A/c Shield

[Harry L.]

I own a 66 a/c vette and I saw on page 76 of the new Driveline mag. this protective shield for the compressor, to protect the hood from oil spraying up. Has anyone tried this product.

[Bob L.]

Re: A/c Shield

Hey.haven't had the need for a shield product but do have a 1966 A/C Coupe....which we can't seem to get working at this point......have replaced all component's from the firewall forward.......still blowing just cool air....hows yours?....any suggestions??...Bob

[Larry S.]

Re: A/c Shield

I put one on my '67 about a year ago. The theory seems good, but I don't know of any way to prove that it works, at least in the short term. I suppose that if 5-10 years from now I don't have any paint blistering on the hood then it works. If I do, then it don't! It's a very easy and neat looking installation.

I see that the shield in the Driveline is $39.95; I bought mine on eBay for $34.95. Don't know if it's the same manufacturer, but it looks the same.

[Jake D.]

Re: A/c Shield

Harry-I had a '67 350 H.P. air roadster, with the hood blister from the A/C compressor. I went to the junkyard, and got the shield from a '75 Buick LeSabre. It fit perfectly on the compressor on the '67. I know it wasn't NCRS correct, but it cured my problem. I think the guy charged me $1!

[Jim T.]

Re: A/c Shield

Harry many years ago I posted on this board on how easy it was to make the shield on my 70 with air. Just took two steel straps, drilled holes to mount on the compressor on each end and bent the straps. Drilled two smaller holes in the staps large enough to insert a rivet. Took a piece of aluminum flashing, cut it to length to give good coverage (4 1/2 x 12 inches), rounded the corners, and rivetted it to the two braces. Painted it black, and it has worked very well. Everything I used to fabricate it was in the garage. Very easy project.

[Warren S.]

Re: A/c Shield

I own a 66 a/c vette and I saw on page 76 of the new Driveline mag. this protective shield for the compressor, to protect the hood from oil spraying up. Has anyone tried this product.

Harry,
I haven't tried this particular product, but a few years ago I made a shield to protect my hood from A/C oil.
It all began years before that when I had noticed some tiny bubbles appear on top of my hood which I could buff away and then they would return in the hot sun. I didn't think of refigerant oil because there was no accumulation of oil on the bottom side of my hood because I kept the engine compartment clean and wiped it down frequently. After years of this aggravation, I finally got tired of the bubbles and decided to strip the hood. This is when I discovered the oil which was saturated in the hood directly over the compressor pulley. With a few applications of a heat lamp and washing the spots down with laquer thinner, I managed to purge all of the oil out of the hood. The hood was repainted and is now protected with a shield, that I made, to make sure it doesn't happen again. I think that most compressor seals leak a little and the shield is a sure way of not going through the trouble that I did.
Attached is a photo of my stripped hood showing the oil spots.
Warren

[Jim L.]

Re: A/c Shield

To Bob Lovett Regarding non working A/C Hi Bob I have a 66 with A/C. If you give me a call at your convenience I will discuss with you the things I did to mine and what I am going to do to a 65 that belongs to a friend. Call 503-341-1867 PST. Keep trying as I am an old guy and dont always hear the phone. Regards Jim Lucia

[Anthony S.]

Re: A/c Shield

I installed one on my '68 about a year ago and it seems to be working as I don't have any oil spray or blisters on my hood.

[Steven G.]

Re: A/c Shield

Will a car being judged get deduction for having a/c shield, if not factory installed ? Steve

[Terry M.]

Re: A/c Shield

Steve,
Yes there should be a deduction for the non-factory AC shield. They are easy to remove, though. Not quite as easy as floor mats, but you should be able to take the shield off before judging.

[Kirk M.]

Re: A/c Shield

My original 67 AC car has the remnants of a hood repair that resulted from the blistering and damage to it from the compressor. I bought one of the shields and mounted it - takes about 2 minutes. Easily bends for adjustment so that it doesn't rub belts or hood when driving. I've noticed a small trace of oil on the underside so I believe it is doing its job. I simply remove it for judging - again, it takes a couple of minutes if even that. I give it a thumbs up!

Kirk

[Don H.]

Re: A/c Shield

I have made & used them for years. As stated it comes off easy and saves oil spray. Don H.

[Gary N.]

Re: A/c Shield

I have the same problem and use a shield. My question is this, if you are loosing oil at what point do you have to worry about the amount of oil in the system becoming a problem and doing damage to the compressor or elsewhere? You can still buy cans of R-12 oil and add it to the system, but the question is when do you know when to add it and how much to ad? The cans are usually 2 oz. of oil or less if you want to add less. I have had the front seal changed a couple of times and never was able to completely solve the leak problem. On mine, it seems to sling oil after I let it sit for a week or more and if I wipe the oil off and continue to drive it. it quits slinging oil. I can even let it sit for a day or two and I don't see any oil after starting.

[Tom L.]

Re: A/c Shield

Before I start, I am in the commercial refrigeration busness, not the auto A/C busness but I can answer your lubrication question. You are correct that one oil is lost it must be replaced. The difficult part is knowing how much to add. Unfortunately these and most fractional hp commercial compressors have no provision for measuring the quantity of oil remaining in the compressor once there has been a leak. This has always been a problem. During the time that CFC's (R-12 and others) were being phased out and new refrigerants being phased in the types of lubricants needed for these was different, as you may know from talk abour 134a conversions. The equipment manufacturers required that when a refrigerant change was needed the iol had to be changed. The procedure was simple but time consuming and expensive for customers. The best way to tackle your problem is the same so here it is, simply put.
1. Remove the compressor
2. Drain it of all oil
3. Add the specified amount and type of oil to the compressor recommended by the manufacturer.
Sorry but that's it, there is no other accurate way. Good luck!!

[Jim T.]

Re: A/c Shield

I had my 85 Corvette's R12 equipped air conditioning checked several years ago and the service man let me watch the procedure. He hooked up his machine and removed the R12 and the oil from the system. The oil emptied into a clear tube that could be seen on the machine. He pulled vacuum on my 85's system and installed new oil and the correct amount of R12.
Finding a shop that has a machine with this capability would be one way to check the amount of oil in the system. This was done in the early 90's.