A/C recharge question

External Since: Feb 25, 2006 Posts: 12

Hi, all...

I've got an '85 Spider 2000, and since I'm in Arizona (where the
temperatures reached 112F / 45C recently), it's pretty important to
have a working air conditioner.

My Spider has some sort of slow leak I'm chasing (it'll lose its
charge in a matter of weeks or months), so I've injected some
leak-detection dye into the system (so far, to no avail - I'm afraid
the leak is inside the dash area).

A couple questions...

1) The car was converted from R12 to R134a refrigerant, which requires
putting an extension on the compressor's low-pressure port. This
extension ends up being about an inch below the distributor, so any
time I want to add / check the refrigerant, I have to pull the
distributor out of the car. Has anyone out there had / cured this
problem (with a right angle extension or ????).

2) Where are the most common points you've had refrigerant leaks in
your Alfas? I'm wondering if the shop that did the 134a conversion
skipped the "hard part" up under the dash near the evaporator. It was
by the previous owner's mechanic, so I have no way of knowing for
sure.

Thanks,
Mark "sizzling" Hickey

External Since: Oct 10, 2003 Posts: 455

Mark Hickey wrote:
> Hi, all...
>
> I've got an '85 Spider 2000, and since I'm in Arizona (where the
> temperatures reached 112F / 45C recently), it's pretty important to
> have a working air conditioner.
>
> My Spider has some sort of slow leak I'm chasing (it'll lose its
> charge in a matter of weeks or months), so I've injected some
> leak-detection dye into the system (so far, to no avail - I'm afraid
> the leak is inside the dash area).
>
> A couple questions...
>
> 1) The car was converted from R12 to R134a refrigerant, which requires
> putting an extension on the compressor's low-pressure port. This
> extension ends up being about an inch below the distributor, so any
> time I want to add / check the refrigerant, I have to pull the
> distributor out of the car. Has anyone out there had / cured this
> problem (with a right angle extension or ????).
>
> 2) Where are the most common points you've had refrigerant leaks in
> your Alfas? I'm wondering if the shop that did the 134a conversion
> skipped the "hard part" up under the dash near the evaporator. It was
> by the previous owner's mechanic, so I have no way of knowing for
> sure.

I'm utterly no expert on A/C but why would it have refrigerant in the
dash area? AFAIK the colling takes place under the bonnet and cold air
is passed into the vent system. Of course I could be and probably am
talking rubbish.

C
>
> Thanks,
> Mark "sizzling" Hickey

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