[henrydbrown]

I've been procrastinating buying the Bentley Manual but facing a $220 estimate to get my A/C charged, I think it may be time to buy the $90 manual and $60 worth of R134.

Does the Bentley Manual have instructions for charging the A/C on an '81 911SC?

[Rick V]

Not realy, you should have the maunal anyway, so it is good money spent. Why not just run it by a local shop you trust and have it recharged. sometimes it is easier to spend a few dollars to use somebody elses high dollar equipment. Just a thought.

[henrydbrown]

I'm looking at EBay and I can buy the Vacuum Pump for $20, the Gauges for $50, the Freon for $40. How hard is it to charge your own A/C? Plus, once I have the tools and have worked through the learning curve, like everything else it should be inexpensive and easy. Comments?

[Rick V]

Make sure the Vac pump will pull down to at least 25 lbs, 30 is better. Gauges are one place where you shouldn't scrimp, you will get what you pay for, trust me. When I bought mine I spent the extra$$$$$$$$ and bought the fluid filled ones. You will also need a can tap if you plan on using the 1 lb cans. (no need to keep a 40 lb can around unless you are going to do alot of ac work)
Do a search for ac recharging, there are alot of good threads on how to do it, it isn't hard, and don't be afraid of the 350+ psi readings you will more than likely see on the high side.

[henrydbrown]

All the vacuum pumps I found measure in bar or CFM. Should I convert the "bar" to lbs?

[Rick V]

The ones I know are measured in CFMyou will need at least a 1.5 CFM pump. Are you looking at the eletric pumps or the venturi style?