Cyberhorn The Dragon

excellent looking soft top cory

junk4u

iTrader: (1)

Sweet Cory, The way that unit hugs the truck is really great. That means no flapping in the wind. Awesome...

coryc85

Really haven't been on the highway much to tell you for certain. I mean, my truck has those mud tires and no carpet and no real sound insulation so it's hard to know. I'll tell you this, no flapping and haven't really hear any wind noises or anything like that. I'll drive it to work here one day and see if I can hear the radio, that will be a real test.

Thanks Chef, can't keep up with your all your mods, you went from stock with some mods to extremely built crawler in a short period.

Thanks Dragon!

Thanks junk, it really is a nice top. Money well spent. Just feels like a quality product.

coryc85

Took my son on his very first camping trip this weekend, Hidden Hammocks State park in Sebring, FL.


So this was about a 2.5 hour drive for us, in 90+ degree South Florida weather. The truck ran great, it drives super smooth at 65-70mph the whole way...BUT my AC is just not cutting it. Last year (I think) I opened up the system, replaced all the o-rings, flushed the compressor with oil, vac'd the system out for like an hour, and refilled. It blows cold air from the vents, but just not cold enough to keep the truck comfortable in 90 degree weather. If it's raining or cloudy, or maybe in lower 80s it does ok. Now I know that I have leaks, I could feel warm air coming in from the speaker cutout holes in the door, and the tailgate does not seal very well, and of course now I have that black soft top....but still I think the AC could be better. I know I need to address the air leaks, which I plan to do, but I'm starting to think again about a parallel flow AC condenser. I found a guy on IH8MUD who has one and I've started chatting with him about his experience, but has anyone on here upgraded their condenser?

Couple years ago I purchased an electric Mercury Villager fan and one of those DCC fan controllers to try and move more air across the condenser...I never did install that fan, and honestly since I was moving at 65mph the entire trip, I don't really think the e-fan is going to help much.

Let me know if you have any thoughts on improving the AC.

Terrys87

iTrader: (1)

Congrats on taking the kid outdoors. Bet he had a great time. The evaporators get dirty in these trucks. I remember you cleaning your cowl and the debris that was in yours. https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f116...trucks-286766/ It takes about an hour to do. I have not replaced a evaporator just take them to the carwash and use low pressure water to clean the fins. It is nasty stuff tht comes out of them. I did a pickup a while back it made a big difference on the cooling. The dust that gets trapped in between the fins builds up alot.

Cyberhorn The Dragon

adding to what terry has said also replacing the foam seals inside the ducts for various flappers will help as well

cleaning the evap a mild detergent or aluminum cleaner while cleaning ducts an replacing the foam seals all in one visit

coryc85

Thanks Terry. Did you mean the evaporator or the condenser or maybe both. I did clean the evaporator once several years ago...at least 4 years or so ago, so it could need a cleaning again...wonder if I can clean it while in the truck? Also I have never really cleaned the condenser and I just took a look at it, fairly dirty.

Thanks Dragon, you guys might have talked me down off the ledge. I will try cleaning the condenser with a pressure washer on low to see if I can clean it up (need to really get the radiator out and clean that up as well so this may end up being a 2 for 1 deal). Also I will see if I can clean the evaporator while in the truck, don't really want to remove it since I'm all buttoned up.

And now that you mention those duct seals, I do remember reaching behind the dash and feeling cold air, so maybe I'm losing 10% or so of my cool air...plus with all the air leaks into the cab I'm sucking in warm air....I've got those speaker holes and the tailgate seal I can see daylight thru....maybe this is just a lot of little things adding up.

Terrys87

iTrader: (1)

I get them confused too. The one I am tallking about is the one in the cab. Did you pull the evaporator?? ( is that the correct name) out of the box and clean the fins?

Are your flaps that control air flow moving into the correct positions all the way? I see on several trucks not being all the way open or closed.

On AC systems even during the winter I try to run mine about 10 minutes a month just to keep all the seals and system lubricated and operating.

I know Florisda gets hot and humid more then what we get here in the mid west but we get similar and a pickup I did last year kept the truck cooled greatly. These runners are alot bigger and I still need to get my runners ac systems working and it is possible that the ac system in a runner could be small for the area it has to cool.

Like cyberhorns saide the foam gets bad in these trucks and I would look for leaks on the fire wall too.

mica

iTrader: (1)

I had a couple quick thoughts on the A/C. First are you running r-12 or has the system been converted to R-134a?
I installed a piece if steel window screen material behind the grill to keep the condenser free of bugs and stuff. It helps a lot and it is easy to stick a garden hose behind there and flush the screen.
I am on the same page Terrys87, clean the evaporator -the one behind the dash- they get super gunky with fine dust. Replacing the foam on the blend doors helps and the adjustment of the boden cables, so the doors can open and close as they should. If you do end up opening up the system be sure to change the receiver/dryer/filter and the t.x.v. valve.
And of course, the real first step is hooking up a set of manifold gauges and looking at your high/low side pressure.
Hope something in there helps. Soft topper looks sweet.

coryc85

Terry - I had the evaporator out maybe 4 years ago and I cleaned it the best I could at that time. It's probably dirty, I'm going to look at it when I get a chance. I will try to investigate the vent seals and the flappers, I know the door that closes to outside air had the foam disintegrated on it...so maybe that is a big problem.

Mica - thanks...I'm running r134. That's a good idea to keep the condenser clean. If I do open up the system I will change the drier...hadn't thought about the expansion valve. And I don't have a gauge set to check the pressures, I used the loaners from Autozone when I filled it and I can't remember my numbers.

I just went out and measured my vent temps:

9:20pm April 29, 2015
Ambient in garage: 79.9 deg
Center Vent Temp @ 2k rpm: 61 deg
Center Vent Temp @ idle : 65-66 deg
Outer 2 vents were closed, fan was on highest setting, truck had run for a few minutes with AC on just to let things settle.

61 degrees is just not good enough. I need to be down in the 40s I think. So a couple of quick and easy things will be to clean the condenser and junk4u has also suggested to put some foam in to close the gap b/t condenser and radiator so that the fan pulls air thru condenser instead of around it.

And actually now that I think about it, I'm not sure that the fan was pulling hard since the engine was not warmed up, so next time I repeat the test I'll want similar conditions so I can compare apples to apples.

coryc85

Cleaned my condenser with a pressure washer yesterday. Used degreaser on it about 3 times and hit it pretty good with the pressure. Definitely looked cleaner when I was done.

5/2/2015 3pm
Ambient temp 83.2 deg
Center vent temp @ 2k rpm held for several minutes 54.5 deg

So I think maybe it got a bit better, but not a whole lot. I still need to try the foam in between radiator and condenser to get better air flow thru the condenser, but haven't been out to find the foam yet. Also thinking of either changing the fluid in my fan clutch or just replacing the entire clutch to see if I get any better airflow thru the condenser.

Cyberhorn The Dragon

you could replace the normal fan with a flex fan removes the clutch entirely

Redwood 4runner

looking sweet

coryc85

Thank you Cyberhorn that is a good thought. Hadn't really considered a flex fan...I'm leaning toward keeping it stock, but I might look into one of those.

Thank you Redwood, it's not much for looks but I love it.

So following junk4u's advice, I found this foam piece at Walmart for like $2.75



I trimmed it to length and stuffed it in between the radiator and front channel.


I then repeated my earlier temp measurements:

Ambient: 82.9 deg
Center vent temp at idle: 64.x deg
Center vent temp at 2k rpm: 59 deg

Summary: Well, the foam seemed to help a bit. The thing I am wondering about is why my temps were so much better right after cleaning the condenser when the Ambient was same....I suspect the reason is that the condenser was just a little bit wet after I cleaned it and that water helped it dissipate the heat.

I was browsing around doing some reading today and I saw where a couple people did a bit of evaporator cleaning by removing the fan motor and getting a hose up into the air box. I think I'm going to try that and see if I can get just a little bit better airflow across the evaporator. junk4u also suggested that I check my system pressures, but I need to get the loaner gauges to check that.

Also, I'm still thinking that I might get some more help replacing the fluid in my fan clutch with a slightly heavier than factory fluid. 6k seems to be the norm, I saw where people in Arizona are using 10k...so I'm thinking that 8k might be a good compromise for me.

So far it's not looking good to get me into the 40's with my current setup....we'll see though.

liveoffroad

My DD truck has the same problem, i get good ac on the highway but not in town cuz there's not enough airflow through the condenser. i'm planning to throw a cheap e-bay electric fan in there mounted between the radiator and the condenser. I've got two of those cheap fans cooling my whole engine right now ont he 4runner haha. i'll wire it up to a relay off the ac switch. just an idea for ya

coryc85

Thanks buddy, appreciate the idea. You know, at one time I thought about a pusher but I can't remember why I never followed up on it. I'm sub'd to your build thread so if you find one that will fit post up the info please, it will certainly help things at idle. My AC is still not quite cold enough on the highway, so I think I have other problems as well.

Gizler00

iTrader: (1)

Cory, Just checking in on your thread. Its been while. I love the look of your Soft top. I have been really wanting to get one for my runner, But trying to figure out which one to go with. Are you liking this one?

Wish I had AC!!

coryc85

Hey Gizler, I do like this Softopper quite a lot. Several years ago I bought a used Kayline, I did not have it long because I really did not like it, maybe partly because it was used and abused a little but the fit was very very tight (almost too tight) and the quality was not as good. This Softopper is much nicer quality, fits fantastic everywhere except those rear corners are a bit loose. They give you a velcro strip to stick on your tailgate to hold the rear edge of the top down, but I elected not to stick that velcro on. I might change my mind and do it though, not sure. I just took a 300+ mile roundtrip in it a few weeks ago and the top is not at all flappy on the highway, pretty quiet inside considering it's a 30 yr old truck with mud tires and no insulation anywhere.

Here in South Florida it is so hot and so humid that you really have to have AC, otherwise you'll be soaking wet with sweat. Mine is just barely working....mid 50's vent temps are not enough to cool the truck down. But that problem will be fixed just a matter of time and hopefully not too much $$.

coryc85

Reading back thru my build thread today as I think about my AC and honestly I'm not sure if it was ever quite right. Normal AC center vent temps are supposed to be in the range of like 42 to 55 deg F, depending on ambient temp and right after I charged mine back in 2012 the vent temps were in the high 60's...so seems like the AC has not really gotten worse at all, but really was NEVER operating in correct range. Read some more on the web today and since normal operating low side PSI should be around 30, and I was getting 50psi. Most common reasons for high low side reading are either overcharge of system or lack of airflow over condenser. I've really got to get those loaner gauges are get some readings so I can understand this a little better.

coryc85

Ok, I'm getting beyond frustrated with my AC. I picked up the loaner gauge set from Autozone today...very hot day here today, low 90s probably. Drove the 4Runner, got back home, hooked up the gauges to get some static readings.




115, 120 on both gauges, and since from what I've read, r134a static pressure is roughly the ambient temp in deg F, so underhood temps were over 100, I checked them with my thermometer after this and read about 109.

Ok, so then I started up the truck and read this:



So this reads 60 psi low side and about 175 psi hi side. Engine is running at idle so I could take the pic, I have a shop fan blowing on the condenser.

Now, I consider that to be slightly high pressure on the low side and low on the hi side. Everything I'm reading says I should be around 250 psi on the hi side. So I decided to put some more r134 in.

It took some, because the can was getting very cold, but I never really saw the low side pressure dropping and high side did not go up much if at all. I was also monitoring the vent temps, expecting them to drop and they did not. If I hold the throttle open a bit, I can get the low side pressure to drop to ~55 but not much lower. And center vent temps seem worse to me now than they did before I filled it, lowest reading I could see was about 72 deg (it was very hot today and the top was off, so I don't expect it to be THAT cold).

So basically, did I overfill it? I don't understand why I can't get below 50 deg vent temps...is my compressor not working correctly?