Hi Rick,

I did a complete rebuild of my AC system on my 84 about 3 years ago.
The first thing I did was to replace the main lines from the compressor in the back, to the condenser in front of the radiator.  I pulled the old lines, took them to a local Auto AC Shop, and had them match the length.  They also loaned me the crimping tool, to add the ends on the lines, after fishing the new lines in place.

We then replaced all the O-Rings, and added the proper oil for R-134A, in the proper quantities for each area.

It was a lot of work, but worth every bit!  My AC is cooler now than then the old R-12 system... or maybe it was so long without AC, that I can't remember.  Anyway, it keeps my Westy nice and cool now.

A Bentley will help!

Best of luck with your project!  I still have a few cans of R-12 in storage, sealed tight to protect our O-Zone!

Jack R.

-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of Richard Koller
Sent: Friday, June 12, 2020 12:17 PM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: A/C

Hi all,
My A/C has not been used in many years and I was going to attempt to
recharge it to see if it works. Is this the wise thing to do? Or should it
just be evacuated and recharged? It worked fine last time it was used. It
leaked down so the compressor won't start.
Rick