I got my 86 K5 about a month ago and have been wrenching on it since. (Got it for 1000 bucks). Well the AC dont work along with a lot of other stuff. Was wondering if I can survive with out it. It would be great if i could pull all that bull shi* out. It gets around 95-100 degrees in the summer here in Ga. BTW this will be my DD and its black. Im 16 and money is limited. Im sure it would take a pretty penny to fix the ac and i would rather spend it on something more important. Just wondering how you guys survive the summers with out ac....is it real bad or can it be tolerated. Thanks for any help.
CK5
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2 Be Cool or Not 2 Be Cool?
- Thread starter FastMaxx
- Start date
newnan ga, 73 k-10 only options is 4x4 and 350 from the factory. No ac or even dash vents on this truck. Been my dd for 3 years. When you get off work roll down the windows if you bother to put them up open the wing window and you should have a vent to open on the kick panel that will blow cool air accross your bare feet assumeing that when you get done with 10 + hours at work for the day you take your steel toe boots off so that your feet are 4+ pounds lighter. Make sure not to ride the clutch while resting your foot on the pedal where the cool air blows accross right there. And leave the back window down for more breeze if you want. By the why after 100+ degrees at work the summer weather is cool. Just think cool. 
BIG*RED
1/2 ton status
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it can be tolorated if you have the will power, when i first got my k5 the ac didn't work. and i spent the first summer in east county san diego...you know the desert?..my truck is red, with no headliner and i could feel the heat radiating down onto the top of my head. but i delt with it. but i did have my breaking point..i got stuck on intersate 8 for three hours because some furd rolled over. i have an indoor, outdoor temp guage in my truck. the outside temp that days was 118 degrees, not to bad if your moving and have the windows down..but at a complete stop..noway..the inside of my truck reached 146 degrees, i was sweating so bad it looked like there was a hose running over my head. the roof got so hot you couldn't even touch it for half a second..i ended up having to get out of the blaze and stand next to it, got sun burnt real bad, but it was better than being in the truck..needless to say i have ac now!..if you can tough it out this summer its best to get your ac done in the winter when there is snow on the ground..the ac shops are really slow and hurting for business. i got everything for the ac system replaced brand new, pump, condensor, hoses, everything, you name it, for less than 500 bucks!!!...now granted the if i had ac that day on the freeway, it stil would have sucked, but not as bad..becasue at those temps you don't want to have the ac running non stop, while the truck isn't moving..it would over heat and the truck would most likely burn down..ive seen it happen several times..but i would have been able to run it for 15, 20 min then shut it off for 15, 20 min than kick it back on..so i say if you can get ac..
Jew Pimpin
Registered Member
yea I got my ac fixed last year, paid like $800 for brand new everything. for the few times that I do use my ac it's worth it. well when I have my girl w/ me and the top is on it's worth it to keep her happy, + her DD is a jeep w/ no ac so figured it was worth it to have 2 vehicles with ac.
You won't think it's BS when it is keeping you cool.FastMaxx said:
I was fairly limited on money myself ( I was 17 when I did my A/C) and it was money well spent, that money I spent did me more good than anything else on my K5, for driving it every day.
Are you kidding? 100* weather and you have a black truck?
I went through the first year with no A/C in my K5, the following year I made sure I fixed it. I spent a total of about $1000 on my A/C but am glad I had it. In my book it can't be tolerated, I hate heat and there is nothing worse than going out on a date or something and you have to have the winders down and your lady is getting hot, dusty air blown through her hair. Women don't like that.
Then you get out of the truck in nice cloths, especially if you just got out of the shower, and have a nicely soaked back, ass, and legs from sitting in the seat. No way, not for me. Taking off the top, doors, etc....does nothing but blow more hot air on you. As far as the A/C, the best advise I can give is don't get cheap with it PERIOD! Buy a BRAND NEW pump, no junk rebuilds because they don't last. I have $1k in my A/C because I went with a "premium" Napa pump but blew up on me late in the fall (at least it made it all summer). The following spring Napa warrantied me another piece of junk and that one lasted only a few months.
I currently have no A/C in my K5 because I still have the second blown up pump but when I go back through my K5 again one of these days the A/C will be one of the first things fixed, with a brand new pump regardless of the price difference of new vs. rebuilt. I don't daily drive my K5 anymore or it would have a new pump already. I have a '01 3/4 Dodge Cummins now that has A/C, thank god. 
BIGCHEVY4X
Registered Member
I have an 82 pickup and the a/c is blowing it just isnt cold. Its not bad now but stuck in trafic in the middle of summer would be just too hot. They have those recharge cans at kragens but that would work. my g/f's dad is a refrigeration guy but i was just woundering whats involved with fixing it?
Adding a can if it is the same refridgerant will get by but not the right thing. The can you are looking at is probly the replacement for r12. The right thing to do is vacuum the system down check for leaks and then charge with the right refridgerant and oil. If you have someone with the tools it should not cost to much to just recharge a system.
My dd has no ac and i accept that but for the comment on going out with no ac. We take the wifes car. The wind and all does bother her when going some places and she rarely rides in my truck and never on the motorcycle.
My dd has no ac and i accept that but for the comment on going out with no ac. We take the wifes car. The wind and all does bother her when going some places and she rarely rides in my truck and never on the motorcycle.
Not much of a help i'm sure cause im in Vermont.
My 86 doesnt have a/c Black truck- black top, black interior/headliner/dash/floors etc...only thing interior thats not black is the seats- and those are maroon.
I just drop the rear window, front windows and deal with it. it does get hot up here, 90's are not uncommon in the summer, with a very humid heat. It's really bad after the trucks been sitting in a parking lot, but usually after a few minutes of driving it cools down.
Yes, its hot, but I didnt have the option of having it or not- just isnt on the truck.
Course, my DD's an 04 Envoy with all the whistles, so if I dont have to deal with the K5 on hot days
Brandy
My 86 doesnt have a/c Black truck- black top, black interior/headliner/dash/floors etc...only thing interior thats not black is the seats- and those are maroon.
I just drop the rear window, front windows and deal with it. it does get hot up here, 90's are not uncommon in the summer, with a very humid heat. It's really bad after the trucks been sitting in a parking lot, but usually after a few minutes of driving it cools down.
Yes, its hot, but I didnt have the option of having it or not- just isnt on the truck.
Course, my DD's an 04 Envoy with all the whistles, so if I dont have to deal with the K5 on hot days
Brandy
You should not have to shut off your A/C system when you want cool air. A properly functioning system cycles, meaning as the evaporator freezes up the thermostat kicks the pump off. After the evap starts warming up the pump reengages cooling the evap once again. If you pay close attention to the A/C vent temp with a guage you will notice a temperature cycling.
As far as overheating....
If you mean the truck than that is another issue.
If you mean the A/C system starts to overheat at idle while not traveling than there is an air flow problem. THe system will not function properly without air flow across the condensor. The condensor cools the freeon and condenses it back down into a liquid, without air this can't happen. This causes the hi side pressures to sky rocket blowing something up.
Why remove it? If you plan on fixing it eventually than leave everything alone. The best thing you can do for the system, functioning or not, is leave it sealed. Don't open it up letting contaminates invade the condensor, and hoses when they are probably still good parts. The A/C system does not cost any HP or extra heat when it's not running. Leave it in there so it's ready to be worked on when you decide you are tired of a sweaty back, butt, and legs. Then you won't be trying to remember how the A/C pump brackets fit on along with the rest of the stuff.FastMaxx said:
Is it blowing warm or is it still cool? have you checked to make sure the pump is on? Are you converted to R134A or is it still R12? If it's 134 you could just try to pump a can of freeon in it, that should make it cooler but it's not the proper way to do it. To make it work the best it should have all of the existing freeon pumped out, the system vaccuumed down, checked for leaks, and completely recharged all at once. But.....i've done the can thing many times and it will work.BIGCHEVY4X said:
If you are R12 your best bet is to do what I just mentioned with pulling it out, vaccuming, but just recharge it with R134A instead. Don't believe what Kragens or Napa says with needing a new pump, dryer, orifice...yada yada, it's the same pump, same dryer, same orifice. Just fill it back up with R134 and it will be fine. The 80's system holds 2.75lbs of R134A. The best thing with an A/C system is if you've had trouble free performance....DON'T CHANGE ANYTHING....because A/C's are the most finicy automotice system I have ever dealt with.
k20
3/4 ton status
I havent had my AC since I swapped in my big block. The brackets I have hold the compressor too low to mount it, using my tall valve covers. Its my daily driver, and with a perf motor and headers, the only time I miss it is if I get stuck in traffic on the interstate. My feet start getting a little warm. Also miss it a little when takin a dunk in the mud in the summer. With the windows up (rear sliding window open, thank God for it), it gets a little toasty. Itd be nice to have, but I can deal without.
