Techniques for a gas-tight seal is to ensure that you heat the parts and not the brazing rod so that the rod material flows smoothly into the heated joint. Typically, the parts need to be heated to around 700 degrees F, which depends on the melting point of the brazing rod you're using. Check the p...

Well I managed to get an electronic leak detector and found my leak yesterday - it was the brazed joint I made between the male O-ring fitting and the pictured compressor fitting pipe, discharge side. Heck, once I added some refrigerant, I didn't need the sniffer to find the leak - the compressor lu...

Another update. My local Advance Auto parts didn't have a manifold gauge set available yesterday, so I couldn't use it verify the readings I got from my questionable Harbor Freight gauges. But I had a thought - can I self-test my Harbor Freight gauge set to see if it holds vacuum on its own, without...

Al9 wrote:Orings have to be lubed (with a non-hygroscopic AC lube/AC o-ring lube, such as the good ol' mineral, and Ester, unfortunately, is hygroscopic).

I purchased the proper O-ring lube along with all the fittings & O-rings and used it, so that's not an issue here.

I think your plan is a good one. Try another manifold gauge set, pull a vacuum, and see whether it holds. If not, I would suspect the front compressor shaft seal since you've double-checked just about everything else. Place a shower cap around the front of the compressor, charge the system with a f...

Finally got around to finish building up the A/C system on this RX7, but I'm finding after evacuating the system, it won't hold a vacuum over time. So it's likely something is leaking. Quick rehash of the restoration project and summary of where I'm at now: - When I got the car, the only A/C equipme...

It should be possible to remove the whole evaporator core & TXV as a unit from the dash. Do you have a factory shop manual for your 3? Once it's out, you can remove the TXV and flush the evap core by itself. That's the general way to do it, and how I flushed my evaporator core when I restored th...

Barrier hose will be a snug fit, but it should be anyway. A little lubrication is a good plan for sliding them on. If you can't find a loose ferrule with the correct dimensions, you can use clamps. We have covered this before: https://www.autoacforum.com/messageview.cfm?catid=2&threadid=13152 h...

I don't recall if your RX7 has a thermostatic sensing bulb in the evaporator to control icing. If it does, then you can set the low pressure switch down around 20 to 25 psi, because the evaporator control will prevent icing. Thanks, it does have a normally closed thermal switch mounted on the evapo...

Yes. you should add a high pressure cutout to the clutch circuit. Blowing the relief valve is something to avoid, and the switch does that. Since you are plumbing fresh anyway, it is not a big job. Supercool has always been good product Here is a PAG test I did years ago... https://www.autoacforum....