C3 A/C

[Glenn28132]

I have a 79 Vette When I use the air conditioning in the stop and go traffic
the temp goes over 220 I was wondering if there was an after market compressor
out there That would not put such a load on the motor

Thanks

Glenn

[Tim anderson]

Re: C3 A/C

I would look at the cooling system first. Functional thermastat, radiator crud buildup, aux fan working, things like that first. I don't think the system is doing it's job.

[John H.]

Re: C3 A/C

It's not the compressor putting added load on the engine that causes the temperature to rise - it's the heat being rejected from the condenser which pre-heats the air flowing through the radiator behind it. Make sure your fan clutch and fan shroud are functioning and intact, and all the necessary rubber seals are in place between the radiator and support and between the shroud and the radiator. Also make sure your vacuum advance can is working, and you're getting adequate spark advance at idle - this is a BIG component of idle cooling. If all these are in order and the problem persists, it's probably radiator time - nobody ever expected the original radiator to last 30 years, and I suspect very few previous owners changed the coolant every two years to maintain the effectiveness of the corrosion inhibitor package in the anti-freeze.