‘91 Suburban A/C Cooling Help

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91burb2500

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1991
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Suburban R2500
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5.3
I've messed with mine a bit, and i think the door is warped. So the vent settings are more like bilevel. Bilevel is like 75% floor. For AC, having a vent/floor split really is OK as it cools off high and low up front and the rear comes in high from the back. On heat, it seals up tight and only comes out the floor.
If I suck on the hose for the actuator, it closes the door and all the air comes out up top, so either I got a hole in the hose or a the valve for the selector on the back of the climate panel is bad.
 

wizardofozbourne

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355 sbc
I'm glad I came across this thread. I've been struggling with my 84 Suburban, with dual air, to get the temps down where I want them, and it seems the condenser is the likely culprit.
 

Hunter79764

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134 in general needs a good condenser, especially when we're trying to cool off these glass barns with bad insulation ;)

Just a general note about it though (not geared towards anyone in particular, legitimately just a note for anyone reading about conversions and cooling challenges like this), remember that if the vehicle came with R12, there are general "conversion factors" for the new charge that should be considered ballpark at best. Then once you start changing components, all of that goes out the window.
It needs to be charged according to pressures and temperatures, preferably by someone familiar enough that they fully understand what they are seeing vs just "Charging until the vents seem about right". Parallel condensers are almost always a great idea if you need more performance, but they may make the vehicle more sensitive to exact charge amounts, depending on the rest of the system. Swapping the orifice tube can help as well, but again, needs to be done by someone competent, like they have had schooling for AC plus a decade of experience, or at least a half dozen successful conversions themselves. If that's the person reading this, then great, but if not, find someone who understands it, at least the first time. Bonus if they can weigh in charge along the way and tell you what was installed, so that in the future, you can charge by weight. You might find that what you saved by not taking it to someone was lost in recharging the gas and extra components you didn't know were needed the first time and/or burned up by improper oil etc.
 

91burb2500

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1991
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5.3
Drove on the highway for sustained speed at 75 for a half hour, mid 40s at the vent and had to turn it down to medium-low up front and low in the back, it got cold quick in there!
 

Camar068

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Drove on the highway for sustained speed at 75 for a half hour, mid 40s at the vent and had to turn it down to medium-low up front and low in the back, it got cold quick in there!
Thanks Again, added link to spreadsheet.
 

YakkoWarner

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My A/C never worked all that well - I'm thinking the parallel condensor might be in my future if I can get it running reliabily again.

I have gauges but only a small passing knowledge of what I'm seeing. Finding that person with years of experience on these older systems is becoming rare - I can't even find a shop to work on the mechanical aspects because "thats too old"....
 

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