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 Post subject: A/C maintenance
PostPosted: Wed May 26, 2004 9:43 pm 
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Hi folks, the Z28 is now 5 years old and I was wondering whether the A/C needs some maintenance. The garage never touched it. The GM maintenance check list does not even mention A/C over the whole lifetime (as many OEMs where the compressors die because of low refrigerant).

Even the hypersensitive Haynes Manual has only a vague check: touch the incoming and outgoing hoses of the compressor, whether they are hot and cold respectively! This kind of test is a joke!

I do not want to panic, I mean everything works perfect.

What are your experiences with A/C?

Gunnar

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Until November 2004 I had a:
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BUT THAN I MADE A MESS OF IT and now its gone!


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PostPosted: Thu May 27, 2004 5:31 am 
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I would not worry about it, until it stops working. You shouldn't have to do anything to it. ;)

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PostPosted: Thu May 27, 2004 5:43 am 
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Just overheard a conversation at the local Pitstop a week ago or so when I got my new wheels for the MR ... seems like the new A/C systems which are environmentally safe(r) require quite a bit more service than the "old" systems do ... whereas an old system will just work (it seems) as long as it has its cooleant in it, the new systems need a replacement of the liquid once a year and the replacement of the dehuminidifier every two year (or other way around?) or else the compressor will rust away once the dehumidifier is used up and water starts building in the system ... for the replacement, that's a whopping 3-4 hours of work (he was talking to a Beemer owner ... no telling how much it is for other systems) and some €200 or so just for the dehumidifier ...
I recon GM has not been so "smart" to put the new systems in on our cars ... :) Does the above apply to any other US brand cars, or is it just something for german car owners? Haven't hear that before ...

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PostPosted: Thu May 27, 2004 7:40 am 
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I had to recharge my A/C in my 1995 Camaro for the first time last year. I bought the kit from AAFES Garage and I put two cans in it. I have never had it serviced or the freon changed. This doesn't mean that I didn't need to. I just means l leave well enough alone. AAFES charges $80 to completely service the A/C.

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PostPosted: Thu May 27, 2004 9:52 am 
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I just dump a new can of R134A in it every 1.5 years - everytime it stops working... ;) (not very professional, ok)

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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Thu May 27, 2004 10:33 am 
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One guy from a A/C service shop had a look under the hood and said that the A/C is state of the art, means it is using R134a as a refrigerant.
The service plug holes are well accessible. They want 69EUR for exchanging the refrigerant.
Funny thing, there seems to be no filter for interior ventilation to filter out dust and pollen. Haynes does not mention anything.

When there is a special offer for A/C maintenance at ATU I will let them do it.
Last year I had it done for my daily driver at ATU for (as far as I remember) 40EUR. It still had 85% of the refrigerant inside after 6 years.
But another driver of the same type ran dry after 4 years without doing any harm to the compressor.

Gunnar

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Until November 2004 I had a:
Red 99 Camaro Z28 Euro-Model, M6, T-Top, Movit/ Porsche GT3 front brakes, Alutec Kyro 8,5x19" wheels, Geiger (H&R) springs, oil intercooler, Dynomax twin exhaust,
BUT THAN I MADE A MESS OF IT and now its gone!


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Thu May 27, 2004 10:52 am 
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Gunnar,
you do not need to be afraid of damage to the compressor due to a low R134a as our cars have a sensor which will not start the compressor if the refridgerant is low.

However I would not bring my Camaro to ATU for A/C service... :wink:

Ben

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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Thu May 27, 2004 9:13 pm 
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I wouldn't worry about it, if it is still cooling good. There is really no reason to change the dehumidifier if you haven't lost the fluid or opened the lines. As far as changing the fluid goes, why would it need to be changed? It isn't used up by compressing and expanding it. If they are going to change it, then they will have to pull a complete vacuum on the system prior to adding the new fluid. Personally, I think you will be asking for more problems than you will be solving. Just my 2 cents worth.

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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Fri May 28, 2004 6:18 pm 
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I agree, if it ain't broke, don't fix it! If it's blowing warm air, then you might want to recharge it.

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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Thu Jun 24, 2004 2:50 pm 
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I had the A/C maintenance done two weeks ago. One third of the refrigerant was gone (about 300g of a total of 1100g).
They cleaned and refilled the system, cost was 78EUR.

Has anybody found some kind of filter to clean the air before coming inside the car?
Last week (all windows and t-top closed) a big insect came into the car.
So, I guess there is no filter or the grid is too big, only preventing rats from coming inside :lol:

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Until November 2004 I had a:
Red 99 Camaro Z28 Euro-Model, M6, T-Top, Movit/ Porsche GT3 front brakes, Alutec Kyro 8,5x19" wheels, Geiger (H&R) springs, oil intercooler, Dynomax twin exhaust,
BUT THAN I MADE A MESS OF IT and now its gone!


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Thu Jun 24, 2004 3:01 pm 
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Mount razor blades on the fans, then just powder comes insides :twisted: j/k

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1994 Pontiac Firebird 3.4l V6 - new engine one the way
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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Thu Aug 19, 2004 10:13 am 
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Gunnar wrote:
I had the A/C maintenance done two weeks ago. One third of the refrigerant was gone (about 300g of a total of 1100g).
They cleaned and refilled the system, cost was 78EUR.


Just reading this again. Are you sure about the 1100g? Read the sticker on your airbox: It says "680g"... maybe ATU overfilled your system?

Ben

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