1978 Pontiac sunbird safari wagon 2.5

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Re: 1978 Pontiac sunbird safari wagon 2.5

Postby HI WINDING MONZA » Wed Sep 09, 2015 8:08 pm

You get the A/C figured out , Larry?

Doug in P.R. 8)
My Old Monza now lives in Arizona with its newest owner.

The 90's just keep rollin' along........
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1992 Pontiac Sunbird Coupe 2.0 OHC MPFI I4 TH125C 157k miles
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Re: 1978 Pontiac sunbird safari wagon 2.5

Postby lleelduo » Thu Sep 10, 2015 4:37 pm

Yes I got the A/C working correctly. I mounted a pressure cycling switch on the accumulator and set it to cycle at 20 psi. the system originaly held 3 lb. of R12. I did the conversion to R134 to 2.5 lb. I did the calculation wrong to start with and had it set at 2 lb. With the correct fill and a pressure cycling switch I am good to go.
Larry Leitz

1978 Pontiac Sunbird Safari sport wagon
1969 Chevrolet Impala SS 427 convertiable
2016 Chevrolet Volt
2016 Chevrolet City Express
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1978 Pontiac Sunbird Safari Wagon

Re: 1978 Pontiac sunbird safari wagon 2.5

Postby lleelduo » Wed Sep 30, 2015 3:26 pm

I took the car on a 600mi road trip with my wife. We drove to Pontiac Illinois for a Pontiac only car show. I won first place in my class. The car drove fine and got 33mpg. A few issues came up for me to work on though. The A/C belt wore off in about 200mi I think that My lower crank pulley has a bad spot on it causing it to wear the belt. I located a used pulley and have it coming. I will bead blast it and make sure that the surfaces are good. The A/C compressor also has an issue, The clutch has metal shavings coming out where the clutch plate contacts the drive hub. It is still under parts warranty from O'riley auto parts, but this will be the 3rd compressor from them. Maybe third time is the charm. When the A/C quit, I put it on vent to have air flowing. I think the temp door is not shutting fully because the air flow was hotter than ambient. I have not been into the heater section of the HVAC. I don't think it is the cowl to hood seal because, I put on a new one I got from Clyde. There was also a water leak to the floor on the drivers floor. We had quite a rain storm on friday night before the show.I think the seal cowl to the kick panel trim leaked. So some odd things to deal with, but overall I am very happy. :th:
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1978 Pontiac Sunbird Safari sport wagon
1969 Chevrolet Impala SS 427 convertiable
2016 Chevrolet Volt
2016 Chevrolet City Express
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1978 Pontiac Sunbird Safari Wagon

Re: 1978 Pontiac sunbird safari wagon 2.5

Postby waybad » Wed Sep 30, 2015 6:18 pm

looks killer!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :th: :th: :th: :th: :th:
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Re: 1978 Pontiac sunbird safari wagon 2.5

Postby vegastre » Thu Oct 01, 2015 1:02 am

There was also a water leak to the floor on the drivers floor.


I'm not going to go into how incredibly poor the water run off/seal design of the H-Body cars but If its a drip, drip on your pants leg Its a relatively simple fix. Its a bad rubber seal for the hood release cable at the kick panel. The run off water in the cavity collects and follows the cable inside the driver compartment until gravity takes over and drip, drip, It can be a very extensive leak if there is no seal at all.
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Re: 1978 Pontiac sunbird safari wagon 2.5

Postby lleelduo » Thu Oct 01, 2015 9:24 am

It is not the hood cable. It has something to do with the kick panel trim seal to the sheet metal. I mounted the stereo speaker in the kick panel and put a housing over it. Either the drain at the bottom is not flowing after we fixed the rust. then it will fill up and come over the sheet metal at the kick panel opening. Or the seal for the kick panel trim to the sheet metal is leaking. either way the kick panel trim has to come off.
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Larry Leitz

1978 Pontiac Sunbird Safari sport wagon
1969 Chevrolet Impala SS 427 convertiable
2016 Chevrolet Volt
2016 Chevrolet City Express
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1978 Pontiac Sunbird Safari Wagon

Re: 1978 Pontiac sunbird safari wagon 2.5

Postby vegastre » Thu Oct 01, 2015 3:49 pm

It is not the hood cable.


Well good, I always throw that out when I hear driver side leaks on the floor.

BTW, good job on the Pontiac Safari Nomad :th: As already mentioned, excellent detail.
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Re: 1978 Pontiac sunbird safari wagon 2.5

Postby lleelduo » Thu Oct 22, 2015 3:32 pm

When the A/C quit on the trip, we drove with the system on vent. My wife complained that the air was hotter than what was outside the car. When we got back, I removed the glove box and checked the heat door operation on the heater. I speculated that A. The heat cable was out of adjustment, and not closing fully. B. The heat blend door was binding and not closing fully. C. The seal on the heat door to the case was damaged or missing, causing air to leak around the blend door. I did NOT want to remove all the HVAC ducts and cases to have to fix the door seal. Thankfully that was not the problem. I removed the glove box and could see the cable and door lever. When moving the cable I could see that the mounting for the cable was loose. This was causing the cable housing to move and not push the heat door fully shut. I used a LOOONG 1/4" flex extension to get back to the mounting and tighten it up. FIXED! and I only had to remove 6 screws in the glove box. The H-body gods have smiled on me. :D I also replaced the A/C compressor for the third time. This one is real quiet and does not drag down the engine much when it engages. I think this compressor will be a keeper. I changed the lower pulley with one I got from Doug Thompson. 2 of my three problems fixed. Now the water leak.
Larry Leitz

1978 Pontiac Sunbird Safari sport wagon
1969 Chevrolet Impala SS 427 convertiable
2016 Chevrolet Volt
2016 Chevrolet City Express
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1978 Pontiac Sunbird Safari Wagon

Re: 1978 Pontiac sunbird safari wagon 2.5

Postby dindin » Thu Oct 22, 2015 4:37 pm

"Now the water leak"

Is it possible that the gasket around the vents are dried out?? Just taking a guess here.

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Re: 1978 Pontiac sunbird safari wagon 2.5

Postby lleelduo » Fri Oct 23, 2015 7:13 am

Yes, I put a strip of ribbon caulk on them when I installed them. but it may have moved during the install. I just have to have to take it apart and inspect everything. I may never know though, I think it will destroy ant evidence when I take it apart. So much for my CSI skills.
Larry Leitz

1978 Pontiac Sunbird Safari sport wagon
1969 Chevrolet Impala SS 427 convertiable
2016 Chevrolet Volt
2016 Chevrolet City Express
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1978 Pontiac Sunbird Safari Wagon

Re: 1978 Pontiac sunbird safari wagon 2.5

Postby dindin » Fri Oct 23, 2015 9:35 am

Oh I see the picture above, I did not realize the vent was attached to the kick and connected as one piece.. I thought the vent was attached first then the kick attached to the vent..could possible be windshield also??

Al
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Re: 1978 Pontiac sunbird safari wagon 2.5

Postby dindin » Fri Oct 23, 2015 10:34 am

Another thought I had is maybe when you removed the vent the kick is not being evenly pressed up against the hole and you have some gaps from it..being the vent is rigid it would be tighter against the hole..

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Re: 1978 Pontiac sunbird safari wagon 2.5

Postby lleelduo » Fri Oct 23, 2015 3:43 pm

The A/C cars do not have vents in the kick panel. It is just a solid trim kick panel. It seals to the inner sheet metal the same, as if it had the non A/C vents that open. I think that is were my leak is. I silicone sealed the speaker cover on the back side and foamed it with the stuff that water proofs stuff, like the screen door in the bottom of the boat on TV. So I do not think it is leaking at the speaker it self. I will make sure the drain at the bottom of the cowl is open also.
Larry Leitz

1978 Pontiac Sunbird Safari sport wagon
1969 Chevrolet Impala SS 427 convertiable
2016 Chevrolet Volt
2016 Chevrolet City Express
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lleelduo
 
Posts: 303
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Location: Bluffton IN.

1978 Pontiac Sunbird Safari Wagon

Re: 1978 Pontiac sunbird safari wagon 2.5

Postby lleelduo » Wed Dec 09, 2015 12:45 pm

After a fun summer, winter comes. I put Pete the Pontiac in storage for the season. Thanks to all of you that helped me get him finished. Looking forward to car shows in the spring! It was 52 degrees last night, had to take one last cruise before he went down for his long winters nap.
Larry Leitz

1978 Pontiac Sunbird Safari sport wagon
1969 Chevrolet Impala SS 427 convertiable
2016 Chevrolet Volt
2016 Chevrolet City Express
User avatar
lleelduo
 
Posts: 303
Joined: Wed Jul 03, 2013 4:47 pm
Location: Bluffton IN.

1978 Pontiac Sunbird Safari Wagon

Re: 1978 Pontiac sunbird safari wagon 2.5

Postby HI WINDING MONZA » Wed Dec 09, 2015 3:31 pm

Where's winter?

88* today down here............................................................... :rolleyes:

Doug in P.R. 8)
My Old Monza now lives in Arizona with its newest owner.

The 90's just keep rollin' along........
1990 Chevrolet Silverado Regular Cab Long Bed 350 TBI V8 700R4 118K miles
1992 Pontiac Sunbird Coupe 2.0 OHC MPFI I4 TH125C 157k miles
User avatar
HI WINDING MONZA
 
Posts: 3196
Joined: Thu Jun 29, 2006 7:37 pm
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