Project Neil1138. Adventures of the Cream Machine

[fresh_TD]

Pics?

Sent from my Samsung Note 4

[jayuuey]

thanks for the sharing the spreadsheet. I'm totally discouraged now.

nice photography by the way.

[DrLeadFoot]

Great photos and even better build!

Go turbo and run a VAC/ATI Damper and a non-lightweight flywheel. The S52 will vibrate itself apart with the big power but the damper quiets things down.

[Snowflake87]

Looks great man. I guess I'm in the minority but I love the look of the 15's with meaty tires. It makes the car look tough to me. Great work on the spreadsheet. I plan on doing a s52 swap. This parts list just made it a lot easier than having to trawl multiple posts/forums.

[QuiqueUy]

great build . i would stay with the style 5's all the way tho !

[Dj Buttchug]

perfect wheels IMO. plenty of tire. fitment on point. would plow 10/10

[GDA]

Great read on a cool Alpine.

Thanks for sharing.

[Neil1138]

Man, I haven't posted here in a while. I will have a few photo adventures soon. The A/C sucks in the e30 since the swap and it's really aggravating. Going to rip into it this week. Not sure what else, I've just been driving and enjoying it.

Need to go out for sexy fun time photos soon.

[Neil1138]

So... this weekend's a/c adventures were a disappointment.

With the stock m20

• System was converted to r134a. Always performed well.

During the s52 swap

• Had the system torn apart for a month. Lots of moisture got into the lines I'm sure.
• Made custom a/c lines to get everything to hook up, all new o-rings.
• Purchased a new dryer (actually purchased two different ones because I didn't know which one my car had)
• Installed said dryer, also using the stock S52 a/c compressor
• Pulled vacuum on the a/c system and left overnight. Didn't see any leaks in morning
• Added 2-3oz of PAG46 oil to system
• Charged system with 24oz-ish of r134a
• A/C worked, but was never really that cold. Worked better on highway

As of this weekend

• Evacuated a/c system
• Replaced a/c expansion valve and all line o-rings
• Noticed presence of desiccant on expansion valve that had accumulated on inlet from dryer line.
• Cleaned all of desiccant from exploded dryer. I'm thinking this was from old m20 dryer (pre-s52).
• Pulled vacuum on system, all checks ok.
• Attempted to recharge, however system would not accept more than 6-7oz of refrigerant. Outside temp ~90degF
• Looking at a/c manifold gauge set, pressure on LP side reads 30psi, and HP side reads 275psi when a/c compressor is on. With a/c compressor off, pressure equalizes between LP and HP side. How can the pressures be this high with so little refrigerant??
• No clue anymore. System acts like it has been fully filled, however I know that it isn't. With the LP side open, it refuses to accept any more freon.
• I know the compressor is working as I can see the pressures cycling and I can see/feel the drain on the engine through the tach.
• Additionally, I've noticed that the AUX fan is not working at idle with the a/c on. Need to investigate further.
• Driving around, am only getting 10deg temperature differential when moving. At idle, a/c basically doesn't work.

Any thoughts before I tear this thing apart again? Btw, here is a sexy pic.



<3

[Neil1138]

Went at it again today.

• Removed ac compressor
• Removed ac line from evaporator to dryer
• Removed ac line from compressor to evaporator
• Removed grilles, front bumper, and valence
• Removed condenser and attached ac lines
• Removed aux fan
• removed evaporator and expansion valve
• Before all removal, I tried to test the aux fan. Looks like the resistor for the low speed is bad. If I jumper the pins to the high speed side, the fan runs just fine on high, but on low, I can hear relay K1 just clicking and no fan.
• Also, I evacuated all of the fluid from the ac compressor. Right about 3oz came out, even with me manually turning the compressor wheel.
• Also flushed all of the ac lines using compressed air. Nothing really came out other than some refrigerant residue
• Attempted to flush condenser and about 1-2oz of what looks to be a mix of compressor oil and liquid refrigerant came out.
• I'm just going to replace everything.

Bought a new denso compressor, a PF condenser, new pressure switch, new dryer, and new o-rings. Will get back at it later this week. If this doesn't fix it, I'm out of ideas.

[oprahhwinfreyy]

beautiful photos! beautiful car!

[87'325e]

What are your final spacer specs in the front and rear. Car looks amazing. Pics are great as always. Good luck with the A/C.

[pandaboo911]

What'd you do to fit your AC lines?

The dryer also has a filter inside, could be clogged preventing flow.

IIRC the whole system should take a full bottle of oil, about 8 oz.

[CRBR30]

Love the OEM look! Great photography as well!

[ReSoP]

I'm also very curious about what you did to the ac lines. to make the fit.