[IMG]http://ltlfrari.no-ip.com/Public/acparts.JPG [/IMG]

I am reinventing the front under hood space in the Fiero. I want to move the accumulator a little bit. Can it be mounted lying horizontally instead of vertically? Also if I fabricate the tubes coming out of it to go to its new location, that should be fine? Could I just find the right size pipe, bend it, and use compression fittings?

Cory

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88 Coupe 4cyl 5 speed (Carl)
88 GT built 3.2 5 speed (Bianca)

Someone told me that my engine was taking up my trunk space.. I quickly responded with "NO, my trunk is taking up my engine space" hahaha.

Here you go... had to take the space out at the /img tag.

On your question, I am not positive, but I believe the accumulator has to remain upright in order to work right.

Thanks. I was really hoping it would work on its side. Does anyone else know for sure?

I was looking at pics from google search and it seems some cars have it mounted on its side. Either that or the camera was sideways. I would get rid of the whole system but here in South Carolina it is a nessesity.

[This message has been edited by CoryFiero (edited 05-22-2007).]

You can see from this pic that there's a tube inside whose open end would be above the level of any fluid in the canister. I guess you could lay it on it's side so long as the open end of the tube was still at the top but I think there would be some danger of liquid refrigerant still getting into the open tube end and that 'would not be a good thing' for the compressor. Also this is just a generic picture so I don't know the orientation of the tube in the Fiero's accumulator or even if they are all the same (probably not) so what would work for one may not work for another accumulator.

Safest bet is leave it upright but you could probably still relocate it. Have fun making new hard lines up though !!

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Dave E

www.ltlfrari.com

No! The accumulator must remain upright! What you can't see in the otherwise excellent drawings posted by ltlfrari is that there is a small hole in the bottom of the U-shaped outlet tube of an accumulator.

The primary purpose of an accumulator is to trap any liquid refrigerant that makes it through the evaporator, ensuring that only vapor is supplied to the compressor. As you can see, the U-shaped tube takes vapor from the very top of the accumulator ... but that leaves no way for refrigerant oil to get out of the accumulator to the compressor, and the compressor requires a constant supply of lubricant. That's where the small hole at the very bottom of the U-shaped tube comes in ... it bleeds refrigerant oil into the vapor returning to the compressor.

Edit: Added a more detailed schematic drawing of a typical accumulator (from Automotive Heating & Air Conditioning, by Mark Schnubel).



For what it's worth, no Fiero uses a receiver-drier ... which operates on an entirely different principle than an accumulator. An accumulator is always installed between the evaporator and the compressor, in the low-pressure/vapor section of the A/C loop, while a receiver-drier is always installed downstream of the condensor, in the high-pressure/liquid section of the loop.

[This message has been edited by Marvin McInnis (edited 05-23-2007).]

quote Originally posted by Marvin McInnis: No! An accumulator must remain upright! What you can't see in the otherwise excellent drawings posted by ltlfrari is that there is a small hole in the bottom of the U-shaped outlet tube of an accumulator. The primary purpose of an accumulator is to trap any liquid refrigerant that makes it through the evaporator, ensuring that only vapor is supplied to the compressor inlet. As you can see, the U-shaped tube takes vapor from the very top of the accumulator ... but that leaves no way for liquid refrigerant oil to get out of the accumulator to the compressor, which requires a constant supply of lubricant. That's where the small hole at the very bottom of the U-shaped tube comes in ... it bleeds refrigerant oil into the vapor returning to the compressor. For what it's worth, no Fiero uses a receiver-drier ... which operates on an entirely different principle than an accumulator.

^ what he said.
Reciever driers work with expansion valves, which is a different setup using a varying orfice based on evaporator temp.

THANKS!

I'm glad I asked. I have to scrap that idea I had. I think I can work around it though.

Cory
EDIT: Changed ask to asked, lol.

[This message has been edited by CoryFiero (edited 05-23-2007).]