TheSamba.com :: View topic - where to get replacement a/c receiver drier

Mon May 07, 2012 12:24 pm

Wondering for those with the dealer-installed a/c systems, when you had replaced the receiver/drier, where did you get your replacement?

Would one from a vanagon work?

I'm trying to get my a/c up and running again. I no longer have the York compressor, but I have a couple of Sanden compressors laying around to use. The lines on my bus aren't cut would have to be adapted, along with making the bracketry for the a/c compressor.

This is the unit I have...

Mon May 07, 2012 2:08 pm

i know next to nothing about AC...

that being said, one company that makes aftermarket AC systems is Gilmore Enterprises; i understand that replacing the York compressor with a Gilmore one is pretty much a drop-in upgrade. perhaps the drier for that system is equally compatible? you could always ask thier experts =)

http://www.gilmore-enterprises.net/

Mon May 07, 2012 4:26 pm

any automotive a/c supply will have a dryer. You will want to replace all the hoses at this age and flush the whole system. You will want to go to R-134 because of cost and it is not compatible with the old oil etc. Google Black Death R12 .

Mon May 07, 2012 5:57 pm

Already got R134a sanden compressor. Bought the oil and rings to replace. Wasn't sure if I needed a specific dryer because of thread size or whatnot.

Mon May 07, 2012 9:18 pm

frankenwabbit wrote: Already got R134a sanden compressor. Bought the oil and rings to replace. Wasn't sure if I needed a specific dryer because of thread size or whatnot.

you cannot have ANY left over R12 contamination as the two do not mix. Did you Google "Black Death" and R12? For that reason alone the dryer and hoses must go. Everything else has to be professionally flushed.

Mon May 07, 2012 9:38 pm

SGKent wrote: frankenwabbit wrote: Already got R134a sanden compressor. Bought the oil and rings to replace. Wasn't sure if I needed a specific dryer because of thread size or whatnot.

you cannot have ANY left over R12 contamination as the two do not mix. Did you Google "Black Death" and R12? For that reason alone the dryer and hoses must go. Everything else has to be professionally flushed.

Really? You absolutely sure about that?

I've been using the ester oil or the 134 A conversion oil for years, and never had an issue on systems formerly using R12. If a problem develops later, you either didn't evac all of the R12 gas, or something was about to go anyways. It's a good idea to replace the receiver/ dryer and possibly the expansion valve as these are periodic wear items anyways, but I've done it even without doing so with no problems. New hoses and flush all components? On what planet?

And, I did google "black death r12" just for fun and got lots of opinion but no facts.

Tue May 08, 2012 9:56 am

Tram wrote: SGKent wrote: frankenwabbit wrote: Already got R134a sanden compressor. Bought the oil and rings to replace. Wasn't sure if I needed a specific dryer because of thread size or whatnot.

you cannot have ANY left over R12 contamination as the two do not mix. Did you Google "Black Death" and R12? For that reason alone the dryer and hoses must go. Everything else has to be professionally flushed.

Really? You absolutely sure about that?

I've been using the ester oil or the 134 A conversion oil for years, and never had an issue on systems formerly using R12. If a problem develops later, you either didn't evac all of the R12 gas, or something was about to go anyways. It's a good idea to replace the receiver/ dryer and possibly the expansion valve as these are periodic wear items anyways, but I've done it even without doing so with no problems. New hoses and flush all components? On what planet?

And, I did google "black death r12" just for fun and got lots of opinion but no facts.

Tram - I respect you but the MINERAL oil used in early R-12 does not mix with 134a PAG oil. It causes a black sludge/gel that will eventually plug all the filters and expansion valve. R-134a uses PAG oil. If you are retrofitting a late R12 that that an ester instead of mineral oil up to 1 - 2 % of the oil can remain without causing issues. However the mineral oil used in most 70's R12 is not compatible with R-134.

Tue May 08, 2012 4:15 pm

SGKent wrote: Tram wrote: SGKent wrote: frankenwabbit wrote: Already got R134a sanden compressor. Bought the oil and rings to replace. Wasn't sure if I needed a specific dryer because of thread size or whatnot.

you cannot have ANY left over R12 contamination as the two do not mix. Did you Google "Black Death" and R12? For that reason alone the dryer and hoses must go. Everything else has to be professionally flushed.

Really? You absolutely sure about that?

I've been using the ester oil or the 134 A conversion oil for years, and never had an issue on systems formerly using R12. If a problem develops later, you either didn't evac all of the R12 gas, or something was about to go anyways. It's a good idea to replace the receiver/ dryer and possibly the expansion valve as these are periodic wear items anyways, but I've done it even without doing so with no problems. New hoses and flush all components? On what planet?

And, I did google "black death r12" just for fun and got lots of opinion but no facts.

Tram - I respect you but the MINERAL oil used in early R-12 does not mix with 134a PAG oil. It causes a black sludge/gel that will eventually plug all the filters and expansion valve. R-134a uses PAG oil. If you are retrofitting a late R12 that that an ester instead of mineral oil up to 1 - 2 % of the oil can remain without causing issues. However the mineral oil used in most 70's R12 is not compatible with R-134.

I regularly convert systems from the 1960s and 1970s using either the conversion oil found in the conversion kit, or the synthetic oil that's compatible with either R12 or 134a, and have yet to have a problem in over 15 years of doing this. Somebody has product to sell, I think. In fact, my '72 Mercedes 280SEL 4.5 and 1968 Mercedes 220S are two of them, along with the wife's 1985 300TDT and our '82 300TDT. Since these were my cars, and I am cheap, I never even changed the receiver- dryers on these cars. On a customer car, I would.

What you are showing me in the pic looks like metal shard common when a compressor locks.

When they first started mandating the switchover in the 1990s, the industry was telling us that we'd have to even change O rings, and that conversions would cost thousands of dollars. The makers of the "faux" R12 products trumpeted this to the skies to sell their products. It just wound up not being so.