I need a subaru mechanic around the bremerton or olympia areas of washington who can work on my 87 subaru and give me some hands on experience that I desperately need. It would be nice to not be charged an arm and a leg too. Any help?

Edited September 24, 201510 yr by Rocketdog

You know with that Year Make and Model you will find all kinds of help right here.  What is your issue with the Roo?  What do you need help with?

With things I haven't done before. I need to replace the coils and struts and I am also having troubles with the A/C. It either has a leak or needs more refrigerant...or needs upgraded. I just really don't want to mess it up. I got some great advice on how to upgrade my suspension here, but im a bit apprehensive on the whole A/C thing. There are other repairs I'm confident in tackling. I can be pretty resourcful but other than the forums, it would be nice to have access to somebody that can offer repairs that are out of my league or dont have time to do myself. I was going to do some looking around, but any suggestions I can get for places or people that do great work on subi's around my area would be a big help.

don't let A/C scare you, it's easy.

 

it probably just has a leak.  replace any orings on the compressor (they routinely dry out, get brittle and leak i presume due to engine heat/vibrations), schrader valves, and any other easy to access orings.

then charge it.  convert it to the new stuff.

 

no need to vacuum the system or anything.   easy peasy.

i mean properly diagnosing that it's low first would be ideal.

don't let A/C scare you, it's easy.

 

it probably just has a leak.  replace any orings on the compressor (they routinely dry out, get brittle and leak i presume due to engine heat/vibrations), schrader valves, and any other easy to access orings.

then charge it.  convert it to the new stuff.

 

no need to vacuum the system or anything.   easy peasy.

So, when he goes to replace easy things, such as first schrader valves and then O-rings.  As he lossens the schrade valve core, if he hears any escaping gas sounds ( do this when it's quite around, no car's passing), so if he hears escaping gas, the A/C unit still has refrigerant in it and needs to be taken to a recycling machine at a shop.  If there is no escaping gas the A/C system is empty and he can proceed as you suggest in post #4 with a clear conscious. 

IF the compressor is turning, and nothing else unusual is happening, and there is no cooling, it is pretty unlikely that there is any significant amount of refrigerant left in the system.  In my experience, something [o ring] developed a slow leak, and then you notice it doesn't work any more.  Partial charge with fluorescent dye, use a black light to find the leak.  Fix leak, recharge.

 

It does help to have a refrigeration gauge/ manifold rig.  And I also removed the compressor from a small window unit and added fittings to it to use as a transfer and vacuum pump.

An A/C system is just a set of pipe with gas inside instead of fluid like the radiator/heater, so the same rules apply except that it should be under pressure all the time, not just when hot.

 

First thing to check with A/C is "does it have gas"? Find 1 of the 2 points where it gets filled, & very quickly push the little valve in (it looks like the valve in a tyre) to see if there's any pressure in there. If it's got gas, then take it to any decent auto A/C shop (it doesn't matter if they're subie specialist or not) & get them to put a dye in. They can then run it up & check for leaks.

 

If it doesn't have gas, I'd take the chance to change all of the seals. This is a fiddly job that's time consuming but has very little parts cost, and the reason that a shop will charge a lot to do.

Basically, just undo all of the pipes & even remove them from the car. Then take them to shop & ask to buy the seals that suit. Should cost you less than $10. Buy a new receiver dryer while you're there.

 

A lot of shops won't do this, but there are also 2 seals inside the box behind the dash (can someone confirm this is true for LHD models, because it is for RHD). This becomes painful because you need to remove the dash to get the box out. Be careful prising the spring clips off the box because the plastic can go brittle after so many years.

 

Refit everything yourself back into the car, and then book it into a shop for a regas. This job will cost a couple of hundred for a shop to do, so it's very worthwhile to learn to do yourself, and you'll do it better if you also do the seals behind the dash.

If you need seals, Oreilys sells a grab bag of these for about five bucks. 

"An A/C system is just a set of pipes with gas inside instead of a fluid."

 

MISINFORMATION WARNING!!!

 

(Taken from an HVAC service manual I'm working on at my place of employment):

 

"Heat is removed from the air by drawing the air over tube-and-fin type evaporators filled with liquefied R-134a.  The boiling action of the R-134a removes heat from the air passing through the evaporator, producing refrigerated air.  The refrigerant moves from the evaporator to the compressor where it is compressed into a superheated gas.  The heat from this process is then dissipated as the superheated gas condenses into liquid form as it passes through the condenser.  The refrigerant then travels to the expansion valve to be changed into a low pressure gas that can accept heat as it passes through the evaporator in the cab."

And what of the r 12 refrigerant? Wouldn't that cost more for a shop to refill? Would it be special order?

You can still get R12, but it is damn hard to come by.  It will cost more and it will be a special order item.

R12 is widely available in Honduras, I guess that refrigerators still use it,

 

because cars stopped using it long ago...

 

---

 

So, you need a Subaru Mechanic around the Washington Area,

 

I know that there are some great Mechanics on this Forum...

R12 is used in refrigerators & freezers because the boiling point is more efficient for the colder temperatures required.  R22 is usually used for room AC.  R 12 was used in cars to get more cooling with smaller equipment - space saving.

Pretty sure that R12 aka Freon was banned here like 20 years ago. Newer fridges use 134a. Getting your hands on old stock 12 requires certification, and money. Bet old cans are on ebay tho, dig deep as its not cheap.

Forget using R12 again.

I tried to get this thread Back on Topic...

 

... 
So, you need a Subaru Mechanic around the Washington Area,
 
I know that there are some great Mechanics on this Forum...

 

...let me try again, in order to Help the Thread's Starter:

 

Any good Mechanic with Knowledge of old-school Subarus in the Washington Area?