I know it's a long shot but does anyone have any links to a mechanic in SF?
My AC died on the first week of a 4 - 6 week road trip , it was repaired 2x in Richmond BC. but the repairs just aren't holding and I think the compressor is shot. I'm going to try calling around tomorrow , I have BCAA , I'll see what they recommend .
Not feeling too positive right now , I guess Death Valley is off the itinerary for now
Don't know if they'll work on a Delica, but Karen and I had amazing treatment from Novato Chevrolet when the engine in our vibe broke on a road trip. They saved us about 20 hours of labour, offered us a place to stay, and got us on the road in no time. Not quite IN san francisco, but its not too far a drive.
Nice job on the swamp cooler! Regarding the L400 A/C Refrigerant, did not the L400 come with the R-134a to start with? I thought it was around '92-'93 that it all changed over?
Falco.
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FalcoColumbarius wrote:Nice job on the swamp cooler! Regarding the L400 A/C Refrigerant, did not the L400 come with the R-134a to start with? I thought it was around '92-'93 that it all changed over?
Falco.
Doesn't matter what kind of refrigerant it uses if the compressor is frelled.
Thanks Paul! Yes it appears the compressor is toast, thought I new that a month ago though!!
Now only if I didn't sell my L300 with the working freezer to make some ice to throw in the bucket.
HaHa
BTW , downtown San Fran = super cool , biked over the golden gate bridge yesterday , lunched in Sausilito , caught the ferry back
Gonna hit the road south on monday I think
We are now seeing if we can change our route to avoid the hottest stuff, Grand Canyon is forecasting lows of -4 next week
But it's that dang desert between here and there
If you head back northeast, to Salt Lake City, you only add about 500 miles (1 maybe 2 days driving) to the journey, and by coming down the other side of the Rockies you mostly avoid the Nevadan/Arizonan deserts. I think...
HI Rik, so Christine's Happy Thought is that if you disconnect the belt to the AC, you put less load on the delica engine in the heat.
On L300 I find my new side exhaust muffler and 2.5 inch exhaust runs engine MUCH cooler due to less air constriction as I did 3 canoe trips thru hot BC interior this year. Others have found MUCH cooler engine temps with snorkels, forcing air directly in to turbo. Care to cut a hole in the side of L300 behind/below driver door, put a Home depot external flat dryer vent over it (forget the huge snorkel) with vents facing forward?
I put the engine in neutral on every downhill (sshhh, whhheeee what fun hypermiling) and the temps dropped amazingly, back into gear before bottom of hill to build momentum for next uphill.
Remember if you start to overheat, dont just pull over anywhere, pull over where there is a breeze (ie top of hill) and sit with engine RUNNING in NEUTRAL till it cools. None of us have found that running the heater makes any difference in cooling the overheating engine, it was a topic we discussed at several meets this year. I heard advertising of a coolant that is super coolant ish, supposedly it disperses heat quicker than regular coolant. Regular should be replaced every 2 years for its best heat dissipating properties.
Oh, almost forgot my best hint, I find most of my drivers compartment heat comes in thru the hand brake gap, stuff a rag around the handle area to keep it out. Christine.
PS if driving with rear windows open, the road vibrations can shake loose the bolts holding windows on, so check it every stop (thanks to Glen of Coombs for driving back to his shop to get me some bolts to replace mine that fell out when we were offroading together on the island). ..
Christine
Of The TardisDeli My TardisDeli travels thru time and space. Our house is nicknamed the TardisDeli Motel, as so many delii owners visit to share delii stories.
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