Digitalchaos said:
TbirdSCFan; its very helpful.. thankyou!
Now I must clarify a few things: first, the liquid or O-tube is the orifice in which the freon changes from a liquid to a gas? And where is it located? Next, I was hoping you'd say the compressor was used for multiple cars, and it sounds like it is. What cars can I find the FS-10 on? And if I acquire from a junkyard or similar, what if anything can I do to help confirm its condition? Another thing, where exactly is the accumulator and what should I cap the lines with to seal well?
Thanks again for your help. A friend has access to more freon and the ability to flush it.
The liquid line is the bottom line from the condenser going to the fitting in the firewall. The liquid line has the Otube built into it. They slide it in, crim the line to hold it, and the bend it into a square U shape. All this means is that you have to replace the whole line, but it only runs about $30 so its not a big hit. You can't replace the Otube without cutting the line.
The reason the want you to replace it is small particles can build up on the screen and possibly clog it. To me though, if the old compressor didn't belch out any of the bands, I'd try to flush it from the large end to the small end with brake cleaner. Note, if when you do this, a large amount of black crud comes out, it may be best to flush the condenser and the high pressure line/manifold as well.
As far as the accumulator, its the black or silver canister just in front of the firewall. Its job is to catch and hold water in the system. Usually, you replace them if you ever open the system up as air gets in, they get saturated and can become ineffective; its a judgement call. To cap it off, you can use saranwrap and rubber bands. With a used compressor, I'd probably reuse the old accum as you don't know how long its going to hold up... No scratch that.. if anything an old compressor probably could use more protection, so its safer to use a new accum. Moisture is what kills compressors to begin with, so the dryer the insides, the better.
I think the Ford FS-10 (or Fx-15s) are quite common from 1990-95. Probably best to take a pic of yours to see that the manifold (brass block with the steel lines) bolts up the same. It is possible to unbolt and twist the body of the compressor 180 degrees if that gets things lined up.
To check a used compressor, if you can turn the shaft, not the pulley itself, with out a lot of force, then it should be fine. It will take a bit of extra force to get it started turning, but then it should turn smoothly. If I had to put a number to it, Id say it takes about 10 ft-lbs of torque to keep it moving. Give it at least 2-3 full turns.
When you refill it, you'll need to add about 6-8 oz of mineral oil and install new Orings lubed with mineral oil also. Then when you go to refill it, hook up a vaccuum pump to both ports (if you can) for 30-45 minutes to suck out all the air and moisture and then charge it up. Be sure to keep any air out. To do this right, you need a set of gauges and you need to purge the air out of the hoses; there's a bit of a trick to it, so post back if your friend isn't familiar with how to.
I'm attaching some pics of the various parts. Hope this helps.