the components from Advance or Autozone. There are many good coversion articles on the Internet, just Google "R12 or R134A Conversion".