Hi All. I just bought a '72 Olds 98 with a 455. A fun project. It has Air Conditioning - the original one - and I want to remove it, or most of it, so that I can access brake lines and other parts. My question is: How do I this safely? I don't want to just "unbolt" everything and have the refrigerant leak out. I don't even know if there's still refrigerant in the system.

Thoughts? Thank you,

Jay

 

Take it to a AC shop. They can empty it for you. Probably already leaked all out, if it hasn't been serviced in awhile.

 

Thank you. I think the car sat for 20 years. No belt on AC compressor. Is there a way to tell if there’s anything in it? A lot of the tune up work, and brake line replacement would be a lot easier if the compressor etc were outta the way.

 

Remove the cap on the high pressure port and touch the schrader valve with a punch or similar tool briefly. Be sure to wear safety goggles. Either pressure comes out or it doesn't.

 

Can you still get these older AC systems "charged" and working? (Wondering if I should keep it and try to get it working).

 

Yes you definitely can get them working and working really well.

 

^^x2^^

 

If you remove the compressor, lines, condenser and evaporator make sure you keep everything in a box in case you decide later to reinstall it. R12 isn't super rare the way it was years ago. If you have it serviced make sure you put R12 back in it.

 

If the system is opened re-seal every opening. Don't leave any connections open.