The 86 245 pictured to the right of this post recently suffered from a locked compressor during a return trip from Florida which caused a broken belt and rendered the power steering useless. Since I have a pretty good supply of spare parts, I replaced the compressor with one off of an 88 744 and went in search of a vacuum pump so a recharge could be done. After driving around Charlotte in an unsuccessful try to buy a pump, I ran into an older fellow (about my age, 60 or so!) that told me the R134a systems did not need to be evacuated prior to filling as did the R12 systems. (The vacuum is to boil off any moisture in the system prior to charging). I invested in a couple of cans of R134a and a can of oil and charged the system myself. Voila, cold air is back in the vents just in time for summer weather!

I realize that most folks are scared to death to mess with the AC, but the R134a is sold over the counter because it is not a threat to the environment so if you leak a little out the green police won't be beating your door down.

Regards,
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Will Dallas, www.willdallas.us, www.willdallas.org, www.willdallas.com, www.dallasprecision.com 86 245 DL 222K miles, 93 940 260K miles, 88 765 GLE 152K miles