i have an 88 iroc with an L98. the a/c was unhooked by previous owner. some parts remain under the hood but i couldnt tell you what they are. i need a/c back. i've been told a new a/c system costs around $1000 to have put in. thats alot of money, BUT its either spend the money to keep the car i love bearable, or sell it.

my question is, what exactly do i need to have done (so i go into the mechanic shop NOT sounding like a schmuck) without getting ripped off? also, how much should this cost?

help please

 

Depending on what you still have it could be very cheap to get it working.

 

i dont know what parts they are that i still have, so i'm assuming i have to replace and update the whole system to the new modern 'enviroment friendly' style.

how do i go about doing / having this done?

 

Post a pic of you engine bay if you don't know what you have left, maybe we can help, most likely you still have the evaporator since most people who hack up a/c systems never remove the box or the evaporator it self, do you know what a compressor looks like? It would be bolted on like an alternator with two lines going to it. Look in front of your radiator, is there another thing that looks like a skinnyer radiator there? Thats your condensor, how about a aluminum colored cylinder over by your heater box (right hand corner by firewall if standing in front of car) Thats your receiver/drier. Aside from the control head in the car those are most of the main components and where most of the money would be, assuming the parts are still good of course, see what ya got left.

 

if any of the hoses or lines are damaged/open/unhooked or any other parts are bad, you will need a new accumulator, a new orifice tube & to have everything thoroughly flushed out.
off the top of my head for parts only, a new orifice tube is around $5.00 or so, a new accumulator is around $40~60.00 or so. the flush price depends on where you go, how they do it & what they use.
it depends on what the system is going to be charged with to decide what orifice tube to use, for R-12 the blue ford orifice works good, as for what works best with R-134, i don't know.

the compressor may be bad, unless its locked up there really isn't any way to know for sure without charging & running the system.
there is a good possibility there is a leak some where in the system, it would need a partial charge at minimum to check it.

a big part of the price of A/C work is labor. if you know what your doing you can replace the complete freon part of the A/C system, hoses, evaporator, accumulator, condenser, rebuilt compressor for around $600.00 or so, add about $100.00 or so more for evacuation, oil, charge & leak check.

if yours is bad, don't use a autozone or any of the other cheap compressors, they seldom last very long.

 

Projects - IROC-Z - A/C <---IrocZone page.

This will get u up to speed on what you need to know about getting your A/C going. As for who does the work, that is up to you.

 

click on this pic to enlarge. it shows what i have. so what DO i have?

 

Most of it is there, hoses are gone. Condensor still in front of the radiator?

 

i looked and saw something that would be where a 'trans-cooler' would be on a truck, i assume this is the condenser you speak of?

if so, what else do i need in order to complete the system and get it blowing cold air again?

 

It should be as large as the radiator, bigger than a typical trans-cooler.

It needs to all be flushed, of course we also dont know why it was taken out in the first place... broken parts?

 

original owner took it out, i dont know why, neither did the previous owner (i was the 3rd).

so what do i need to walk into the shop and say? i dont want to walk in and say "fix my a/c" and get charged for things i didnt really need.

 

I myself couldnt tell you, it depends if they need replaced.

That is about all you can say "Make it work"

First, they will replace all "wear items". Do the conversion for R134 most likely, as R12 (original coolant) is no longer publicly available.
They will check the compressor, condensor, evap, drier, accumulator, etc. (atleast they should). Vac it down and check for leaks, then filler up. Could be anywhere from $100-1500, depends on what needs replaced.

Im putting AC back in mine too, but got parts from a working AC setup, and have access to R12

 

i just came from 29 palms, victorville is about an inch away. wish i would've known back then.

so basically i need to go into a shop and say "make my A/C work"?

 

Step 1. Buy a chilton's and/or haynes manual.
Step 2. Read said manual with reference to your a/c system.
Step 3. Review the sections while comparing to your vehicle.
Step 4. Should everything seem ok, go to a local place and get an estimate of what it would cost to get it fixed (as well as a list of what needs to be fixed).
Step 5. Review. If it seems, and checked out, ok, go buy an r134a retrofit kit and have at it. Follow directions supplied. If it needs major work and the estimate is excessive...
Step 6. Sell car.
Step 7. Play Poolman for some rich married women.
Step 8. Find and buy a turdgen with working AC.

 

can i JUST do number 7?

 

I am doing this now on mine. I need to find the o-rings from the condenser to the front lines. does anyone know where to find those special little o-rings?

 

It appears that at least the hose set is missing. That means a complete flush, evacuation, and charge after the missing components are replaced.

Looks like you might want to do something with the fusible link setup near the battery, too.

 

A/C systems hate moisture. 1 drop of water in it is enough to cause problems.
you will have to replace the accumulator (circled in red), it is designed to remove any moisture that wasn't gotten out during the evacuation, yours is bad.

there is a good possibility the compressor may bad just from being left open. some A/C lubricants absorb moisture just like brake fluid does, or something could have built a nest inside the compressor.

you can check to see if the compressor will turn by hand, with the key off & the motor not running grab the compressor clutch (circled in green) & give it a few full turns, it doesn't matter which way you turn it, it should turn pretty easily. if it locks up or doesn't turn it needs to be replaced. be aware just because it turns ok doesn't mean its good.

not knowing the history or why the hoses are gone, if it was mine i would go a head & replace the compressor, if it is bad & you don't replace it with the accumulator & orifice tube, you will probably have to buy another new accumulator & orifice to have a warranty on the new compressor.

 

so most likely its all bad? how about buying a new compressor, accumulator, orfice tube, and hoses, putting them in a box and taking all of it down to a shop with the car, leaving it all there saying "please make my a/c work"?