<VV> A/C Update - 66 Monza

[Dennis Pleau]

If the deck lid insulation is in the oil cooler, it's probably packed into
the heads.  Hot heads will cause pining, hot oil probably won't.

dp  

-----Original Message-----
From: virtualvairs-bounces at corvair.org
[mailto:virtualvairs-bounces at corvair.org] On Behalf Of Bill H.
Sent: Friday, June 22, 2012 10:10 AM
To: virtualvairs at corvair.org
Subject: <VV> A/C Update - 66 Monza

                                                                            
     B"H
 
Hi all..hope all you in Heat Wave Land are staying cool!
 
Anyway, I completed the repairs on the A/C in my 66 Monza Sport Sedan.  I
charged the system with Freon, connected the belt, and added dual cooling
fans to the condenser and a PrestoLite idle-up solenoid, along with a relay
to control these accessories plus the compressor clutch.
 
The system blows nice and cool, but after driving in heavy city traffic for
about 30 minutes, the engine starts to ping loudly and I know I'm
overheating.  So I turn off the A/C and I've got a hot condition for a while
but the pinging stops, and the car drives fine while I sweat in 90 plus
weather.
 
Thinking about what would cause the overheating problem (although heavy city
traffic is much harder on a car than highway driving), I took off the cover
to the oil cooler.  This is the first time I've done this on a Corvair. 
There was a blanket of stuffed insulation which no doubt got sucked in from
the engine lid insulation pad, which is shredding badly.  I cleaned out all
the junk as best I could, removed the insulation from the engine lid, but
there is still some debris in between the plates.   BTW I have the 12 plate
cooler, which was installed in A/C cars.  Also of note is that I only use
Mobil 1 synthetic since it is supposed to handle high temperatures better.
 
Today I got a few minutes farther before the pinging started again.  I'm
planning on removing the oil cooler and making sure its oil passages are
clear, and cleaning out any remaining junk between the plates.
 
One question I have is that the Chevy shop manual says to replace the seals
to the oil cooler if you remove it.  Is this required?  Also, would you
folks recommend an oil change even though the oil is still pretty clean,
it's been superheated a few times already?
 
Another option I'm looking into is adding water injection, a fine mist into
the intake when the A/C compressor is on.  That cured the pinging problem I
had with my 69 and it can, in my opinion, only help keep the engine cooler
on hot days with the A/C on.  I'd control it from the same relay that
operates the idle-up solenoid and A/C equipment, and possibly from the dash
as well (turn it on after the engine warms up).
 
Thanks for listening, any feedback would be appreciated!  Stay cool...
 
Bill Hershkowitz  66 Monza Sport Sedan 110 PG A/C