Tom H, Scot(t?), and AC systems...

[jmbrodsky@domain.elided]

Tom, Scot(t?) and others...

        I put the fluoro-dye in my T'all AC when I put the new hose on about 4 
months ago.  The system had almost totally purged itself in the year I had it, 
with the Previous Owner's hose clamp fix for the high pressure lines.  Got a new
hose made ($40) and threw it in.  3lbs of freon12 and a tbsp of fluoro and ready
to go.  Now, I am licensed and I'm at a licensed shop (uncle), but I beleieve 
that anyone can buy the dye, but you have to be licensed to put it in.  DO NOT 
PASS UP THE DYE!  Luckily mine hasn't leaked a bit yet, but the dye is a million
times easier to spot with a blacklight that is the tell-tale oil collection of a
leaking AC system.  I chose to stay with R12, because the system was already 
setup for it, and worked ok.  Freon (For me shop cost, family, etc...) was like 
$6/lb and the hose was $40.  for $70 I was in and out, clamps, fittings and all.

        Just make sure you get good hoses, and put in the dye, and you can fix 
it easy.  The IH valves on the compressor are made that you can actually close 
off the compressor and remove the hoses wile still leaving a significant amount 
in the lines, and replace the compressor or vice/versa.  Forget what the valves 
are called, but they're two-way.

        Anyway, I hope I jumped in on the right topic.  I may be butt-talking, 
and you guys are talking about fluoros in other auto fluids?  Fluroros are made 
for every fluid in the auto industry.  That way you can just shut the lights off
in the shop, work the black lights and tell what fluids are leaking where 
(EXACTLY) and fix from there.  It takes about a zillion hours of fault diagnosis
and replacing parts out of the loop.  However, Oil and tranny fluids are cheap, 
so I let 'em leak way longer than I should.  Especially when I usually overfill 
them just to be safe with the IHs.

        Good luck,

     -Joel Brodsky

         '76 IHC Scout II 345/tf727 RE8000, Cibie40s, custom 
                rear tire rack, 6 different color body panels.
                Not much sport, all utility.
         '75 IHC Travelall 150 4wd 392/tf727 Hummer brush guard, 
                3/4T rear springs, Hella Rallye 2000s, Con-Ferr 5x7,
                Class IV hitches front and rear, 3" Exhaust.
                1st Place, Rocky Mountain IH Rendezvous,
                3rd Place, Tulare IH Western Regionals.
         '74 IHC Travelall 150? 2wd 392/tf727 "The 'new' one"
                Factory AM/FM, Cruise, Tilt, AC, Captains Chairs,
                Rblt, Alt, carb, fuel pump, ps pump, water pump, dash,
                seats, rear door, starter, master cyl, what could be left?

-----INCLUDED MESSAGE FOLLOWS-----

Date: Wed, 25 Nov 1998 09:04:59 -0800
From: "Tom Harais" <tjhemh@domain.elided>
Subject: Re: Leak detector

Scott:

The A/C shops are using that stuff too. But, I think only pros can get it.

Tom H.

------------------------------