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A/C Upgrade or replace?

EddieExpedition

EddieExpedition

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Eddie's R4 compressor has begun to leak refrigerant from the front bearing clutch area, so I'm looking to replace the compressor. The system was already converted to 134 when we got it and it has the drivers side compressor. I have been wanting to switch to a serpentine belt drive, but have not done so because everything was working well, until now. My question is whether to go ahead and swap everything over to the serpentine system and get a newer style A/C compressor or just replace the R4 and call it good? I hate to spend the money if there is no noticeable gain in performance or cooling capability. Any thoughts, experience, or other suggestions?
 
While I’m a fan of the serp drive setup has a steep price of entry because everything changes.

The early and late TBI brackets are easy to source but it will probably swap the locations of your compressor and alternator. Which may require re-routing of your a/c lines. You’ll need a new pulley for the power steering pump and a new reverse rotation water pump. The Tbi setup uses an R4 compressor too, but obviously with the different pulley on it.

It’s a good time to start over with all new parts, but it cranks up the cost.

If time is an issue getting a stock r4 for the existing setup would be the quickest.
 
I went serpantine in my 1988- was originally v belt. several friends suggested i not do it because of "if something fails you can still remove one of the v-belts"

well, ive never experienced a failure with anything serpantine related... but i know the process of accessories switching sides, and replacing water pumps and fans IS a project by itself... i never replaced the AC lines and after years of dust and water spray, i would probably need to replace the compressor and other components now to get it all working?
 
The V belt setup has lasted this long, I just prefer the more modern single belt setup. I might just stick with the R4 for sake of not going down the rabbit hole with parts replacements.
 
I'd leave it just because of the added swap headache and cost. That being said, if you replace the compressor, it's pretty standard to do the dryer. Since you have it all open, now would be the time to spend the belt swap budget on a parallel condensor, might as well do the evaporator too.
I just did all that to my 89 and it blows cold enough that it becomes uncomfortable blowing right on your hand.
Total parts was around $600 counting the 134. My evaporator was the biggest pita. I am not a mechanic, I just work on stuff.
 
I’ve been researching the condenser quite a bit. From what I gather, there isn’t enough gain in efficiency to justify swapping it out. The ac cooled pretty good prior to the leak, so I’m not sure if I want to get that far into it.
 
Just as a FYI R134a was banned where I live (Washington) for consumer use. You can still go to a shop and get your AC serviced out here. I'm sure other states are going to follow suit.

R134a Ban

Apparently I've been living under a rock.... Went to recharge the system in my '93 S10 Blazer today, something I been meaning to do for a while. Living here in Washington State, a/c is never on a list of priorities, as it only get really hot for a short time. Stopped by O'Reilly's, and learned...
ck5.com ck5.com
 
I swapped my 1988 V10 Suburban from v-belts to serpentine. I reused my compressor (just swapped clutches), and lines (gently bent them). Never even opened the system.

Martin
 
That’s not a bad idea. I’ll have to start collecting parts and maybe one day in the future I’ll dive in.
 
I've had nothing but serpentine setups between two trucks and three engines. That dates back to 2004 with the 350 in my '75 and 2018 for the '91 with the 5.3 and the 8.1. The '91 is at 33,000 miles since we put it back on the road and not once have I had a belt issue.

Anybody that gives the excuse that you'll get stranded with a serp system has to be deaf. The reason being, I've yet to see a problem on one that came through the dealership that was quiet before it failed. Most if not all failures come back to a bearing in an idler pulley or tensioner pulley or another component in the system that was howling before it failed. You take off with one of those items shrieking away under the hood and go anywhere on or off-road and let it fail you should have listened to the truck.

Even when I've asked customers how long it's been making that noise they are like "I don't know, a week maybe more?"


I'm not saying something can't just up and fail, but more often than not a serpentine system will let you know when a problem is coming. The same goes for the belt itself. It isn't hard to take a gander at it while under the hood. If the ribbed side of the belt has more than 10 cracks per inch of belt, it's time to replace it. There shouldn't be a reason for a belt to break due to wear unless you never look at it. If anything I'll replace it with fewer cracks showing and put the used belt in the truck for a spare on the off chance something does go off.


I think it's a good idea to accumulate parts as you can for the swap and spread the cost out over time. One simple way to deal with the a/c compressor changing sides is to take the manifold off at the compressor on the doner vehicle. Simply just cut the rubber hoses off past the crimps. When you do the swap, you can take your original hoses off the truck and have a shop that has the equipment to crimp a/c lines and have them combine the old and the new sections for a factory-like fit.
 
I am going thru this on my '73 K10, as per my thread.
My original AC truck had everything in place, and even held vacuum when I tested the system.
I suspected the compressor was bad as the clutch was stuck and belts and wires disconnected, so I never charged it.
Even bought this to fix up my projects...
img_973580_0_e865c300f091802f975e58b5c3c9ce5f.jpg
img_973580_1_0a227ef18814e89537996678abc9930b.jpg
img_973580_2_7cc1711480444804032d661692be8e89.jpg

Now im deep into the resto, I made some choices, that are still forcing further changes.
The original A6(?) compressor mounted over the LH valve cover and even onto the exhaust manifold. It blocked access to the valves and was a PITA.
Decided that had to go.... as I was swapping to R134a anyway.
Was deleting the smog pump, keeping the PS, AC, and Alternator, so after a lot of research I decided to go with the ICT Billet V belt setup...
It was under $200 for everything, but gave me the flexibility to have everything at a reasonable price.
I wanted the Serpentine setup, but it was not in budget, at $700-1500, plus new alternator, AC compressor etc.

This:

Im adding a High power 180-200a Alternator, and a more modern Sanden 508 style AC compressor, and so I think I will be about $600 all in for the accessory drive.
Moving the Alternator to the LH side is pretty easy as it need new HD cable anyway, but moving the AC compressor to pass side means all new piping, which I have to make.

As the system is gonna be all new, replacing the evaporator($66), receiver/drier, and valve at the same time, all from Rock Auto
Just bought a universal parallel flow condenser off eBay($100) that is 30"x18" and according to my measurements will fit in the core support.
I think I will have to flip the condenser so the connections are on the RH side, drill holes in the core support to get the fittings thru.
This:
www.ebay.com

CNFP1830 AC A/C Universal Condenser Parallel Flow 18 x 30 O-ring #6 And #8 643517944889 | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for CNFP1830 AC A/C Universal Condenser Parallel Flow 18 x 30 O-ring #6 And #8 at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!
www.ebay.com

I think it will work, but I have to figure out a condenser fan, all the tubing, and connections once I have it all in front of me.
 
I just swapped my truck over to a 5.7 Vortec serpentine setup. It was a bolt-on swap, and I'm going to utilize the HT6 a/c compressor. I'm going to use ACDelco P/N: 2724887 seal adapter kit to adapt the offset manifold on the compressor to the factory lines. I picked up a parallel flow condenser for retrofitting 83-87 trucks from original air group (P/N: 11-246p).
 
Why not just buy a used serpentine setup off a GMT400 truck?

Martin
 
Gmt400 used the R4. If you are going to the trouble to change over, get a better compressor
 
Are you guys that are swapping from v belts to serpentine setups using the fan that goes with the serpentine setup? Does a vortec fan fit a v belt shroud?
 
Chickntrk said:
Are you guys that are swapping from v belts to serpentine setups using the fan that goes with the serpentine setup? Does a vortec fan fit a v belt shroud?
Click to expand...
The serp drive fan fits right in the original fan shroud.
 
Well that’s handy, I have a 99 vortec 350 that I was going to swap into the 78 at some point, I was going to run v belts for ease but it still has all the v belt stuff :thinking:

Sorry for the hijack but this seemed like a good time to ask, I will say that here in PA we can still get r134a as of now
 
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