A/C

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Okay guys...

I know I'm a total wimp wanting A/C up here in Seattle (its only about 90
degrees), but I'm curious as to whats involved in fixing my A/C system.
The compressor does not engage, but the idle goes up to 1100-1200 rpm when
I switch the A/C on. I looked in the "sight glass" as per Bentley and it
looks clear, whatever that means. No bubbles or streaks. So should I just
take it to an A/C shop for an estimate. Is it worth trying to fix the
leak(s)? Should I charge with R-12 or R-134a? Should I do the whole thing
myself with one of those Wal-Mart kits? Whats the general consensus here? :)

I wouldn't really care if the air blowing out my vents was the same
temperature as the outside air but its HOT, from all the heat trapped
inside the dash. It would be nice to have cold air blowing on my face...
although no one in my family has never owned a car that had working A/C.

I think I tried to fix this once before and found that the "low pressure
switch" was open, keeping the compressor from engaging because
(supposedly) the A/C charge was too low. But I'm not positive..

On an unrelated note, does anyone know a good trick to get the seatbelt
retractors to retract "all the way" ? When I get out of my seat they
retract very slowly then stop, about a foot before the belt would be taut.
The result is an idiotic looking seatbelt closed in the door that gets
soaked when its raining and gets me wet riding home unless I manually
retract the seatbelt every time I get out of my seat. I've tried partially
disassembling the retractor... I took off the side cover and sprayed WD-40
on the spiral spring - that helped a little, but it made the belt smell
like WD-40 for a week and the effect wore off very quickly.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

-Toby

--
'87 16v

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