converting my 78 Malibu from an R4 compressor to a Sanden and have some questions

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gnvair
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Joined: Fri Jul 24, 2026 8:15 am

converting my 78 Malibu from an R4 compressor to a Sanden and have some questions

Post by gnvair »

Hi folks
I have been searching around the internet for tech info and stumbled on this group which seems to have a lot of knowledgeable people.
I have a 78 Chevrolet Malibu.
I am trying to get my air conditioning going again.
After suffering another R4 failure in less than 3,000 miles I decided to convert to a Sanden SD7H15 (4805) and 134a refrigerant.
I have a new parallel flow condenser, and new stock accumulator and orifice tube. The evaporator was NOS when installed in 2020...I flushed it thoroughly and vacuumed it down for 3 hours to make sure all of the chemical was out of it.
I bought a kit from Cold Hose and made my own hoses.
My question is this;
I am starting with a basically dry system.
The compressor calls for 200cc (about 6.7 ounces) on the tag.
The only other info I have is from the GM service manual which calls out oil capacities for each component but I think this is when replacing individual components on the R4 system. I think if you add them up it totals about 8.5 ounces but that includes only 1 ounce for the R4 compressor.
I plan on emptying and measuring what is in the compressor and replacing it with fresh PAG SP15.
Would 6.7 ounces be enough for the entire system or should I be adding addition oil to each component?
Lastly, I had read Vintage Air instructions for their kits (which use similar Sanden compressors) and they instruct to use only what is in the compressor and to not add an any additional oil. Granted, that is for their components. I am dealing with mostly factory GM components on mine.
Any ways, any advice or recommendations would be greatly appreciated.
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Tim
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Re: converting my 78 Malibu from an R4 compressor to a Sanden and have some questions

Post by Tim »

7 ounces should be fine.
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gnvair
Posts: 2
Joined: Fri Jul 24, 2026 8:15 am

Re: converting my 78 Malibu from an R4 compressor to a Sanden and have some questions

Post by gnvair »

7 ounces for the entire system (compressor included)?
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Tim
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Posts: 1386
Joined: Tue Apr 12, 2016 2:19 pm
Location: Scottsdale, Arizona

Re: converting my 78 Malibu from an R4 compressor to a Sanden and have some questions

Post by Tim »

Always a best est when mixing and matching parts. Evap is the only "larger" item from a universal system, which takes about 7 ounces.
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