Factory A/C, what to do

[jeffahart]

Originally Posted by leddzepp

The a6 compressor does not cycle, it's either on or off.

The a6 will "lock up" and act like it's hard to turn, and your belt will squeal like a pig.

I went through 4 of them over the years on various trucks before I concluded I was wasting my time and went with a new aluminum a-10. No more belt squeals, no leaks, no problems. A rebuilt a-6 will fail, it's only a matter of time. They also leak at the front seal. I will never use one again unless it's the original one on the truck from the 70's and still functioning.

I restored the factory AC in my 68 a few weeks ago, a-10 compressor and r-12. 36 degree air idling at a stop light in 100 degree heat without missing a beat.

I almost upgraded, cold instead of cool would be nice for sure. But decided to cheap out and go through the system when I pull the engine. I just got rid of the original A6. It was locking up and squealing like a stuck pig but was blowing pretty cold, it finally thew a belt. I put on my rebuilt junker and the compressor looked like it was locking up, like the old one... I blamed you and all your anti A6 posts.... But I tightened the belt and it's been OK... but now that I said that it will probably spit oil next time I turn it on!!

[leddzepp]

My pet peeve is non functioning or poor cooling AC. I run hot all the time and use it every time I drive a vehicle. It's one of the first things I learned to do myself because the first classic truck I owned I took to a shop and was charged $800 and got a converted 134 system that blew "lukewarm" air and a failed compressor within 2 months.

[Already Gone]

Originally Posted by leddzepp

The a6 compressor does not cycle, it's either on or off.

The a6 will "lock up" and act like it's hard to turn, and your belt will squeal like a pig.

I went through 4 of them over the years on various trucks before I concluded I was wasting my time and went with a new aluminum a-10. No more belt squeals, no leaks, no problems. A rebuilt a-6 will fail, it's only a matter of time. They also leak at the front seal. I will never use one again unless it's the original one on the truck from the 70's and still functioning.

I restored the factory AC in my 68 a few weeks ago, a-10 compressor and r-12. 36 degree air idling at a stop light in 100 degree heat without missing a beat.

Can you run R134 in an A-10.. I bought my truck with functioning A/C and discovered it has a rebuilt A-6 compressr and has been converted to 134...

[weq92f]

FWIW

The vacuum pump and gauges can be had off Amazon for less than 100 bucks shipped. Take your truck once to a shop for anything and you'll have spent more than that LOL!

-klb

[1SG.Rob]

Subscribed. Will be doing this in a few weeks if I can get my dash wiring harness sorted out.

[hdff]

Originally Posted by leddzepp

The a6 compressor does not cycle, it's either on or off.

The a6 will "lock up" and act like it's hard to turn, and your belt will squeal like a pig.

I went through 4 of them over the years on various trucks before I concluded I was wasting my time and went with a new aluminum a-10. No more belt squeals, no leaks, no problems. A rebuilt a-6 will fail, it's only a matter of time. They also leak at the front seal. I will never use one again unless it's the original one on the truck from the 70's and still functioning.

I restored the factory AC in my 68 a few weeks ago, a-10 compressor and r-12. 36 degree air idling at a stop light in 100 degree heat without missing a beat.

where did you get your a10?

[leddzepp]

I bought my recent a-10 at autozone, they had a special going on a complete ac kit. Included compressor, a quart bottle of mineral oil (used with r-12), drier/receiver, and expansion valve. Was $325, $50 rebate/gift card made it $275.

A-10 will work with r-134, just need to use the compatible oil. Mine came with 3 ozs of oil already in it, and I think it was pag oil as it had a different appearance than the mineral oil. Just to be sure I drained it and filled it with mineral oil, spun it around a few times and drained it again. I did this a few times to be sure I had compatible oil for the r-12. A quart is waaayyy beyond enough oil to do this procedure.

[Already Gone]

Originally Posted by leddzepp

I bought my recent a-10 at autozone, they had a special going on a complete ac kit. Included compressor, a quart bottle of mineral oil (used with r-12), drier/receiver, and expansion valve. Was $325, $50 rebate/gift card made it $275.

A-10 will work with r-134, just need to use the compatible oil. Mine came with 3 ozs of oil already in it, and I think it was pag oil as it had a different appearance than the mineral oil. Just to be sure I drained it and filled it with mineral oil, spun it around a few times and drained it again. I did this a few times to be sure I had compatible oil for the r-12. A quart is waaayyy beyond enough oil to do this procedure.

Thanks Scott..

[dmjlambert]

Originally Posted by leddzepp

I bought my recent a-10 at autozone, they had a special going on a complete ac kit.

So please tell me how do you go about getting one of those from a place such as Autozone? I just now called Autozone and they have no way of selling me an A10 because when they look up what compressor goes on a 1969 C10 it shows them A6 compressor. They don't know what A10 means. It seems to me (and them) they must have an application, specific year/vehicle/engine size in order to sell something that was not intended for the truck as manufactured. Are we talking about using the same brackets, or are you guys who use an A10 fabricating something? Are the fittings exactly the same as on an A6?

[leddzepp]

Go down to autozone and tell them you want an ac compressor for a 69 truck...then look at all the options that come up. It will be obvious from the pic which one it is. The people there have no clue unless you lead them by the hand. Here is a pic of the kit with a part number.

[leddzepp]

The a10 bolts right up to the factory brackets and hoses or I wouldn't use it, lol. This is all the stuff that comes in the kit, with part numbers.

[leddzepp]

I took those pics at the beginning of May when I first bought the kit for reference in the future. I'll try and get a pic of everything installed when I get home from work late tonight or tomorrow.

[dmjlambert]

That would be great!

I just confirmed in person at AutoZone that it is not possible to get an A10 compressor by walking into AutoZone and asking for one. Applications for a 1969 pickup are for A6 compressor only, and there are no kits or individual compressors that is referred to as an A10.

With the picture of the box with part number B0743, that was the only way to find information about it. The detailed information he was able to find out about it included some technical information, but no information about the application, brackets to fit, fittings, etc. Nowhere in the documentation they have is it referred to as A10. The guy was knowledgeable but did not have memorized anything about compressor upgrades for an old pickup like mine.

This is kind of the same story of how there is no way to walk into an AutoZone and just get a 12SI alternator. You must know the part number or application.

[dmjlambert]

Also, looking on the AutoZone web page it shows this kit B0743 with part number 58098 is an A6 compressor. http://www.autozone.com/cooling-heat...3_246189_34477

[Already Gone]

Quick Google Serach this morning found this. Not plugging just sharing info.


http://www.brotherstrucks.com/64-74-...tinfo/ACC472A/

[leddzepp]

Originally Posted by dmjlambert

Also, looking on the AutoZone web page it shows this kit B0743 with part number 58098 is an A6 compressor. http://www.autozone.com/cooling-heat...3_246189_34477

That's it in the pic. They may call it an "upgraded a6" or a6 but that is the a10 compressor

[leddzepp]

Originally Posted by Already Gone

Quick Google Serach this morning found this. Not plugging just sharing info.


http://www.brotherstrucks.com/64-74-...tinfo/ACC472A/

That's the same one...just a WAY higher price

[dmjlambert]

This thread is very interesting. Thanks for sharing that info. I think there are a lot of things about these trucks that you just flat out can't find out without help from friends.

[leddzepp]

Here are some pics. The front hub is slightly different than the ones I've had in the past, and the ones pictured for sale linked above, maybe they upgraded or something? I also painted mine black so it appears more "factory" as opposed to raw aluminum. You can see the factory brackets and hoses connect right up.

[leddzepp]

Another

[leddzepp]

More from top

[leddzepp]

New hard lines and hoses from classic industries (made by old air products). They all are factory duplicates. Drier/receiver was identical and hard lines needed very minimal tweaking to line up. You can also see a new aluminum champion radiator peeking in the back...very happy with that as well

[leddzepp]

iPhone pics suck...here's one that's finally oriented properly so you can see how it looks overall. Only thing left is to splice in a heater shutoff valve...but the ac works so well I just haven't found the time to do it yet. I replaced all the vacuum lines and ducts in the dash as well.

[dmjlambert]

That's a beautiful and clean engine compartment you have there. Thanks for sharing info about the A/C and your setup and pictures. I have a quite different bracket for the compressor. I don't think I've seen any others with brackets like mine. It is huge and in the way and complicated.

[leddzepp]

Originally Posted by dmjlambert

That's a beautiful and clean engine compartment you have there. Thanks for sharing info about the A/C and your setup and pictures. I have a quite different bracket for the compressor. I don't think I've seen any others with brackets like mine. It is huge and in the way and complicated.

Thanks, it's pretty dirty from being driven and sitting outside! Board member "FirstOwner69" has brackets the same as yours. They may be one year only? Not sure. The a6 was used on a lot of applications so it fits many brackets. Today was in the 90's and I did errands around town, harbor freight, etc. and lots of stop and go traffic. The AC still working great! Tomorrow will be going to the dump with a bed load after trimming trees, will be nice to stay cool...until I get out and shovel