B18C, Full Race ramhorn mani, t3/t4e turbo, pusher fan on AC condensor, yadda yadda.......


I had to have the low pressure line custom made so that it did not come near the full race mani as it melted the original line. I had my buddy vacuum the lines and then start filling with r134a, the problem is that the pressure seems to be going up too high and the AC isn't that cold coming out of the vents in the car.

I think maybe that the full race mani might be too hot for the condensor thats only a few inches away?????

Or maybe, I had the system open for about a year (yes all the holes were at least plugged so dirt did not get in there) but a buddy suggested that maybe the EXPANSION VALVE got gunked up over that time.

Cause you guys like pictures:



Check out my shoe at the bottom of the pic (yea I'm standing on my motor, so what??

 

i dont know much about ac, but i think it may be benficial to ceramic coat the manifold

 

It IS ceramic coated, so is the turbo, thats why its black/grey now

 

dbl post sorry.

 

my car with a/c does the exact same thing. sorry i can't help, but please post your findings. I honestly believe the heat from the manifold/turbo combined with the air flow restriction of the intercooler just renders a/c useless in a fi honda. Not many people on this forum run a/c for a reason and its not cuz they like to sweat.

 

You take the pressure reading when the a/c compressor is actually running. When you start to fill and empty system, you will see high pressure because the pressure switch will not let the a/c clutch kick in and the compressor wont run. Put atleast a full bottle in and the a/c clutch will start to short cycle. When the clutch engages and the compressor is running take your pressure measurement, as soon as the clutch disengages the pressure will go off the chart. Keep filling until the compressor comes on for like 20 seconds at a time, then start checking your pressures.

 

ive never been in a turbo honda with a tubular manifold where the ac actually blows cold lol

 

I don't have a FR mani , I have a BLOX mani ... but I recently recharged my AC after having it off the car for the build.

Mine also recharged with too much pressure at first and didn't feel as cold as stock. We just bled off the excess pressure and the AC did get colder after driving it and running the AC for awhile. I still don't feel like it's as cold as a stock system but I am not sure if thats more because of the turbo or the DIY recharge.

But beggers can't be choosers and it is pretty decently cool, WAY better than being a sweaty mess and stuck to my seat .... 100+ here a couple days ... hate it.

 

as far as the expansion valve- i remember a mechanic told me mine is preolly clogged because my a/c would "turn on and off" frequently,
its not really turning on and off per se, but u know that feeling when the ac system is running to cool things down then stops doing that.

also the pressure differences were huge between the low and hig pressure which meant a clog in the system

 

It sounds like the expansion valve and replace the reciever/drier too since thats been exposed to moisture for awhile.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Muckman &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">It sounds like the expansion valve and replace the reciever/drier too since thats been exposed to moisture for awhile.</TD></TR></TABLE> that's what i had to do with mine.. get a new dryer and flush the entire system ! besides the leaking compressor

 

Your dryer shouldn't be exposed to open air for more than a few minutes. Vacuuming the system was definately a good thing but you may need to evacuuate the system again and change the dryer before refilling it.

 

Thanks for the replies fellas, I'll start working on the expansion valve/dryer.

For someone that talked about the pressure. We monitored the pressure with the car running, AC on and off and when we first started running the car/AC, the pressure was almost ok, 200ish high side, 40ish low side, but it QUICKLY went up to like 300 high press, 60 low press.