Wow!!! It has been a while since you have been on. Congratulations on the kid. They dont stay small for long. They will keep you busy for a while but are alot of fun.

 

Wow didn't realize it had been that long. Congrats on the kid. Now back to work!

 

Outsane - congrats on the second baby...and the LCE header and the AC. I've got 2 boys, 4 and 2, and it is TOUGH to find any time to even think about messing with the truck. On your AC, did you just charge it with r134 or did you use something else? I'd love to know what your vent temps are if you get a chance to check them. I changed all the o-rings in my system probably 2 years ago, charged it up and was fairly happy with it. Now I've noticed it's not quite as cold as it was, vent temps are like upper 50's to low 60's...I've just acquired 2 cans of r134, so I'll probably go get the loaner gauges and charge it in the next week or two...see if I can cool it ooff.

 

Thank for all the congrats..

As for the AC.. it was a bit a of a battle.

It has not worked since i swapped in fuel injection. So I got determined to fix or get it fixed because I did not want to drive in the Summer heat with an Infant.

Since the fuel injection swap, I swapped in a new condensor since I had a leak there this was probably a year or so ago. A couple of months ago I tried pulling a vaccuum and added some dye, and charged the system. Still no cold air did some poking and nothing.. So I sucked it up and tried taking the rig into a Shop, while I tried to get the car smogged... Failed smog becuase of the modification, and they saidI had a leak at the valves AC retrofit, and charged me a ton of money and told me the compressor was no good, and the AC head unit was not working as it should. They also told me it would cost way to much to fix and to give it up.

Took the rig home, put on the LCE header, for the Carb EO numbers and I was tired of welding cracks on the old Downey. Got Smog shop to pass me.

I hooked up the compressor to 12v and it worked.. HUH.... and the air was COLD awesome..

Then I started to falle the FSM on troubleshooting.. and it ended up being the Thermo Swtich. It was disconnected. I pulled off the thermostat housing that had the thermo switch in it, because it did not fit with the TPS I am was using.

The thermo switch opens the circuit when the coolant temp reaches 103 deg, so for now its just bolted to the chassis. I will be on the lookout for a thermostat housing that has the sensor pointing up, instead of the side. I still need to wire up the Idle up correctly and the rad fan to turn on with the AC..

So I have 134a in, but I could have some moisture in there.. I didn't replace the Drier.

I'll see if I can get a themometer to check temps..

 

I see you got your AC working, but if you want a little improvement https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f116...trucks-286766/ this could normally use a good cleaning.

 

Terry great advise, at this point I don't want to touch the AC system while its working..

I might try it if I didn't have to open up the system again, but if I do end up with an open system I'll clean it out.

I have too many other issues with this rig that need to be tackled first, like shuddering brakes.

 

Outsane - certainly Terry's link is the best way to go to really clean your evaporator, BUT I did manage to clean mine some without removing it. You can pull the blower motor out and you can gently (don't want to beat up the fins)stick your shop vac hose up in there and get into the evaporator coil to suck all the leaves and whatnot out. Then I sprayed AC coil cleaner in there, let it sit, rinsed with water hose (I actually used a bug sprayer type pump, but water hose would work too)...and then I repeated 2 more times and then finally sprayed it with Lysol to freshen it up. In my case it was not that dirty to begin with because I had cleaned it a few years ago. I also took the plastic cage off the blower motor and gave that a really good cleaning, it had a lot of black grimy dirt on it that was very hard to get off, had to wipe each blade with a rag using a screwdriver to really get the rag down in between the blades.

I asked about your vent temps b/c I'm always curious how cold people's systems are getting. I've charged my AC myself 2 or 3 times now, I'm getting better each time (I think) but it's not really been cold enough to make me happy.

 

cory,

that was some more great news.. I have some cleaner being shipped to the house..
I just put the glove box back on too
thanks!

 

I am dealing with shuddering brakes on my 85. I priced the part store to see what it would cost to have the rotors turned. They charge $20 to turn each one of them. For $25 each I was able to get new rotors from the same part store. I since learned that a local shop will turn each rotor for $7 each. Not sure which route you might want to go with.

If you do need to get new rotors, I found out that there are two sizes available. 257mm and 302mm. You will want the 302mm. I got mine from Oriellys. If all goes well later today I will have my complete front axle rebuilt from side to side. Never done a solid axle and a friend of mine is helping me after he gets off of work. While we are in there I will see what else could cause shuddering.

 

Terry

let me know how it goes, I do have a bit of a wobble in the steering wheel while the brakes are not on...

 

Just reading through your build. I took me awhile to get through. I would start and have to stop quite a few times over the years.

Glad to see that you are back to working on it.

 

thanks Gizler00

I picked up an RFID reader and some tags to try and incorporate it into an Arduino lock, car start system!

 

should be a fairly easy and fun project!

please post pics of that, i heart the 'duino, too!

 

I'll keep you updated, I have it set up at work

 

My rotors were warped was the cause of my wobble when hitting the brakes. Couldnt find any other issues. I still havent got to drive it yet but will later today when I get it back together.

In an earlier post I mentioned that my 85 used the 302mm rotor. There is a possibilty that I have a 79-83 axle under my truck and may have given you some wrong information. Just found out last night and wanted to make you aware of it if you have to swap rotors.

The rotors do come in 257 and 302, just make sure you get the correct size when ordering them.

 

Thanks for the info, I have v6 brakes so I will need to get those rotors. I should put in the prop valve and adjust it.

 

I added a relay for the lower speed on the fan to use when the ac is on. It's connected to a switch on the dash. I did find some golf cart relays on amazon 300amps rush and 100 amp continuous for $20.

Also got some ac coil cleaner.

 

I added the new relay to use when the AC on .. its on a switch in the cab for now.

I tried to put in a relay to turn off the low speed fan and turn on the high speed when the tempsensor switches it over.. it seems to stay on low speed.

I also replaced the fan blower resistor bank.

I tried to quiet down the motor by removing the air injection tubes and putting on a block off plates, but it made the leak where the LCE header clamps are on the exhaust much louder. So now I am goign to need to pull those off and weld em up.

Oh yeah and on the search to pick some tires..

Duratracs or All Terrain adventure.. are on the list so far.. I mostly drive on the road, and semi aggressive and quiet would be nice.

 

i have had no complaints with kuhmo road venture at's. they are fairly quiet and work well off-roading. maybe not too aggressive, but i like them.

duratracs have an awesome tread, but people have complained about noise and thinner-than-usual sidewalls (watch out when airing down)

the all-terrain adventure looks nice. i haven't heard or seen anything about them, though.

 

All Terrain Adventure or kuhmo road venture at's