L31 Extreme Budget Build

[rebelyell]

Had to try out the AC hose crimper even though I am out of town at my mom's house this weekend and headed to Colorado in the AM. When I get back into town, will finish fabbing up the hoses, wire up the compressor, vacuum the a/c system and get it charged up. Probably go ahead and use the Sanden 4261 I pulled off the Express last summer even though the Valeo currently bolted to the brackets worked great as well.

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Before I left town, I dropped the underhood portion of the HVAC case back into place, with the new evaporator core and blower motor in it and sealed it up well. The only air leak is the condesate drain hole in the box now. Blower motor now receives 13.6 volts at the power and ground terminal with the alternator charging at 13.9 volts at the battery. Between the clean new evaporator core, resealed box, new blower motor and revised wiring the ac vents literally blow twice as much air now. I have not even gotten to the point of pulling the dash to get to and work on the rats nest of conversion wiring that I disconnected. Will be resealing the inside ducting yet which leaks at every connection from the non-existant foam seals that were once there. I did test the heater though, after flushing the old OE core and hooking it up to the L31 heater hose connections in the same manner as a factory L31, the heater started blowing heat quickly from a ~40*F cold start despite the two holes I drilled in the thermostat. After a few minutes of running, the engine reached 180F at which point the dash vents were blowing over 150F, too hot to keep your hands in front of the vents for long. Unlike most newer vehicles, these older GM vehicles can actually operate with the recirculate option selected while using the heater (if the vacuum line is removed off the heater control valve and plugged for winter months) and if the ac system has signifigant enough pressure to activate the cycling switch, the ac system for dehumidifcation. I find it dumb that the newer climate control systems prevent easy use of the recirculation while using the heater. Recirculating air when it is cold with high humidity like in misting rain or fog really helps dry the interior air preventing the windows from fogging. You can crank the vent selector to max ac, temperature to hot, and blow the outer dash vents directly on the side glass as needed to clear them of moisture buildup.

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Also tested the lighting after adding the load resistors to the front turn signal circuits. All working as intended, no hyperflashing of the turn signals or hazard lights or any of the weird stuff common with LED conversions. Just putting LED bulbs in it initially without the load resistors, resulted in sidemarkers that would flash for second, then dim out, while the turn signal indicators in the dash would glow. Unlike how dim the lamps were with halogen bulbs, you can actually see the lights like a modern vehicle now.

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That's an attractive AC hose crimp kit! About how much $ for a kit like that?

 

[L31MaxExpress]

That's an attractive AC hose crimp kit! About how much $ for a kit like that?

$115 shipped to my door

 

[L31MaxExpress]

Well the old 2011 Pathfinder made it to Colorado up Ratan pass like it was no issue at all. 11 hour drive including a couple stops. Now for a couple days around Denver and then on to Durango.

 

[L31MaxExpress]

Big blue has cold ac. Very little left before it is ready for the road. Need to finish the harness looming, hook up the oil pressure and coolant temp senders so the dash gauges work and I can remove my temporaries, correct a very small oil leak from the cooler line by the oil filter, put shocks on all 4 corners, align it and get exhaust on it.

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[Scooterwrench]

Big blue has cold ac. Very little left before it is ready for the road. Need to finish the harness looming, hook up the oil pressure and coolant temp senders so the dash gauges work and I can remove my temporaries, correct a very small oil leak from the cooler line by the oil filter, put shocks on all 4 corners, align it and get exhaust on it.

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Did you put a heater control valve on it?

 

[L31MaxExpress]

Did you put a heater control valve on it?

I did, vacuum unit and T'd into the recirculation door vacuum tube.

Next to the alternator in this older picture before a bunch of stuff obscured the view of it.

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[L31MaxExpress]

One other thing I intend to add that was sold out last time I was at the hardware store, is a sleeve of foam tubing insulation over the suction hose.

A late model Express van accumulator blanket fit over the old 87 design ac accumulator like a glove. I do not know what year GM started adding them on the G-vans, but my 83 and this 87 did not have one but both had systems that had been rebuilt long ago in the late 90s. My 92 parts van and 94 G10 I had long ago had them.

 

[Sean Buick 76]

Nice work!

 

[tayto]

I did, vacuum unit and T'd into the recirculation door vacuum tube.

Next to the alternator in this older picture before a bunch of stuff obscured the view of it.

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I am going to add a coolant shut off valve to my squarebody as well, but my heater core returns directly to the rad. would it be better to use a valve that has both heater hoses in to it so the coolant in the intake can return to the rad when heater core supply is shut off? my late 80s caprice had this style of valve but i also have a NIB single hose vacuum shut off valve.

 

[L31MaxExpress]

I am going to add a coolant shut off valve to my squarebody as well, but my heater core returns directly to the rad. would it be better to use a valve that has both heater hoses in to it so the coolant in the intake can return to the rad when heater core supply is shut off? my late 80s caprice had this style of valve but i also have a NIB single hose vacuum shut off valve.

Most of the GM vehicles I have owned use the 4 port valves. IMO it would be easier to retrofit a 4 port than a 3 port. The vehicles with the 3 port valve had a somewhat goofy metal pipe with 3 fittings on it. If you want to keep the coolant bypass to the radiator, the 4 port is the easiest way.