Vintage air questions after install

[Groove_hunter]

I just had vintage air sure fit system installed in my 1968 non-ac ls 5.3 c10. On the drive home I noticed a few things that have me wondering what is normal with these systems. The coolant temperature now consistently is 200 to 210 where it used to max out around 190. I have a duel electric fan setup that comes on at 180 degrees. Maybe this is normal since the radiator flow is now a bit more restrictive. Just wondering if I need to go to a 4 core radiator or add a shroud or just live with the slight bump in temp.
My second concern is the noise coming from the evaporator under the dash. At idle it seems normal but when the engine revs it resonates loudly. It doesn't seem to matter what speed the fan is at only that he system is cooling. It sounds like here are so are resonate frequencies when the coolant flows at different rates. It seems excessive and was was wondering if this is normal since the evaporator is inside the cabin
Thanks in advance
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[buckskins4ever]

5.3 likes to run around the 180-190 range in coolant temp. With the addition of a A/C system your engine will run hotter, its nature.....so if you can do so, adjust your fan switch to come on at a lower temp. Another cause of hiher temp is your thermostat might be getting a little weak and not opening until its hotter. The noise you are having actually sounds like it is caused by an overfill or coolant.......most likely is working the evap and compressor, that is the sound resonating that you hear.

[Groove_hunter]

I finally got around to posting a few dash pics after the vintage air install. Some people have been wondering if the cowl vents are still functional. They are both fully operational even the passenger side which just clears the fan. I am still having issues with what I believe is the expansion valve in the evaporator. It makes a very loud racket when the engine revs above idle and has been freezing one of the lines out of the compressor. Going back to the installer next week to see what is wrong
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[Andy4639]

One thing I would suggest is a shroud. U will see a drop in temperature with a shroud added as long as the rest of the system is good. The shroud directs the air straight into the motor and helps the cooling of it. High noises are all a concern the installer may have put to much freon into the system.
Did you do a 134 A are stay with R-12?

[Groove_hunter]

Oops. My mobile didn't upload any pics. He's one of the still functional passenger cowl vent.
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[Groove_hunter]

Another dash pic
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[Groove_hunter]

One more of a frozen line connection to the evaporator

Hoping it is something as simple as an overfill. The noise rises and falls with engine revs and sounds like it is struggling to correctly flow the refrigerant into the evaporator. It is louder than the engine inside the cab lol...
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[Groove_hunter]

Last one.
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[Andy4639]

If you did a 134 a freon it takes less freon that what is stated for the r-12 freon. So if it is freezing up it could be a over fill problem. It could also be that the clutch isn't cycling properley also.
U never stated what system u have so it's a shot in the dark. The POA valve system require some adjustments where the tube filtering system is just a matter of installing the right one.

[Groove_hunter]

The system is a vintage air gen 4 sure fit system for 67 through 72 c10 trucks. It looks like r134 was used if I am reading the receipt correctly. What would the correct amount of r134 be for this system

Thanks in advance
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[FettAffen]

Yes, your engine temp is going to increase because the a/c condenser is in front of the radiator now, the outside air used to cool the radiator directly, now the air that cools the radiator is pre heated from the air off the a/c condenser which is very hot, about all you can do is upgrade your radiator if even at highway speeds with a/c on the coolant temp is reading higher then normal..... your cooling fans are mounted directly on the radiator pulling air with no shroud?or are they mounted in a shroud so the air being pulled is from the full surface of the radiator? Fan shroud set up makes all the difference below 25 mph and idle be it for mech single fan or electric fan/fans.......

As for drone in the cabin, it could be the noise in the evap from the freon being forced threw the orifice tube, feel your a/c lines under the hood with a/c on and have someone duplicate the noise while you feel around on the hoses around the firewall in the engine compartment, see if you feel excessive vibration on the hoses........

As the pic of the frosty a/c line is awesome! as long as your a/c is cold and the evaporator is not freezing up I would not worry about it, looking at the wire diagram it has a evap temp probe that goes to the HVAC controller and it determines to cycle the a/c compressor from the temp reading of the evap.........

I would call vintage air and tell them about the drone noise and see if that is nature of the beast by design..........or you might have a tad to much freon in it and the high side is well kinda high pressure making noise and capicity needs to be lowered.......

Also this a/c system has a binary/trinary pressure switch, it will shut off the compressor if system goes empty or the pressure gets to high like being overfilled or plugged orifice or fans quit and cant cool the condenser.......

What are your a/c temps out the vents? If they are frosty, about the only concern I would really worry about is the higher engine temp and go to a 4 core radiator and some kind of fan shroud set up .......Also water wetter and antifreeze ratio to water will affect coolant temps..... I like 60/40 ratio, more water then anitfreeze....Also heard about the waterless coolant making its way into the automotive scence more and more from aviation side.... I dont know anything about it or have used it, but heard it's pretty good stuff.......

I know all about stuff running hot since I live in Arizona

[piecesparts]

All of the above is correct. The first thing is; an increase in temp out of the engine will most likely be noted, due to your changing the inlet air temp from the A/C coil. As for the 5.3 liking to run at 180 to 190 degrees, the new 2011 GMC that I am driving has a 5.3 and the temp is rock solid at 200 degrees whether or not the A/C is on, so the temp can be higher. If you were to look for an upgrade to your radiator, maybe an aluminum unit from an outlet like "Be Cool" , you could gain some more cooling surface effect. I don't know what fans you have or how they are mounted, but running them without some form of an air shroud to allow for efficiency in air movement is a loss of cooling ability. Unless you are traveling down the highway at some rate of speed that would allow for more air to push through the uncovered part of the radiator, then you are not using that part and the cooling temp will rise. The experience that I have seen with air conditioners that have R134 in them, the lines to the compressor usually have a good sweat on them but not frost as seen in your picture. That is something that is seen on many R12 units. Also with an overcharge on a R134 unit, the evap coil will frost over and finally the cab will lose air flow, due to the coil being plugged up with ice. The satement about R134 being different than R12 is true. With R134 the charge is very critical for operation to be right. The A/C unit may have a number on it that would tell you an close approximation of the ounces of freon needed to do the charge on the system properly, if not, then it will be a trial and error process. Of course the install will have to consider the length of the lines and the size of the evaporator, condenser, and accumulator size you have.