Well I think this newest round of changes has this as good as it will get minus maybe sealing the condenser to the radiator and the radiator to the fan shroud with some adhesive foam weatherstrip.
It warmed up to 109°F and it was ~115°F ambient and a measured 20% RH earlier. I had been on a drive across town and the interior was pre-cooled. The FSM chart stops at 100°F at 20% RH. With R134a GM would not consider the AC broken if it cooled to atleast 54°F at 2,000 rpm while stationary. The Van was rocking 42°F air.
I do plan to have the thing tinted with ATC ceramic heat rejecting limo tint including a shade above my line of vision, no AS1 line on a 97 van and that windshield is tall and very sloped. I also have some door and window weatherstips I need to source and replace, which is not a huge ordeal since GM still builds them. There is some wind noise and air leakage in the 26 year old weatherstripping. I am also thinking of dynamating the engine cover exterior. A lot of heat and noise finds its way through the OE insualtion. The OE insulation is basically like the heat insulation on a hood that has been covered in heavy baking aluminum foil, thin, crumbling and basically useless.
That being said AC system wise, I do not see being able to get anything more from it, save adding some tacky tape to the case around the evaporator core lines that are still leaking air under the hood even after I replaced the OE foam weatherstrip and taping up some leaking joints under the dash. There is a substantial volume of cold air still blowing out under the hood and behind the dash. It is still blowing great, but I want all the airflow in my face lol. The blower motors do run a bit slower now with the PCM regulated alternators 12.8-12.9 volts output. I really need to upgrade the wiring from the alternator to the battery and the battery to the fuse block and perhaps add the remote sense wire from the alternator to the fuse block that the 8.1L vans used. I think that remote sense wire might kick up the system voltage when there is a heavy electrical demand. Never understood why the 8.1Ls got that wire but the normal 4.3L, SBC and LS powered vans did not. All 01+ were PCM controlled but only the 8.1Ls got that additional circuit and voltage referenced feature.
I can get the ac cold, now I just need to keep the heat out.
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