I have an 84Z28 and am having trouble with my ac. I think what may be happening is that the air inlet door maybe not be closing all the way and am considering pulling the dash to check out the condition of it and the rest of the doors at the same time. I think the ac is trying to cool down too much of the outside air also. I have disconnected the heater, the controls seem to be working like they should, I checked the fan, so that is my next step. Any tips before I start.

 

what problems are you having?

 

My car was converted to right hand drive several years ago because I live in Australia. I bought the car 4 years ago from a person who neglected it and I want to get it completely right. The steering post goes right thru the heater-ac box. I re-sealed the joints and it worked a little better. It was then only acceptible. Now, it is much worse so that I can not use it. The ac-heater fan seems to have a lot of power but to me doesnt seem to push enough air thru the cabin. I have had it checked by ac person and they only want to do the basics because it is a car they dont understand. When you first turn the car on, several seconds later you can hear one of the doors close. I suppose that is the vacuum system filling with air. The controls do what they are supposed to be doing when you move the select lever. I replaced the heater-shut off valve (no change). I bypassed the heater by using short hose (seemed to stop some of the hot air being mixed). The doors are so that I cannot see the condition they are in and whether they are working. I thought that I would go the whole nine yards and pull the dash and check the condition of the whole system. At least I would know what I was dealing with. I hate the thought of all that work. My question----what is my next step before pulling the dash? Lot of work huh? Any help would be greatly appreciated. I love the car and want it to be right. Thanks for any help.

 

sounds like you are on the correct track, although, just for your information, these cars had marginal heat and a/c when new,

OK , now onto you, not positve that an 84 will have this,make sure the vacumn line to the heater controls is not leaking, it is located on the right side of the car(for you, drivers side)in the engine compartment, at the rear towards the firewall, it is a black plastic tube, maybe3/16 in(approx. 2-3mm) in diameter going from the engine to the firewall, if it has any damage(rub marks, melting, ect.)replace as much as you can with rubber vac hose, then inspect , if possible, the part of this line that is inside the car, it goes the the back of the heater controls for damage

if you have access to a hand vacumn pump, apply vac(appox. 15-20 in) to the line at the engine, if it drops, you have a leak somewhere, you will need to trace the vac line to the controls(vac checking at every connection), then after the controls, if it is gone after the controls, your heater controls are leaking vac and not applieing the full amount of vac. you need to correctly operating the door, if it still leaks after the controls then keep tracing, you may have a leaking vac actuator at the door

if thats all OK, then check your heatert control cables for the proper adjustment, move the lever all the way one way, then loosen/remove the adjuster and move the lever on the door all the way the same direction and set the adjuster

then , check the blower fan for debris

if it still does this, you probably will need to pull the dash and /or heater box and see if there are any blockages and/or how much the steering column is blocking air flow, you may need to increase the size of the passages past the steering or modify the door(s) to clear and seal fully

good luck, it sounds like a very big hassle , but in Australia I guess it never hurts to have good a/c

 

Thanks for that info. On monday when I get a little time I will check out those things. It gets a little cramped working on these cars and takes time figuring out the best ways to do things. From what I have read on the forum, people usually have a working knowledge that is sometimes better than the manuals. I havent pulled the dash before. I am sure that is a big job. Thanks for that info.

 

Attn. Dave Y:
Are the doors for the heater-ac system viewable at all if you remove the console and the lower dash panels? It will be very difficult to put a vacuum pump on the lines to check each vacuum actuator. Any drawings anyone ? Have you or anyone else attempted to refurbish the doors on their systems?