HOW TO PROPERLY USE AN A/C VACUUM PUMP

It occurred to me that not everyone knows how to use (or even uses) an evacuation or vacuum pump after doing some kind of work on an A/C system.  Obviously you could take it to some mechanic shop and have them do it (lame) or buy a vacuum pump like I did and do it yourself. It isn't hard to do just a little tricky.

First get yourself a cheap vacuum pump.  Here is mine:

single stage vacuum pump you can see the hose ports

vacuum pump oil level and drain bolt (very necessary)

In a basic sense, the vacuum pump boils water vapor out of the A/C system that you left open to the air.  This leaves no water in the system which can form ice and mess up all kinds of stuff (not to mention the oil which is hydroscopic.......that means it absorbs water.)  In order to do this of course you have to have an A/C hose and gauge manifold like the one shown below.

Here is the A/C manifold gauge with high and low side connectors shown

The blue is for the low pressure (suction) side of the system and the red is for the high pressure side.  Both need to be connected to the system when vacuuming out the system in order to get all the water out.  The yellow hose in the middle of the gauge manifold is the one you plug into the vacuum pump. Find the proper connection size (mine had three) and twist it on.  Attach the hoses to the ports on your car.  Make sure the two handles on the ends are turned all the way to the right (closed) and turn on the vaccum pump.  It should run for a couple of minutes before you open the valve handles (left turn) and let it start sucking all the moisture out of the a/c system.  On my pump a slight foggy mist comes out of the fill port of the pump as it boils out the moisture.  Cool.

The yellow attached to the vacuum pump

With the gauge cluster attached, the pump running and the handles open, the blue gauge with the smaller numbers will have a part that measures vacuum to the right of 0 on the pressure gauge.  As the vacuum pump pulls more and more vacuum the gauge will read a vacuum more towards 30 hg (which is what you want).  If for some reason it dosn't move at all, you probably have a sizable leak somewhere and you need to find it in order to close it off.  It is usually an o ring or some other fitting so look carefully.

blue gauge at zero, vacuum pump not started

vacuum pump close to 30 hg vacuum means its working

Once you have a good 30hg of vacuum then let it run for 30 to 45 minutes.  Turn the valve handles on either side of the manifold gauge to the right (closed) and turn off the vacuum pump.  Failure to close the handles can make the vacuum you created in the car's system suck all the oil out of your vacuum pump and into the car which is a disaster (dont ask).  Watch the gauge for any drop in vacuum for a few minutes, there should be no drop, and if it looks good fill it with the refrigerant.  Or just disconnect it and put the caps back on the ports.

Do not be in a hurry to do this because the process takes over an hour anyways so why rush?  Put on your favorite music, read a magazine or whatever because you just saved yourself a bundle of cash.  And dont loose your cool.

MAZDA MIATA BRAKE ADJUSTMENT PAIN

Anyone who owns a Mazda Miata and has replaced the brake pads on the rear wheels knows that adjustment of the parking brake is the biggest pain ever!  On the rear of the rear brake caliper is a small 14mm bolt that covers a secret adjustment screw.  It is this screw (it uses a 4mm hex) is the cause of a lot of problems when installing rear pads.

Above is an example of a rear caliper.

This is the hidden bolt on the rear of the caliper.  The spring/cable bracket is removed for clarity.

Once you have the bolt removed (it has a washer so dont lose it) you can loosen the piston to fit the new pads.

It takes a 4mm hex or allen to retract or tighten the e-brake actuator.  Once you have retracted the piston as far as you need to put in the new pads, put the whole caliper back onto the disk and tighten the caliper bolt to specifications.  The hidden bolt should still be open at this time because we are not done with it yet.  With the wheel off the ground (obviously) slowly turn the disk and tighten the retracting screw with the 4mm hex (or allen for you weirdos) until the disk stops moving. Back off the screw about 1/3 (thats one third) of a turn and see if the disk turns freely.  If not back off a little more till it turns.  Then tighten the hidden bolt cover and you are done.  

If, for some reason know only to you, your screw falls out onto the ground while manipulating the caliper this is what it looks like.

Just stick it back in and continue no harm done.  If for some reason it becomes hard to turn the screw, please for the love of all thats holy do not force it or you just bought a new caliper.  It doesn't take much force to adjust the screw and you will destroy it if you do it too hard.  Run your car for a few miles checking the rear brakes for seizing (that means you tightened it too much).  Get back under the car and loosen the bolt and loosen the screw a small bit to make the parking brake the perfect distance between too tight and not tight enough.  

Because not all brake pads are the same size and shape as the original Mazda brake pads, it is probably not possible to get it right on the first try (God knows I didn't )but keep at it and you will have it perfect.  Keep your Zen attitude and you will probably get it done quickly........maybe.

2003 Ford Escort SPI engine destruction

2002 FORD ESCORT 2.0 SPI ENGINE FRAG

The Ford 2.0 single overhead camshaft engine is a real piece of work. It has an inherent flaw that results in the entire engine having to be scrapped:  the valve seats come loose. Yes, yes, I know.  That doesn't seem possible since no engine would work with that problem as they all have valve seats, and yet here we are discussing it.  There are many articles online about this particular problem but there are no real solutions.  Perhaps the only viable solution I personally have come across is 1. changing out the cylinder head with one that has reinforced valve seats.  Any other solution, and I have seen some crazy ones, will lead to the engine totally destroying itself as it eats bits and pieces of valve seat. This also happens to be the cheapest route to fixing these engines, assuming of course that yours hasn't already fragged. 

One other solution, one that is a bit more extreme, is to 2. change out the SPI engine with the DOHC engine of the same size.  Since Ford makes two engines for this same car, including the Focus, it is possible to change out the engines as long as you get a few things from the DOHC car.  A new air intake box is needed, a new exhaust pipe, possibly a new automatic transmission (although many have just bolted the existing one on) and the wiring which includes a new computer.  This will result in a complete and noticeable change and will give you a more powerful engine with the same gas mileage, if you care about that sort of thing.  Personally I care more about my engine totally destroying itself and leaving me stranded than MPG.  But that's just me.

Volvo Bread Clip for A/C compressor repair

Temporary Fix for A/C Volvo

As the Volvo compressors are a little expensive, this might help those who are wanting their cold air back at a fraction of the cost for a new compressor.  Note:  this is a temporary fix only, however, it has been working on my own volvo for several months so I do recommend it.  Cheers and keep your Zen !

sweedspeed compressor fix

volvospeed bread clip/shim fix

matthews volvo site bread clip

Volvo Air Compressor Cuts Off After Running Fine For Several Minutes

VOLVO MADNESS

The Volvo s60 models of early 2000s are prone to an A/C compressor cutting on and off at the weirdest of times.  The cause of this cut out craziness is that the compressor clutch is getting worn and is too far from the electromagnet coil to engage the compressor.  Its kind of maddening to think that the only thing wrong with the A/C of your awesome Volvo is a slight difference of 0.2 to 0.4 inches of space.  That being said, the preferred method of fixing (I use that term liberally) is to bread clip the ##@##.  A bread clip is the plastic clip that comes on a loaf of bread that keeps the bag sealed.  It is cheap and readily available and for some reason works remarkably well here.  A zip tie has also been used but they are a little thicker and can lead to the clutch wearing if its too close.  

Here is where you stick the bread clip.  Keep in mind you have to cut off the excess plastic of the clip:

Keeping the bread clip under this part of the clutch lowers the distance between the clutch and disk that drives the compressor as I show in the is next photo. Keep in mind a distance of 0.02 inches is about the norm:

The red arrow shows the clutch gap with my screwdriver inserted to make it easier to see.  

It is possible to do this repair with the compressor on the vehicle and still get away with it.  You will not hurt anything and it is worth having your a/c back in the summer (especially in Florida).  Go for it. On the other hand, mine only lasted about 6 months so a new compressor being about $200 it is worth replacing which is what I did with mine.  

If for some reason you are thinking of breadclippin', don't loose your cool. There ain't much space under the Volvos so keep calm and keep bread clippin your way to cooler times.

WHEN LEAKS ATTACK

Drip drip goes the Cadillac

A customer brought to me a 2004 Cadillac  SRX with the 4.6 liter engine.  Evidently it had been leaking fluid for some time in small amounts but now it was a full blown gusher.  Nice orange spot every time she parked.
"Help me!" she cried.  I guess I'm a sucker for dames so what the heck, I decided to see what I could do.

Observing a large puddle of dexcool under the car, I took a flashlight and examined the front of the engine.  Yup.  Leaking from water pump weep hole.  Nice simple job.  Put a new pump in, bled the system and checked it for leaks.  Still leaking, only this time from the other side of the engine!  I verified that the pump was bad (it was) and resolved to find the other leak.  

First thing was to get some coolant dye that was compatible with dexcool. Here is what I used.

What I saw was the coolant leaking from behind the intake air hose from a piece of metal that connects to the intake manifold. It is known as the water outlet.

This caused a significant leak down the passenger side of the engine and cannot be seen because the gaskets are on the rear side of the intake water outlet. So it has to come off.  Like these picture show, there are four bolts that hold it on and a large hose and small hose on the left side.  But first the throtle body bolts have to come off. There is a hidden bolt behind the throttle body.

Throttle body removed and the bolts are clearly seen.

Once the assembly had been removed, the leak area and gaskets could be clearly seen. Notice the scale buildup on the right hand picture.  The gaskets were similarly covered.  A leak was inevitable.

Here's a destroyed gasket that shows the scale buildup and reason for the leak.

New gaskets with part number from GM.  (Dont get them at the dealer, they are 6x as expensive)

Thread in the bolts to hold the gaskets and then put some locktite thread sealer on it to hold them in place.

Torque it down and put the throttle body bolts back on.  assemble the rest of the small stuff you took off (hoses, wires, etc) and refill it with coolant.  It should look like this when you are done.

On an added note, there is a tee fitting for the radiator overflow tank that sits on top of the radiator.  You can see it in the above picture on the lower right hand corner.  Notice the one I have is metal while the original is plastic.  Discard the plastic one and get a metal tee.  The plastic will break and leak all over the place while the metal one will probably outlast the vehicle.  Just one less leak for you to worry about.

If your zen concentration and relaxation techniques are up to par, you will not feel the least bit angry about the horrible leaks the SRX can develop.  Except for that tee fitting.  That's really pushing it Cadillac!!

VOLVO STEERING PROBLEM

2002 VOLVO S60 STEERING YIKES!!

Some time ago I bought my wife a used 2002 Volvo S60.  It had been in a small accident on the right front side but was otherwise in good shape.  The only problem was that when you hit the brakes (even slightly) it would take a hard left turn!  Talk about super dangerous!  Especially if you did it in traffic at high speeds!  Well, my wife had a few choice words with her mechanic (me) and I decided to hunt down the culprit. 

On the S60 Volvo, the control arm has rubber bushings that isolate it from the metal of the arm.  These bushings are prone to cracking or even breaking.  The final result is that when they frag, and believe me they do, you will suddenly find yourself making an unscheduled turn right into someones house.  Being the tight wad money saver that I am (am I right guys?) I resolved to fix these bushings by having new ones pressed in instead of replacing the entire control arm.  

 The bushings are indicated by red arrows.  Notice one is entirely gone (the rear one).

Bad idea.  Unless you use the factory bushings, I didn't, you are asking for trouble. Even then, if for some reason the shop you can find to press in the bushings doesn't do it exactly right you will face another unscheduled turn in traffic.  Let me cut to the chase.  Suffice it to say, that within a month of driving with the"new" bushings, they had once again broken and the car was steering crazy when braking.  

Do yourself a huge favor (and your wife) and replace the entire control arm with bushings.  Better yet spend a little extra money and buy the Volvo control arm.  As it turns out, the control arms only last about 20,000 miles before they frag.  The price of owning a Volvo I guess.