my friend and i were doing the free ram air mod on my 90 iroc-z when the axsawslipped and punctured the radiator. a lot of air came out hissing, but after about 5-10 minutes it stopped. did i do any real damage to the radiator? it ran fine... didn't over heat or anything... when i turned on the car, nothing comes out of the spot where the saw hit the radiator (well, maybe some air but thats hard to notice while the car's running)...what do you think it was? no liquid came out... it was just air - thanks guys

 

That wasn't air. It was freon. You punctured your A/C condensor, which sits in front of the radiator. It'll be a little pricey to fix because any decent shop will want to replace the drier and expansion valve at the same time to avoid moisture contamination. Plus you have to buy freon, and a lot of places won't work on an R-12 system (our shop included) which means converting to R-134a if you haven't already.

 

you have t tops i hope

 

I heard the R12 to 134a conversion wasn't that expensive to have done anyways....and alot of people I know have told me that 134a will run in an R12 system no problem as long as it wasn't leaking to start with.

 

lol go figure...i noticed that the air condition wasn't blowing cold air anymore... damn, wut a bad one. what do you guys suggest i do? and what would be the price? thanks guys

 

and nope... i dont have t-tops, lol... can't really drive that car durring the day anymore cuz in miami it's hot as hell =\

 

repair it. r 134 a conversion make sure you add the oil and trust me its easy and cheap

 

how would i repair it though? my friend says i can, but my other friend says that it would be better just to get a new condensor... what would i use to fill the puncture hole?

 

I'd get a new one unless you want to try welding it. If you have sealed the hole for now, I would have a shop draw a long vacuum on it to dry out the system.

 

Converting to R-134a is not difficult at all.....you have to drain the system (which you did with the saw already) change the service fittings, change the expansion valve, draw a vacuum (you'll want to sustain that vacuum for about an hour to get ALL the moisture out) and fill it with R-134a. We charge $160 plus freon (R-134a runs about $10/lb and most systems use 1.5-2lbs) to do the swap where I work.

I would definitely get a new condensor (or a good used one if you're income challenged like me.) Patching the hole will make it work, but it won't work as well and the patch may not hold up over time.

 

Can you do that without changing the AC oil and O-rings? I thought that you also had to change the hoses because the older ones may not work for the smaller molecue R134A? Also, what about the efficiency? I thought that R134A is not as efficient in a system not originally designed for it?

 

I was told by a buddy who works at a Ford dealership told me that an R12 system can use 134a w/o any problems or leaks assuming the original R12 system wasn't leaking.

 

DIY 134a conversions suck. Any time they work good, it's pure luck. For one, you need to know exactly how much to put into the system. Without the proper equipment, you're just guessing. Secondly, if your system has been open for any amount of time (like more than a few hours), you need to pull it into a vacuum to get all of the moisture out of it. Replacing the drier isn't necessary as long as you keep the system in a vacuum for a while, but in a DIY situation it is pretty much necessary. I've been told by a dealer before that you can actually put a drier in an oven at low temp for a little while and they come out as good as new, but I've never tried it, nor has my father (he's a licensed AC guy), so that's pure speculation.

Repairing the condensor is pretty much not going to happen either. New ones are cheap enough that even if you find somebody good enough at welding aluminum, you really aren't going to be saving any money.

Generally, although a lot of people take the DIY air conditioning route, I feel it's one of those things that you should let a pro handle. Without the proper gauges & equipment, you're just not going to be able to do it right. When a 134a conversion is done properly, it will blow within 1 or 2 degrees of what the R12 system was capable of. A lot of people bitch that the 134a conversions dont' blow cold, but usually those are the guys that did it themselves.

And from now on, when you're cutting stuff... take it off the car first.

 

lol i learned from my mistakes

anyway, i just purchased a new condenser so ill be installing it later on tonight and ill let you guys know how that went. thanks for all the replies