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erisaaka Samba Member
Joined: June 11, 2018 Posts: 11 Location: Lehi, UT
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Posted: Mon Jun 18, 2018 10:46 pm Post subject: Air Conditioning not working and not mounted well |
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Hi there, we are new to the vanagon family! We just purchased ours and we are excited for the adventure (fixes and all). Wondering if anyone could point me in the right direction in regards to two AC fixes I need some guidance on:
1. The person we bought the van from said that the AC worked great last summer but since using it this summer it only blows air (and no I'm not talking about the fresh air system). What system checks can I perform to identify the culprit/cause? Remember I'm new but I'm willing to learn. In other words, don't jump right in with all the terminology but use the terminology and explain
2. The AC column is sagging quite a bit and is held up by a bungee cord. Two owners ago put it up like this. What can I do or buy to secure it tight to the ceiling so it doesn't bounce? Could this be the cause of the poor AC?
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mikemtnbike Samba Member
Joined: March 26, 2015 Posts: 2795 Location: North Carolina
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Posted: Tue Jun 19, 2018 5:06 am Post subject: Re: Air Conditioning not working and not mounted well |
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Do you know if your van originally came with that AC? Based on the control knows being in the overhead unit, I think somebody might have added it later on. Is the wiring routed through the circulation tunnel? None of that is stock.
The original tunnel anchors are made out of a special material known as breaksdownovertimeium. VW used this material for many locations as plastic anchor points; other examples include the tabs on the instrument cluster cover, AT cover, and headlight adjusters.
Anyway, looks like your tunnel is missing the anchors altogether, which again is why I think it may be a later add-on.
All this makes possible solutions quite challenging. If it was just the tunnel falling down, I'd advise you to remove it and use the rear unit like a room AC. That's what I did with my poptop conversion and it works great still. If the wires are going through your tunnel, though, that's not going to work, you'd have to relocate all the wiring and move the controls to the dash.
You're just going to have figure out how this was rigged in and if its worth fixing. _________________ 1991 Vanagon GL 2.1 AT Westfauxlia. "Frankie" Totaled https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=764510&highlight=carnage
1995 Eurovan Camper "Marzivan"
2020 GTI SE manual
Last edited by mikemtnbike on Tue Jun 19, 2018 5:20 am; edited 1 time in total |
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crazyvwvanman Samba Member
Joined: January 28, 2008 Posts: 9923 Location: Orbiting San Diego
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Posted: Tue Jun 19, 2018 5:19 am Post subject: Re: Air Conditioning not working and not mounted well |
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The first couple years of the rear/center tube A/C have the controls high at the front. This was later moved to the dash. There is an old RECALL for the center tubes to add additional mounting support plates and it looks like this van never got them installed, as many didn't. They eventually sag and fall without the recall supports and some do even with the recall stuff.
Mark |
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mikemtnbike Samba Member
Joined: March 26, 2015 Posts: 2795 Location: North Carolina
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Posted: Tue Jun 19, 2018 5:21 am Post subject: Re: Air Conditioning not working and not mounted well |
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See, I already learned something today. Thanks! Are the brass-looking plates I took out with the tunnel the recall supports? _________________ 1991 Vanagon GL 2.1 AT Westfauxlia. "Frankie" Totaled https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=764510&highlight=carnage
1995 Eurovan Camper "Marzivan"
2020 GTI SE manual |
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The Carrot Samba Member
Joined: November 18, 2013 Posts: 173 Location: Ontario, Canada
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Posted: Tue Jun 19, 2018 6:00 am Post subject: Re: Air Conditioning not working and not mounted well |
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If you have a friend that can show you how do do epoxy repairs, time to call in a favour. Too bad the PO didn’t address the issue earlier. Makes me wonder about the general status of the PO’s Vans maintenance. Bungee cord just screams “ lazy corner cutter”
Once you get the ducting repaired and the A/C system refreshed and recharged the good news is that this is one of the nicest cooling systems that I have ever experienced. _________________ 1990 Orly Blue Carat |
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erisaaka Samba Member
Joined: June 11, 2018 Posts: 11 Location: Lehi, UT
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Posted: Tue Jun 19, 2018 2:14 pm Post subject: Re: Air Conditioning not working and not mounted well |
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crazyvwvanman wrote: |
The first couple years of the rear/center tube A/C have the controls high at the front. This was later moved to the dash. There is an old RECALL for the center tubes to add additional mounting support plates and it looks like this van never got them installed, as many didn't. They eventually sag and fall without the recall supports and some do even with the recall stuff.
Mark |
So....where would I buy additional mounting support plates? |
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crazyvwvanman Samba Member
Joined: January 28, 2008 Posts: 9923 Location: Orbiting San Diego
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dobryan Samba Member
Joined: March 24, 2006 Posts: 16501 Location: Brookeville, MD
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Steve Arndt Samba Member
Joined: August 01, 2005 Posts: 1780 Location: Boise, Idaho
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Posted: Tue Jun 19, 2018 3:42 pm Post subject: Re: Air Conditioning not working and not mounted well |
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True. Even with the reinforcement plates it still falls apart over time. _________________ Steve
Steve's 87 Syncro project |
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VWagabond Samba Member
Joined: March 19, 2011 Posts: 272 Location: Charlotte, NC
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Posted: Tue Jun 19, 2018 6:45 pm Post subject: Re: Air Conditioning not working and not mounted well |
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Had to do the same repair last year. You'll have to take the front unit loose and let hang with bungees or drop it completely, and the center sections will then drop down easily. The front section has to be loose to get the repaired center sections back up. I'd leave the rear unit in place because it doesn't repair easily and it is a bear to get back up since it is the heaviest & most awkward part to get back in place. Now if the blowers fans weren't working, the rear would have to come down. To repair the ducts, I used 3M hard plastic repair and was able to salvage most of the broken plastic pieces and glue it all back together and then used the recall brackets to reinforce the joints. If the pieces are lost, then fiberglass will probably be your best option. Reassemble from the rear forward. You'll have to have some help to get the frt center and frt sections mated and back in place so you can get the fasteners back in. I didn't have help so I used a telescoping hood prop from my old body repair days. This ain't the easiest task to start off with but you don't want it falling on passengers heads.
As for getting the system working, knowledge of how AC systems work, causes of failure and some common sense safety precautions are needed. An Auto AC book or course at the local Community College would be helpful. Also, look for the Redtek threads on the forum as there is a lot of good information there and that is probably the best recharge option available at this time.
Good Luck with these projects. _________________ The Road Goes Ever On & On……...
VWagabond
87 Camper GL
87 Syncro GL |
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mikemtnbike Samba Member
Joined: March 26, 2015 Posts: 2795 Location: North Carolina
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Posted: Wed Jun 20, 2018 5:30 am Post subject: Re: Air Conditioning not working and not mounted well |
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I can send you two recall plates for the shipping costs. If you're interested, send me a PM. _________________ 1991 Vanagon GL 2.1 AT Westfauxlia. "Frankie" Totaled https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=764510&highlight=carnage
1995 Eurovan Camper "Marzivan"
2020 GTI SE manual |
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Steve Arndt Samba Member
Joined: August 01, 2005 Posts: 1780 Location: Boise, Idaho
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0to60in6min Samba Member
Joined: November 27, 2006 Posts: 3416 Location: OR & CA (Oregon/California)
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Posted: Wed Jun 20, 2018 9:29 am Post subject: Re: Air Conditioning not working and not mounted well |
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my AC duct fell off and I put it back but I didn't like the cold air blows on my forehead so I took the center and the front sections off. I like it better, the cold air is better distributed in the van. Anyway there's no AC duct on a full camper westy...
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Paulbeard Samba Member
Joined: July 10, 2015 Posts: 2604 Location: Seattle
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Posted: Sat Jul 14, 2018 8:38 pm Post subject: Re: Air Conditioning not working and not mounted well |
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erisaaka wrote: |
1. The person we bought the van from said that the AC worked great last summer but since using it this summer it only blows air (and no I'm not talking about the fresh air system). What system checks can I perform to identify the culprit/cause?
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You will need to verify that the A/C compressor works and it might not for the simple reason there is no refrigerant in the system. It won't work without it. If you have a mechanic who can test the integrity of the system (if it can hold vacuum/pressure) you might get away with refilling it. A full refit is something like $1000 and that's mostly your labor: paying someone else would be much more. You can get a vacuum test setup from your FLAPS (Friendly Local Auto Parts Store) and do that test yourself. If it works, report for next steps. Or if it doesn't. Based on PO's words, maybe a recharge is all you need and you could be out of this with ice cold A/C for less than $100. _________________ Currently -> Frida: 87 Tizian Red (mostly) Vanagon GL Westfalia w/ 2.0L ABA conversion
Formerly -> Steward of a 73 Super Beetle (Beater) and 67 Beetle 1300 (Little Max) both names by POs
— dhaavers |
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campism Samba Member
Joined: September 07, 2007 Posts: 4491 Location: Richmond VA
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Posted: Sun Jul 15, 2018 9:40 am Post subject: Re: Air Conditioning not working and not mounted well |
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What he said. Our '87 had a system that was complete but blowing hot. I paid a shop $75 to check it out and they said it would take two grand to fix it. Screw that, I had nothing to lose by trying the $40 R134a conversion kit from my FLAPS and that worked. There is a small leak so I have to recharge annually but the system is good enough to take on vacation in 103F weather. A real repair with barrier hose upgrade and proper service is the right way to do things, but this is fine in the meantime.
Good luck with your fix. _________________ '87 Westy in Wolfram Grey Metallic |
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Abscate Samba Member
Joined: October 05, 2014 Posts: 22639 Location: NYC/Upstate/ROW
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Posted: Sun Jul 15, 2018 11:39 am Post subject: Re: Air Conditioning not working and not mounted well |
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Seller representations of prior performance of a non-working AC are up there in ranking with “the check is in the mail” and another NSFW regarding birth control. _________________ .ssS! |
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